Pats Posits: Pats Steal Another One in the Desert

Oh ye of little faith. Never doubt the Patriots under Bill Belichick in a football game.

For all the turnover and injury attrition, the Patriots still very much looked like the Patriots Sunday night, getting a game-ending missed field goal from Arizona kicker Chandler Catanzaro to prevail over the Cardinals, 23-21.

The defense held on for dear life as Carson Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald started to put on a clinic, but made the last critical play (a drawn hold by Chris Long) and preserved the lead that Jimmy Garoppolo got back.

The offense had to put together a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter. Jimmy Garoppolo, despite one fumble lost, looked every bit a competent professional quarterback. He threw for a touchdown and 264 yards.

He was sacked just twice behind a makeshift offensive line that featured two backup tackles and two rookie guards.

The Pats are 1-0 while the rest of the division is 0-1. Things are looking rosey in Patriots Nation once again as we begin our voyage toward Super Bowl 51. The Bill Belichick magic is very much alive and well.

Here are the Posits on the 1-0 2016 Pats…

First, gotta start with the Ninkovich Extension news. I believe this is the sixth contract Nink has gotten from the Patriots, a pretty remarkable number. It’s also a nice FU to the NFL because it lessens the financial blow the suspension had on Ninkovich, and gives the Patriots more stability at defensive end for next season. Jabaal Sheard is the other defensive end to watch next. Congrats to Nink. He’s long been a blog favorite.

Now, on to the victory!

— There were no surprises in this one. The Cardinals got 14 of their 21 points off turnovers. The other was set up by a long run from David Johnson. Those were two of the Five Points of Emphasis this week and those plays almost cost them the game. Those things can be cleaned up. But to lose the turnover battle on the road and still win is quite a feat.

— Garoppolo’s offense converted 10-of-16 third downs, 62.5 percent. That included a long run on third-and-11 by LeGarrette Blount. With the game on the line, Garoppolo delivered. The 13 play, 61-yard drive after the Cardinals took the lead in the fourth quarter was big boy QBing. A 32-yard pass to Amendola on third-and-15!! I’m sure won’t be a smooth ride over the next three games, but he’s going to be a valuable asset next offseason.

— Credit to James White. I’ve always seen him as a pretty-good one-trick pony but White started coming through in the clutch, picking up three third down conversions, including one rushing, which was unheard of last year. This is a nice development and I’m now on board with The White Boyz.

Patriots final WR snap count: Julian Edelman 61, Chris Hogan 56, Malcolm Mitchell 39, Danny Amendola 20, Matt Slater 4. Out of 71

— Nathan Jahnke (@PFF_NateJahnke) September 12, 2016

— Loved Malcolm Mitchell getting thrown right into the fire with 39 snaps. He only had two catches but one was on third down in the second half. I love seeing them get him reps early. That confidence boost will help him when Brady gets back, but this also spoke to the bigger point of…

— Just about everyone was getting involved on both sides of the ball. Jordan Richards saw some defensive snaps. All the cornerbacks worked around. The defensive fronts were rotated liberally. This is very much early season football, except for the offensive line where Shaq Mason got a couple early drives for Ted Karras, but Karras came back and finished.

— Impressive job by the offensive line who allowed just two sacks. It wasn’t perfect, with two holding calls and not much doing on the ground (22 carries, 70 yards from Blount). But that is a very good front and they got the job done when everyone thought they were a collection of turnstiles. The job only gets harder next week vs. Miami.

— The running game is what it is. I wish there was another option, but if both Blount and White stay healthy this is manageable until Lewis gets back. I think they need a healthy Lewis to make a legitimate Super Bowl run.

— Julian Edelman, like he never left. What a bull dog that guy is. I really hope he can stay healthy. He is flying around and taking far more contact than I’d like. Seven catches on seven targets. And we were wondering if these two were on the same page.

#Patriots offensive groupings:

3 WR, 1 TE, 1 RB: 41
2 WR, 2 TE, 1 RB: 9
1 WR, 2 TE, 2 RB: 9
2 WR, 1 TE, 2 RB: 6
3 WR, 0 TE, 2 RB: 1

— Evan Lazar (@ezlazar) September 12, 2016

— Not to get all Felger on ya, but I was expecting a little more out of the defense. I know. That’s pretty much how the Patriots defense has always looked —  a little loose, need to make the last play to win. I just wanted more pass rush out of Sheard, Long, Flowers, Johnson, Collins and Hightower. Outside of Long, they weren’t great in the second half.

— Once Palmer got comfortable in the pocket, he was playing pitch and catch. Pressure has to be better and it will come. This is the first time they’ve really hit since January.

— In the first half, the D forced four punts and the only touchdown was off a fumble that left Arizona with a short field. In the second half: one punt, two touchdowns drives (33 yards & 79 yards) and the missed field goal drive (11 plays, 63 yards). The defense also didn’t get a turnover, unless you’re counting the missed field goal because we should.

— On third down they allowed first downs on six-of-12. That’s where the difference between is.

— The veteran secondary is a group that is very much in sync. They don’t blow coverages and they all tackle well. When the front seven gets in similar sync we might really have something.

— Injuries notes: Hightower came off with an ankle, but returned. Not sure if we was as effective after the injury. Something to monitor. Jonathan Freeny left and I don’t believe returned. Important ones to monitor.

— Chris Long had a sack and a big drawn hold call that backed the Cardinals out of field goal range. He’s got a lot left in the tank and he looks like a free agency steal. Now I’m starting to pray he loves playing on a good team in NE so much he makes a team-friendly deal for another year or two.

— Martellus Bennett seemed quietly efficient. The costly holding penalty on him was bullshit. He had some other nice blocks including one on James White‘s third-down-converting carry. I look forward to seeing how he’s used when Gronk is back in the mix.

— Larry Fitzgerald, what can you say? The guy is an unaging legend just like Tom Brady. I am most curious to see what happened on the last drive and how he was able to get open so many times. That could be this week’s film breakdown piece. He almost killed us. Almost.

#Patriots Defense Groupings:

3 DL, 3 LB, 5 DB: 18
4 DL, 2 LB, 5 DB: 17
3-2-6: 9
2-2-7: 5
4-3-4: 5

— Evan Lazar (@ezlazar) September 12, 2016

On to Miami. You have to wonder if it’s worth holding Gronk and Solder out again. Now it feels like we’ve got house money one week in. But things can quickly change, and nothing would change it faster than the first regular season home divisional loss since 2008’s Wildcat game.

It’s after wins like this that you truly have to appreciate the Bill Belichick era. We haven’t had a non-Brady moment like this in a while and it does put Belichick’s ability to build and coach a team in the spotlight.

It was patchwork in places, but the whole thing came together right out of the gate in good enough shape to beat the Cardinals on the road. So impressive.

We’re off on 2016. Looks like it will be another crazy ride.

Victory Monday tomorrow which means 20 percent off your order at The Prop Shop! Just enter the code VICTORY MONDAY at checkout.