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

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.

— I gotta start with the defense who are deservedly getting praised for maybe their most all-around solid performance of the season. The rise of the Cover-0 has been unique this year and very fun to see. I still find myself wondering why it always takes so long for them to get creative. It’s always at least November before we see things like the walk around front (which we saw way back in 2009 when the defense was most struggling to get after the quarterback). The defense’s struggles on third down this season required they change things up a bit and these more aggressive tactics, a clear change from Patricia to Flores. I like it. A lot.

— The secondary is the key feature of the defense though and with their veteran experience that’s how it should be. They’re young up front but when they all are on the same page, they’re very effective. The front seven is a testament to a bunch of B’s playing together will beat a bunch of A’s playing by themselves. Not to say the Pats defense is all B’s but they’re mostly B’s if we’re being honest and that’s okay, it’s what makes football such a great sport.

— The continued takeaways are icing on the cake this year. They have multiple takeaways in eight games this season. Just once have they not gotten one. As we’re all well aware, turnovers are almost everything in the playoffs. Last year the Pats’ defense had eight games without a takeaway and just three total from December on. The rebound in ball-hawking ways has been a huge driver of success.

— Can Rex Burkhead please just give us two months of cannon fire football running? He is an absolute missile and it’s so blatantly obvious why he can’t stay healthy, he runs with reckless abandon. But he rounds out the backfield so nicely, taking the load off of Michel and letting White stay fresh to do his thing. If that trio can stay healthy for just two more months the offense will be in very good shape.

— The third down offense was good, 7-14, but had a notable 3rd-and-1 direct snap to White that was stopped short and opened the door for the Vikings’ only touchdown of the game.

— That defensive drive wasn’t great, with two 20-plussers kicking things off, a little glimpse of how things have looked on the road. All I care about now is seeing two consistent defensive road performances with the kind of solid team play that was on clear display against the Vikings, as it has been often at home.

— I don’t want to oversimplify it but right now I feel like the season only ends in KC or Atlanta.

— JC Jackson has kept Duke Dawson on the bench and that’s an interesting development. Seemed on the intial watch that Jackson is staying mostly outside while allowing Stephon Gilmore to travel a bit more. Jason McCourty is an every down player now and here we were wondering if him playing preseason safety meant he was on the bubble.

— It was hard not to get fired up over Elandon Roberts delivering a legal bonecrusher to open the game. That just set the tone and showed when he’s in time, Roberts can bring the lumber. His development has been a great exhibit why you have to stick with players through their ups and downs if you believe int them. I wonder how Roberts fits with Ja’Whaun Bentley back in the fold next year.

— I’m promising to swear off any thoughts or writings about the upcoming offseason but I think it’s going to be a super duper interesting one.

— Finally, how good did Tom Brady look? No different than any Brady of the last few seasons. Calm, cool, collected in the pocket and executing an increasing number of gadget plays. I hesitate to call them gadget plays because in today’s NFL you’ve got to be creative to stay effective and keep defenses on their toes. If you’ve got guys like Cordarelle Patterson and James White, and even JAMES DEVELIN, you’ve got to use them. But Brady looks every bit Brady and oh boy, maybe it’s not crazy to think about #six.

— Brady rushing for 1,000 yards is pretty much the perfect example of the silly records you’ll set simply through longevity. Not sure this one can be topped now. Maybe something like Most Super Bowl Interceptions that will be used by someone like Rob Parker as exhibit A.

You’re really going to have to try hard not to feel great about the 2018 Patriots right now. The keys to the fourth quarter? Two solid road performances. Stay healthy. If they do those things they’ll be in it at the end.