PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

The New PatsPropaganda!

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It’s been a long time coming and there’s still a ways to go but we’re finally on our own server and have dumped the Tumblr platform so say hello to the new PatsPropaganda. There will still be plenty of tweaks coming (and feedback is welcome) but the hope is that while the content and Pats perspective will stay the same, things will run a little more smoothly with these new digs.

In a way, taking the the time to migrate the site and then rebuild it was a good chance to step back from Patriots football for a bit. We get so wrapped up in the narratives during the season that we often lose sight of the fundamental truth — that the Pats are still pretty frickin’ awesome despite the worst injury season of the Belichick regime.

So the offseason content will start rolling once again and slowly but surely the site will iron out all the kinks until we’re back to a place where everything up and down the site feels right.

Assuming that Butler and Ryan are the starters next year, do you feel good with Coleman, Roberts as the primary backups?

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You know I really do, and throw in Leonard Johnson too who came in mid-season and played with a good physical edge. I’d bring back Tarrell Brown as well just for some depth but overall I think you have to be impressed with the job Butler/Ryan/Coleman did this year.

You mentioned Darrell Roberts who’s a rookie a lot of people forget about. He showed a lot of promise last summer and could be a big X-factor. We just can’t assume we have the kind of injury luck again next year, especially when corners are often one of the more injury-prone positions.

Look back at the corners over the years and it’s hard to find a better group than this one. But if we’re being honest it wasn’t exactly a murderer’s row of QB/WRs this year. 2014 had a far higher degree of difficulty and 2016 will be more in line with that tough schedule.

HOME:BUF, MIA., NYJ, BAL, CIN, STL, SEA, HOU

AWAY:BUF, MIA., NYJ, CLE, PIT, ARI, SF, DEN

Re-Living Super Bowl 49

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Hard to believe it’s been a year. (via Patriots win Super Bowl on Butler’s interception – YouTube)

This moment will never be topped because I can’t imagine ever being so assured of defeat only to steal a victory at the last possible moment. It also just goes to show how much has to go right to win a Super Bowl. You not only have to play your best game, but you have to make all the clutch plays, something only one team will do.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

Do you think the offensive line is capable of playing at a higher level next year without any big upgrades?

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Yeah I just don’t know the actual mechanics of blowing up the offensive line. There’s plenty to feel good about, but obviously everyone has a bad taste in their mouth based on how things ended and understandably so.

For me I think the answer is to draft an athletic swing tackle and really that’s about it. You can go out and spend at right tackle when you’ve got Vollmer and Cannon there. Now you could cut one of them for some cap savings, but what’s that going to solve? I mean right tackle is probably the least valued position on the offense, so I don’t really see making a splash free agent signing there being good value.

I don’t know how much gas Vollmer has left in the tank, but I think he’s got another year left. The thing you just want to make sure is that you’ve got a little more athleticism in the tackle group. Hopefully get a rookie that can at least backup Vollmer out of the gate, maybe push him a bit. Best case scenario is someone who can swing to the left side like Vollmer did as a rookie when his feet were a little better.

So yeah, a lot of good young depth on the interior and the improvement of Mason/Jackson/Andrews/Stork and even Kline should help matters. Solder is still one of the best left tackles in the game, they just need a little more youth and athleticism.

PatsPropagaganda 2015 Season Wrap

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It’s hard to believe another season is in the books and with it my ninth season of blogging the Patriots and sixth here writing PatsPropaganda.

First and foremost I have to thank everyone who once again supported the site, bought t-shirts, asked questions, read my stuff and kept me entertained during one of the more blah years of Patriots football. I write this site because of you and as I always say every year, you’re why I keep it going. So thank you to every one of you and your messages of support mean the world to me and keep me going.

Some highlights to share include once again partnering with NRG Energy and getting to send a bunch of fans and friends to games over the season. Also sent out plenty of signed merchandise and swag bags, so thank you to NRG Energy for the second year in a row of giving me a chance to help spread the word about all the great things they’re doing – real things that actually matter for this planet far more than football does.

Thanks as well to Tide for their partnership on the #OurColors campaign! I’ll be shopping at NFLShop.com for the foreseeable future because of them.

Highlight of the year for me was going to Pats-Jets game in Week 7. We had a great giveaway contest and sent a great Jets fan to the game (I know I know). That was also the game I made my yearly trip home for and got to go to a Patriots game with my Dad for the first time since the 80′s. Special times.

Once again spent the pregame tailgate with awesome Patriots fans, giving away NRG swag and eating free food. Doesn’t get any better than that! Here’s the video I made of the whirlwind trip which had me in Boston for 36 hours total. All worth it of course, and not just because the Pats beat the Jets.

Finally, some notes on the future. In the coming weeks I’ll be migrating the site from Tumblr to a fully hosted Word Press site. This will open the door to expanding if I so choose, but is immediately aimed at making the site more user friendly for what is most important – the writing content. Hopefully there will be no major glitches. The Tumblr version will remain as it currently is, and the new main site will be unveiled sometime in February (or sooner if the mood strikes me).

I am also helping to start a new blog called The Rams Report that will be based out of Los Angeles following in similar fashion to PatsProp, you guessed it, the new LA Rams. Right now we’re starting to look for writers, especially anyone LA-based, so if you or anyone you know are interested please email ramsreport16 at gmail.com.

And now we’re on to the Patriots 2016 season starting with free agency and the draft (Hoodie help us). Last year we savored a fourth Super Bowl but this year I’m already getting excited for the 2016 campaign. The injured guys will be back with the team almost completely intact. Brady’s still in his prime. The schedule is a beast. This should be one to remember.

It’s Time for a Patriots Power Running Resurgence via BetonSports.com

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The Patriots season might be over, but things are already in motion for next year’s campaign, and with limited roster turnover, the Pats’ Super Bowl Odds should be near the top of the pack for 2016. 

The question right now, as they plan for the offseason, is how do they stay fresh and avoid complacency?

After reading this interesting piece from WEEI.com, it’s worth pondering if it’s time for the Patriots’ offense to begin their next evolution. Look, Tom Brady is Tom Brady, and there’s no use suddenly trying to go to the run-and-shoot or the wishbone because he does what he does and he does it amazingly well, but as Brady will hit 39 this season, how can the Patriots protect and extend the playing career of their best all-time quarterback?

The Patriots offense has gone through many evolutions over Brady’s career. Early on he wore the “game manager” label, but slowly became more and more efficient and knowledgeable within the offense, earning the remark that his “favorite receiver was the open one”.

Deion Branch and David Givens were his early weapons and when they exited it opened the door for the free agency and trade haul of 2007 with Randy Moss, Wes Welker and Donte Stallworth. That offense would go on to set records and fall just short of a perfect season.

Then came the return of Branch in 2010, and combined with Welker, and young tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, it became the “death by a thousand cuts” offense which pushed offensive pace to a new level.

This iteration is largely what we still see today, as it maximizes Brady’s strengths – reading the defense, accurately throwing the ball short. When it’s clicking it’s unstoppable, but as we saw against the Broncos, and in other season-ending defeats to teams who can generate pass rush pressure with only four defenders, it can break down at times.

When that happens the offense can look flat and suicidal for Brady and his receivers.

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Now you might’ve noticed there’s one small thing I’ve left out of this discussion of the Patriots offense, and that is the running game. And I’m not talking about the passing down back role held by the likes of Kevin Faulk, Danny Woodhead, Shane Vereen and then the combination of Dion Lewis and James White this season. That’s a huge role in the offense and a vital one, but that’s not what we’re here to talk about. 

We, like the Patriots, have forgotten about the power running game.

Ironically, the great grandfather of the Patriots’ offensive system (The Erhardt-Perkins Offense) was originally predicated on smash mouth ball control and didn’t ask running backs to get involved in the passing game. Obviously that has been flipped on its head now. 

The kind of powerful running backs the Patriots could lean on have slowly disappeared from New England over the last 15 seasons. The first two Super Bowls were heavily reliant on Antowan Smith, the third was a ton of Corey Dillon. Even Laurence Maroney had his moments like 2007′s AFC Championship, but since Maroney’s quick rise and quicker fall, the power back role has almost been an after thought. 

Unless you want to talk about the Sammy Morris years. Which I don’t. 

LeGarrette Blount is the closest thing we’ve had to one of those old fashioned war horses and while he’s had some big games, mostly against the Colts, he often struggles to generate early momentum against tough fronts. Stevan Ridley showed some spark at times, but lacked the faith of the coaching staff to truly fill the power back role and be a consistent closer. 

At the end of this season the Patriots were left to pull Stevan Jackson off the retirement scrap heap, and while he gave them a touchdown in the AFC Championship, he was well past his prime of being an impact player.

All this leads us back to now being the time the Patriots must re-commit to the power running game. They essentially have carte blanche this offseason at the position with Blount a free agent and just unknown Tyler Gaffney sitting with Brandon Bolden on the depth chart. 

With limited pressing needs they should return to their roots with multiple impact additions, both in the draft and free agency.

The simple fact is that the Patriots at the end of the 2015 season could not run the ball even against light boxes with sub-package secondaries behind them. They were one-dimensional and forced to send Brady back to pass over and over. The result? The defense could attack him and Brady paid the price for it too many times.

The Patriots were lucky he escaped the season finale in Miami without a broken leg, much less so the AFC Championship where he was hit more than any other quarterback in a decade.

The cupboard cannot be left barren heading into training camp. The Patriots must add at least two explosive new running backs who can compete and insure each other against injury. Preferably ones with size and young, fresh legs.

The results would be fantastic. And they have the personnel to immediately help – Gronkowski, Edelman and LaFell are all excellent blockers, and guard Shaq Mason is one of the most athletic young pulling guards in the game. They have the pieces and could make teams who want to play them with their nickel or dime defense pay mightily.

Best of all it takes the pressure off of Brady and the constant punishment which he won’t be able to endure and walk away scratch-free from much longer.

The Pats always stay ahead of the curve. This time, staying ahead of the curve means going back to their original roots.