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An Independent Patriots Blog

Patriots Gameplan: Week 14 at Miami Dolphins

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Patriots Gameplan
Week 17 at Miami Dolphins

Miami and Denver are unquestionably the worst two places for the Bill Belichick-Tom Brady Patriots dynasty. They’ve seen three seasons ended in Denver, while Miami has been their most consistent division road struggle.

In 16 trips to Miami, the BB/TB Pats are 7-9. They had a nice run from 2010-2011 to briefly claim a winning record in South Beach. But since then the Pats managed just one win, a strong season-closing performance by the 2016 squad.

There’s no secret the Pats have been a home-road Jekyll and Hyde this season. The disparity has never felt bigger and now we’re at a critical time of the season. The proving ground.

What do the Pats have to do in Miami to get their second win in three years? Here’s the gameplan.

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Bend Don’t Break Update: ’18 Pats D Hits Top 5

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTKKjGeraFE

The cat is out of the bag on the 2018 Patriots defense, they’re actually pretty good. Their defining trait not a dominating front seven like the 2001-2007 defenses, but a shutdown secondary and a coordinated front that all work together.

At his core, Bill Belichick is a conservative defensive coach. He wants a defense that tackles well and doesn’t get beat deep. He’ll be aggressive in key spots and disguise plenty but generally, it’s a four-man rush with seven in coverage. When that four-man rush contains and constricts the quarterback they’re extremely effective. When they’re six-man rush stunts do the same they’re dominant.

On the road, they’ve been guilty of being out of sync. In each of the first three months, they had a defensive stinker on the road. Even the win over Kansas City wasn’t great. They were probably a little lucky to escape Chicago with a win.

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Film Review: Deep Dive on Gronk, Brady, Edelman vs Vikings

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I was a little surprised to find this week that Rob Gronkowski, Tom Brady and Julian Edelman were catching a bunch of criticism after Sunday’s win over the Vikings. Admittedly I’m a bit more of a defense guy. When the offense is on the field, it’s my time to relax and not get overly caught up in minutiae, at least on the initial live watch.

So when I saw Gronk’s game being labeled as one of the worst of his career I was scratching my head a bit. I remember him getting stopped short on third down which seemed weird and I remember the penalties, of which I wasn’t wasn’t entirely sure how good or bad they were. Edelman and Brady both had some similar moments but nothing that gave me much initial concern. The results overall were good and if anything, I felt like this looked like the Patriots offense we know and love — the scalpel — and this was the first time in a while it felt like they were playing to their strengths.

Maybe part of that was getting Rex Burkhead back and having three running backs for the first time all season. Or maybe it was just everything gelling like it usually does around this time of year.

This made an offensive film dive critical. Yesterday I banged through the defense’s film, which I loved, and today, I jumped into the other side of the ball.

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10 New England Patriots Gift Picks 2018

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After all these years of blogging, the one thing I do get is plenty of books and new Patriots materials sent my way. I know it can be hard to sift through everything Patriots that is out there so here are some of my favorite picks for that special someone or your own wish list.

Of course, you can always help on the blog by simply clicking through my Amazon link here before you make a purchase or pick something up at the Prop Shop. Thanks, and you can’t go wrong with any of the books or videos below.

This was an exciting look behind the scenes at the Patriots machine from Mike Lombardi. Great stuff that shows what a typical week is like under Belichick. I did a full review here.

An all-time favorite, this is a must-read for anyone who wants to learn what makes Bill Belichick tick from a wonderful writer.

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Film Review: Pats Defense All In Sync vs. Vikings

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The Patriots defense didn’t quite turn in the near-perfect performance that I saw against Miami earlier in the year, but they were pretty close against the Vikings. Despite their road inconsistencies, no one can argue this isn’t a top-10 defense at home.

The addition of some murkiness to the third-and-longs was fun to see, as was some aggressive strategy (Cover 0 blitz!?), but those twists aren’t really what defines why these Patriots are good. They’re good because they’re once again fundamentally sound and all playing in sync. A defense that doesn’t give up big plays and doesn’t beat itself is hard to score more than 20 points. On this day they held Minnesota to just 10.

Now that we’re into December it’s not too much to expect the Pats to put their days of playing down to the competition on the road behind them. That starts with the defense, who showed perfect symmetry between coverage and pass rush to negate a talented Viking offense.

Here’s a bunch of rapid-fire thoughts on what I saw on the All-22.

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Pats Posits: All Aboard the Latest and Greatest Pats Hype Train!

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Here we are once again in early December and the Patriots look like they’re firing on all cylinders.

The Pats played an excellent game of team defense and moved the ball seemingly at will for most of the game, and with the Steelers losing, they now have an inside track on the 2nd seed at least. Homefield is everything at this point. Never has there been a more home manic-road depressive Patriots team than 2018’s.

With four games to go and trips to Miami and Pittsburgh next up, the Patriots will get what they deserve in the playoffs. If they overcome their road woes in two tough places to play then hold serve at home against the Bills and Jets, they’ll prove legitimate Super Bowl contenders and might not have to travel from Foxboro.

Kansas City faces a tough schedule — Ravens, Chargers, at Seahawks and Raiders. Whoever slips will have to hit the road. The race to the finish line will be close.

For now, we enjoy a beautiful victory over the Vikings.

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Patriots Gameplan: Week 13 vs. Minnesota Vikings

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The Patriots return home for a brief road hiatus, taking on the 6-4-1 Vikings and unfamiliar opponent with plenty of quality pieces to challenge the thus-far inconsistent Pats. This next three-game set will essentially determine the Patriots road in the playoffs. A win at home this weekend, followed by road wins in Miami and Pittsburgh should solidify their position with a vital playoff bye. That would leave the only question as to whether they can make up one game on KC and get the top overall seed.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. This Vikings team will give the Pats everything they can handle. The stellar receiving duo of Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen leads the way. Latavius Murray and Dalvin Cook are a nice one-two combo at running back, while Kirk Cousins won’t be afraid to come in and throw it around Gillette Stadium. But the biggest problem for the Pats though could come in the form of tight end Kyle Rudolph.

The veteran Patriot secondary doesn’t usually lay stink bombs at home, but if they do, it will likely be apparent by Rudolph being their biggest and most consistent problem.

Defensively the Vikings also have the pieces to take the Patriots offense head on. They’re 6th overall in DVOA, including 4th against the run and 8th against the pass.  They’re 10th in yards, 3rd in points. Basically, this is a top-10 defense and while the Patriots always have an advantage at home, no one should be expecting a walk in the park on either side of the ball.

Let’s dive into the gameplan.

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