An Independent Patriots Blog
Linebacker Jerod Mayo has had surgery on a torn pectoral muscle and is out at least eight weeks, a source tells WEEI.com. If his rehab goes well, then Mayo is likely to return to working out in six weeks. If there’s a chance the captain of the Patriots defense could return for late in the season and the playoffs, the team is likely to hold off placing him on injured reserve.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/linebacker-jerod-mayo-has-had-surgery-on-a-torn/
Not that I recall, it’s gotten to the ridiculous point where you kind of give up judging the defense because this is not the defense they had planned on at any level.
So what does the (potential) loss of Mayo mean? The biggest question to me is whether they move Hightower to Will and bring Collins in at Sam in base? Or do they leave Hightower at Sam and put Fletcher at Will?
Ultimately then they must decide who the top coverage linebacker becomes? Hightower, Collins or Fletcher?
There’s no question Dane Fletcher has always moved and tackled well. He saw time at OLB as a rookie but became more of an MLB in 2011, and being used as a spy on good receiving backs like Ray Rice.
Collins has been brought along slowly and still appears a little green. At least from an experience standpoint, I think Fletcher is probably ahead of him at this time in base.
Also think Steve Beauharnais, a rookie out of Rutgers, could see some snaps. Like the rest of the Rutgers rookies, he looked like a solid football player in preseason.
There’s no easy answer because Hightower is effectively the next guy up, but likely a step behind Fletcher in coverage. So it will probably have to be a gameplan thing, and at least for the Jets game I think you’ll see Hightower get the most prominent uptick in snaps.
Collins should also see some more time in subpackages, but it will be interesting to see how they manage all the young linebackers and put together a plan of attack.
Tom Brady now has 40 wins where the winning points were scored in the fourth quarter or overtime. This was the seventh time he led a game-winning touchdown drive in the final three minutes. It’s the latest he had ever thrown a game-winning touchdown pass (five seconds left) and out of the 40 games, it may be the most improbable win yet.
FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | Clutch Encounters: Week 6
There’s be a lot of different stats thrown around this week as to which number of comebacks Brady has made in his career. I’m going with Captain Comeback’s numbers here…
https://www.patspropaganda.com/tom-brady-now-has-40-wins-where-the-winning-points/
New England Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo could miss the rest of the season after having surgery Tuesday to repair a torn pectoral muscle, Yahoo Sports has learned. The injury, confirmed by two sources, is a blow to the Patriots, who pulled out a last-second victory over New Orleans on Sunday but may have lost four key players for significant time.
This season just keeps getting better by the week… Where my Dane Fletcher fans at?
Patriots LB Jerod Mayo could miss season with pectoral injury – Yahoo Sports
https://www.patspropaganda.com/new-england-patriots-linebacker-jerod-mayo-could/
“I was so proud of that man,” Dobson said of Thompkins, who had three catches for 45 yards and a touchdown in the win. “Just for him to come through like that. That last drive was crazy. It was real exciting. For it to end like that, and for him to have that catch, it was just a great feeling.” Even though they allowed themselves to enjoy the unlikely win over the Saints, both of them acknowledged Monday afternoon they know exactly where they will be come Tuesday. “It’s an ongoing process – [we’re] just trying to get better every day,” Thompkins said. “We got the Jets this week, so we’re just going out there trying to go out there and have another good week of practice and execute the plays that have been called for us.”
But it was the defense, holding Brees and Co. to a total of 1 net yard on six snaps with a chance to put the game away that deserves a big chunk of the credit. Five runs, one pass and it totaled just a single net yard. That’s impressive work with or without all the injuries the unit was dealing with and it’s what the Patriots needed to get the ball back to Brady to give the Future Hall of Famer another chance to add to his legend.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/but-it-was-the-defense-holding-brees-and-co-to-a/
Before we went on to the field, you could see Tommy was focused. He had that ‘in the zone’ type of look. He basically said, ‘Let’s go out, we do this every Thursday, we’ll be all right.’ Everyone was kind of focused on the task at hand. We play out the situations a bunch during the week. Coach Bill [Belichick] makes it pretty tough on us [in practice].
https://www.patspropaganda.com/before-we-went-on-to-the-field-you-could-see/
Bill Belichick was effusive about cornerback Aqib Talib this week. “He’s a good football player, good teammate [and] he’s very well-respected because of his professionalism,” Belichick said. “He studies hard and prepares well. He’s tough. He competes well, both in practice and on Sundays. Smart kid. I like him; the team likes him.” That quote […]