Never Forget…
Bottom Line Apparel presents The Bottom Line Patriots Player of the Week
We’ve got a new feature this week presented by Bottom Line Apparel, the appropriately titled Bottom Line Patriots Player of the Week. This is the one player who had the biggest impact on the victory or loss… you know, aka the bottom line.
This week it has to go to Wes Welker. This past off-season we were preaching to all those who’d listen that Welker was going to torch the NFL this year and so far he’s done just that. Despite media reports how he was now on the wrong side of 30, had a tough 2010 with a lot of dropped balls and looked like he was regressing Welker has been on a record pace for receptions.
He continues to be Tom Brady’s safety net and it should be a fantastic match-up to see Revis against Welker next weekend.
So congrats to Welker, the Bottom Line Patriots player for Week Four! Visit Bottom Line Apparel below for a great deal on some great Patriots swag!
Patriots defensive drive counter vs. Raiders
I love football stats. I think that they tell an important part of the story. But I also believe that there’s never a “smoking gun” stat that tells you everything you need to know about what a team has done or will do.
Football is organic. It’s about timing, synchronicity, and the most difficult of all things to predict, human performance. Ultimately it comes down to how many points you gave up, and whether or not you gave you offense a chance to win.
I feel that these drive counters to be a realistic evaluation tool, especially in the modern NFL where things like Passing Yards are becoming irrelevant.
1st Quarter
- 9 plays, 50 yards – FIELD GOAL
- 9 plays, 45 yards – PUNT
- 5 plays, 88 yards – TD
2nd Quarter
- 9 plays, 82 yards – INTERCEPTION
3rd Quarter
- 15 plays, 80 yards – FIELD GOAL
4th Quarter
- 8 plays, 64 yards – INTERCEPTION
- 6 plays, 17 yards – PUNT
- 4 plays, 7 yards – TURNOVER ON DOWNS
- 4 plays, 99 yards – TD
Look, I’m not going to try and sugarcoat the 3 eighty-plus yards in a row that spanned the first, second and third quarters. There’s no doubt that the Patriots defense need to get off the field in those situations when they get to third down. And allowing first downs on 61% of your 3rd downs is gross.
But let’s look at the positives. In the third and fourth quarter, when the game was still in doubt the three Patriots defensive stands went: FG, INT, PUNT, TURNOVER ON DOWNS.
That is the kind of clutch defense that you need to win championships. Are there things to be improved? Of course, but when they needed it most the defense got the ball back to the offense every time.
And if you’re going to play bend don’t break defense one of the most important stats to look at is Red Zone defense. The Pats only gave up a score twice on five trips inside the 20 for the Raiders. That’s solid.
Impressive route-running from WR Chad Ochocinco on Welker’s 15-yard touchdown pass. Split wide left, Ochocinco faked outside before making a sharp cut inside, just barely clearing Welker as he broke to the outside from the left slot. Ochocinco’s route was so sharp that CB Chemdi Chekwa didn’t even notice the ball thrown to Welker, following Ochocinco across the field despite being in position to stop Welker before the end zone. Chekwa also effectively set a pick on slot CB Joe Porter, giving Welker just enough time to beat Porter to the pylon.
Mike Rodak – ESPN Boston
https://www.patspropaganda.com/impressive-route-running-from-wr-chad-ochocinco-on/
Monday morning Patriots hangover
Welcome to another “yeah we won the game but we can never win a Super Bowl with this defense” Monday. Well, I probably don’t have to welcome you to it. By now that’s all you’ve been hearing and reading.
Here are some quick hit thoughts after re-watching yesterday’s game.
– Obviously we’ll have plenty on the defense this week, but my general words of advice to Patriots Nation is: Patience. It’s week four. We need to get healthy. We’re along ways away from having to roll this defense out against the Packers in the Super Bowl.
– But I would take the Patriots offense with their defense over the Ravens offense with their defense as more probable to win a Super Bowl. This is a quarterback league. You can have the best defense in the NFL statistically but the elite quarterbacks are still just as likely to shred it.
– Call me crazy but I think that the loss of Mayo for a bit could be a good thing. Let’s face it, it would be hard for them to be much worse statistically, and as much as I’m not a huge Gary Guyton fan the Pats are in far better position to get by with him, Spikes, Fletcher and even Tracy White than they were last time they lost Mayo in 2009. Other guys need to start stepping up and making plays, and this will be a chance for them to do so. Especially excited to see more of Fletcher and Spikes.
– It’s good news that Mayo should be back by mid-November but the worry is that he’ll have lost that elite speed like he did with the 2009 MCL injury.
– The Mayo injury itself was comical. It really almost looked like he was faking it at first. The play ended and he just suddenly looked down and realized “hey my knee hurts”.
– Spikes has his weaknesses but I absolutely love the energy he brings to the defense. It’s that kind of excitement and leadership that can really make a difference on this usually subdued defense. Between him and Patchung they are becoming the heart of this defense. And let’s remember… year two and year three respectively.
– The biggest problem I see with the pass defense right now is the lack on interior rushers. With Mike Wright still out they don’t have a true interior pass rusher on the active roster. You cannot understate the effect of losing Wright and Pryor has had on the Pats the last two seasons. You can have the greatest edge rusher in the world but if the quarterback can just step up into the pocket it won’t matter. If Wright can’t come back they’re going to need Haynesworth to contribute there eventually.Either way something has to be done there.
– Wish I had gotten to watch more of the Jets-Ravens game last night for obvious reasons. Of course everyone is pretty much already resigned to the fact that the Patriots defense will be just what Mark Sanchez needs to bounce back. I hope this angle continues to be played up so word gets back to the Patriots locker room.
– For me it comes down to Nick Mangold. If he’s back it should be a game. If he’s not the Jets will continue have problems with the offensive like calls, running the football and protecting Sanchez. Not to say that he’ll cure all that ails them, but it would be a huge step in the right direction.
– Revis on Welker makes sense. But that leaves Strickland and Cromartie to cover Branch, Ochocinco, maybe even Hernandez (fingers crossed). It should be fascinating to see how the Patriots attack the Jets given what they learned in the playoff game. Having Hernandez back could really tip the scales toward the Patriots as the Jets have struggled to match up with tight ends.
– Anyone want to do a little side by side comparison of what Richard Seymour and Nate Solder did yesterday?
Christmas comes early for Patchung!
https://www.patspropaganda.com/christmas-comes-early-for-patchung/