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Pats Get Help and Hold On vs. Bucs

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The Patriots-Buccaneers Thursday Night Football clash came down to the final play with the much-maligned Patriots defense getting the stop to preserve a 19-14 victory.

The Pats move to 3-2 with an extended break to re-evaluate how things have gone to start the season. It was a needed win and hopefully one to build off of. The defense was far better, forcing six punts but showed a lack of discipline often and still struggled to stop big plays. They were also helped by three missed field goals by Nick Folk that could’ve changed the game.

The offense moved the ball frequently, but went quiet at the end, punting twice  and amassing just 42 yards in three fourth-quarter possessions. A recovered onside kick helped set up a long field goal when the Pats got just seven yards when a first down would’ve sealed it.

Tom Brady threw for 300 yards but had two turnovers  that luckily cost the team zero points. Brandin Cooks and Mike Gillislee continue to emerge, while Danny Amendola (eight catches) came through on third down. The offense is headed in the right direction if they can get their offensive line together for 60 minutes.

Yes, there’s still much to work on, especially the crazy number of hits that Brady is taking. But a win is a win and a long break is a long break. This game was a positive step forward for this team despite some definite problems and recurring flaws.

Here’s how it went down.

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Patriots’ Warm Butter Defense Can’t Stop Panthers

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The only feel-good moment from an otherwise maddening loss.

The Patriots fell to 2-2 on the season Sunday, losing to the Carolina Panthers 33-30 on a last-second field goal. The Panthers scored on six of their nine possessions, with a fumble, an interception and a punt the only time the Patriots defense got off the field without surrendering points.

Despite Tom Brady’s best efforts, leading the Pats back to tie the game from 14 points down late in the fourth quarter, the defense was unable to get a final stop, taking two penalties on the final drive that helped set up the wining field goal.

There’s little time to sulk, with a quick turnaround to a Thursday night game in Tampa Bay. Perhaps that’s for the best. But it’s unmistakable that this Patriots team has serious issues on both sides of the ball and they must get them fixed quickly.

Here’s how the grossness went down…

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Scouting Report: Carolina Panthers

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The Carolina Panthers are coming off a disappointing loss to their divisional rival New Orleans Saints, dropping to 2-1 on the season after opening wins in San Franciso and against Buffalo. The Patriots and Panthers are mirror images of each other, with the Pats defense and Panthers offense ranking near the bottom of the league while the Pats offense and Panthers defense both rank near the top of the league.

After losing Greg Olsen to a broken foot and then having Kelvin Benjamin injuring his knee, the Panthers’ offense is extremely shorthanded. They’ll lean heavily on rookie Christian McCaffrey, a shifty and dynamic weapon who can do it all. On defense, Luke Kuechly is once again the man in the middle, with some talented pieces in front of him, but a secondary that was picked on by Drew Brees last week.

The Patriots started to find their stride last weekend against the Texans, but their performance was far from consistent, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Cam Newton and McCaffrey embody a lot of what has given the Patriots problems and despite their poor start to the season, should be a good test.

Here are five quick hits on the Panthers.

  1. McCaffrey Makes It Go: McCaffrey is the Panthers most targeted receiver with 23, grabbing 18 receptions while also carrying the ball 25 times through the first three games. He’s the proverbial straw stirring the drink, and without Benjamin he should be a big point of focus this week. How the Pats deal with him — Patrick Chung might be a good bet with limited threats at the tight end spot now as well.
  2. Keep Newton Contained: This will be another one of those games where it’s imperative not to over rush the quarterback and allow him to squeak out and pick up yards. The Patriots defense struggled to finish plays against Deshaun Watson last week, they must close in on Newton and finish him off.
  3. Find the Short Game: The Patriots have gone vertical on offense this year and the offense has stagnated at times like the three-straight punts they had in both the first and second halves last week. Part of this is needing to find the short passing game, especially with the running backs. The Panthers have similar pieces to the Texans and the Pats’ goal should be to find some consistency because you can expect the Panthers to force Brady to take underneath stuff.
  4. Protection Progression: While the offensive line came through in the clutch last week, they sure had their struggles against JJ Watt, JaDaveon Clowney and the rest of the Texan front. That’s not an uncommon problem, but the Panthers cause similar problems and the offensive line must be ready to play more consistently. We’re four games in now, the excuses for rust and miscommunication are running out.
  5. Defense Same Page: The Panthers don’t have a ton of healthy threats, but that’s no reason for the Pats defense to relax. What must be stressed is communication and making sure everyone is playing within themselves and doing their job. There are a number of new pieces on the Patriot defense playing significant roles, but like the offensive line, the excuses are running out. It’s time to all get on then same page and play the Patriot defense like it’s meant to be played — BEND DON’T BREAK.

Film Review: Patriots vs. Saints Defense Edition

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This morning I took a look at the overall defensive performance via the coaches film for the Patriots defense vs. the Saints after yesterday breaking down two specific plays that really allowed the offense to pull away at the end of the first half.

Overall I think this was a vastly improved performance by the Patriots defense. They mixed and matched coverages as well how many rushers they sent after the quarterback and the gameplan was pretty effective. If you can hold Drew Brees to 13 points through three quarters, you’re doing something right.

There were a few big plays again, but as I said in the gameplan, this isn’t the week to panic about those. Yes, the opener against the Chiefs was bad, but big plays via Drew Brees is something you just kind of have to live with. The biggest difference? Not giving up long scores. The big plays hurt, but they weren’t fatal. That’s the bend don’t break.

Here’s a bunch of rapid fire thoughts on the film review…

(photo via NFL Gamepass)

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Scouting Report: Saints

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Wednesday’s time to turn the page to the Saints, who lost to the Vikings 29-19 on Sunday.

The headlines; Brandin Cooks returns to New Orleans, Belichick and Brady return to the site of the memorable 2009 blow out that was featured prominently in Belichick’s A Football Life and, oh yeah, the 0-1 Pats really need a win, never an easy task when facing Drew Brees.

Their last meeting in 2013 in Foxboro Brady threw a last-second game-winning touchdown toss to Kenbrell Thompkins.

On paper this one looks like it could be a shootout, so hold on folks, let’s take a quick look at the Saints!

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Patriots Gameplan: Week 1 vs. Kansas City Chiefs

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And just like that another season is upon us! On Thursday night the Patriots will raise their fifth banner (and I’ll be there to see it) as the incredible run continues. I think we’re long past the “just happy to be here” phase and firmly in the “squeeze every last record out of TB and BB before it’s over” mode. It’s amazing how fast it’s all going by yet seems impossibly long ago when the duo won their first together.

Now we’re off on the 2017 season, which will have its own set of challenges, and the first opponent is one who has always scared me a bit. I know that might sound silly — being afraid of Alex Smith!? But in a conference where there really aren’t many contenders to the Pats’ dominance, the Kansas City Chiefs are just the kind of team who can steal a game from New England.

In an oft-fluky first game of the season, the low mistake Chiefs have the playing style and pieces to make this a close game. Let’s face it, no matter who the opponent, the Patriots’ September clashes always seem to be more interesting than expected. And that’s even when they’re playing shitty AFC East teams! Imagine what could happen when they’re playing a well-coached, well-prepared team that play clean football.

It should be a good, competitive game. Yes, the fifth banner will be revealed, but also to be revealed is the Patriots true plans for a dynamic new offense that is dripping with speed, even without Julian Edelman.

Here’s the gameplan for knocking off the Chiefs on opening night.

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A Preview of the Real 2017 Patriots

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After an entire offseason spent analyzing who the 2017 Patriots would be, we now have just a short window between actually finding out who made it through training camp and the official start of the campaign. This is why injuries are such a huge part of the game. No one could’ve predicted the early defining characteristic of the 2017 Patriots would be replacing an injured Julian Edelman but here we are.

So it’s a good time to take a quick breath and analyze this edition of the Patriots before the proverbial train leaves the station. You’ve read plenty of season previews by this point, but it’s really only the one that happens right now that truly matters.

Now we know who we’re taking to battle and what the strengths and weaknesses could potentially be. As always it’s important to remember that September really is just an extension of the preseason. The schemes, especially on defense, really start out slowly. Random guys will still get long looks in significant roles. The team will probably have a flat game where an inferior team on paper plays them tough. They’ll fight through it and ignore any noise.

This is September. Don’t overreact. Let things play out and let the coaching staff figure out exactly what they have and how to best use everyone. Then it’s pedal to the metal.

Let’s dive in.

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