Search Results for: patrick chung

Patriots-49ers Film Review: Defense Edition

November 22, 2016 by Mike Dussault

Let’s dive into the All-22 to take a look at the Patriots defensive performance against the 49ers on Sunday.

— The Patriots started the game with a three-and-out, sending Patrick Chung on a blitz both on second and third down, with him picking up the punt-forcing sack on the third down. Little bit of extra aggression (sent five) early on was nice to see.

— On the second series, the 49ers picked up a first down on third-and-nine that sparked a scoring drive. Old friend Chris Harper, he of 2015’s Harper’s Muff, lost Malcolm Butler out of a bunch set and went for 19 yards. Appeared to be some kind of miscommunication by the trio of cornerbacks, or it might’ve been on Hightower who vacated the flat to cover the tight end even though McCourty already had him.

— Seemed like a conscious effort to attack the defensive left side of the offensive line, with the three down lineman (Flowers-Branch-Brown) shaded to that side. All three were effective in holding their ground against the run here on the second drive.

— 3rd-and-8, 49ers get 26 with a pass to RB Draughn with Hightower in coverage. Problem was again out of a bunch set where Hightower applied a jam but it occupied him long enough for Draughn get get wide open downfield.

— One interesting development this season has been the extensive use of Devin McCourty in the box. Puts another spin on re-signing Duron Harmon this offseason. If Harmon walks, McCourty won’t have as much flexibility.

— Pats made a goal-line stand to force the field goal (Bend-Don’t-Break yo), and Vincent Valentine’s first down run stuff was a big reason why.

Patriots Gameplan: Week 11 at San Francisco 49ers

November 18, 2016 by Mike Dussault

Brady returns home.

The Patriots take a much-needed trip to the west coast this weekend to face the 1-8 San Francisco 49ers, and your faithful Minister of PatsPropaganda will be there to cheer them on.

In many ways I think this is just what the team needs, and not just because they’ll get a full dose of Duss cheering. They’re coming off a disappointing loss to a great team, but coming off a bye week where everyone went their separate ways they looked like a team that could use a little time to bond. They’ll leave on Friday and get some extra time together, which will hopefully translate in a similar way to their 2014 trip to San Diego when they traveled straight from a loss to Green Bay.

The 49ers, despite their record, should give the Patriots plenty of problems. Well, with the way the defense has been playing just about any team would give them problems. Still, the Patriots defense is far better than they looked against the Seahawks, and here’s hoping a road trip will help them hit the reset button and start playing like they should. All the media attention that’s been focused on them should certainly help with motivation.

Offensively, the Pats will be more than fine. They likely won’t have Rob Gronkowski, but they’ve never been more prepared to handle a week without Gronk than they are now with Martellus Bennett. Throw in a potential debut of Dion Lewis and there’s plenty of reasons to be excited beyond Tom Brady and Julian Edelman’s first game in their hometown.

What the Pats need to do to get back on track with a win over the 49ers in the gameplan!

Patriots-Seahawks Film Review: Defenseless Edition

November 15, 2016 by Mike Dussault

After yesterday’s piece I’m not looking to pile on the Patriots defense today in the film review. They’re getting killed throughout the Pats punditry this week and rightly so, but still, there’s a ways to go and there are plenty of talented players who should start playing better. And it’s not like it’s a murderer’s row in the AFC. I still like the Patriots chances against just about anyone. Then it’d be on to the Super Bowl and I’m sure that one would go down to the final play like it always does.

So for all the alarm about the Patriots defense, let’s just remember they’re well-coached, always play their best football in the winter and, oh yeah, still have the best quarterback and best offense in the league. They’ll make a strong run as long as their injury luck continues.

Let’s dive in and take a closer look at some things that stand out, without just trying to take another unnecessary massive shit all over the Patriots defense.

Patriots Gameplan: Week 10 vs. Seattle Seahawks

November 11, 2016 by Mike Dussault

After a bye week and an exhausting election, I think we’re all ready for Patriots football to be back and it would be hard to ask for a better game than a rematch of Super Bowl 49 against the Seattle Seahawks.

Let’s face it, the competition in the NFL stinks this year. Many teams have regressed and only a couple have risen to new heights. But the Patriots and Seahawks are two well-coached teams that play a physical brand of football. It should be a fantastic game and one of the last/only true tests for this New England team.

Here’s my gameplan, with some help from Bill Belichick’s Super Bowl 49 gameplan.

Best/Worst in Weekly Patriots Links-10/29

October 29, 2016 by Nikolas Davos

After blowing a great opportunity to take care of business in Miami and firmly entrench themselves in the AFC Wildcard conversation, Rex and company have been awfully quiet this week. No pranks, no bold proclamations, no guarantees, no nothing. That is, at least up until the point that I’m writing this. Unfortunately, there are no low hanging fruit courtesy of Buffalo’s head coach for me to address this week. That being said, there’s plenty to fire up so let’s get right into it.

Chris Price (WEEI) gets us kicked off with two columns. One, as always, is his “5 Things to Know” which gives us a spark note look at the Bills and an excellent breakdown of their strengths and weaknesses. Price points out how impressive Buffalo’s running game has been, but notes they may be without the catalyst for that success on Sunday:

“The key to everything? McCoy, who is as dynamic a back as you’ll find. His health will certainly bear watching over the course of the week. There was plenty of debate surrounding the wisdom of having him try to play against the Dolphins. If Rex Ryan blew him out against Miami and isn’t available for this week’s showdown with the Patriots, the folks in upstate New York won’t be happy.”

Pats Posits: You Can’t Complain About a Win in Pittsburgh

October 23, 2016 by Mike Dussault

A win over the Pittsburgh Steelers is a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. It wasn’t pretty at times, but it was an effective win on the road. The Patriots were sloppy, but it didn’t matter. The return of the “Bend-Don’t-Break” defense made sure the lead held up and now the Pats are 6-1, and hold a significant tie breaker in the race for homefield advantage.

Ultimately what matters most is that a) no one left the game with a significant injury, b) you can slow Brady-Gronk down, but it cannot be stopped for 60 minutes, and c) the Patriots now have a two-game lead over the Bills in the AFC East. The defense has, in the words of Mike Lombardi, “issues” but here in late October the Pats are positioned well atop the AFC and have time to iron those issues out.

But yup, the Patriots are running away with this thing early.

New England Patriots Gameplan: Week 6 vs. Cincinnati Bengals

October 14, 2016 by Mike Dussault

Once again, we’re on to Cincinnati! And yours truly is especially excited because it’s time for my annual pilgrimage home for a Pats game. I saw plenty of games as a kid when the Patriots stunk in the 80’s and 90’s, but in the summer of 2006 I still hadn’t seen a live Brady/Belichick and decided it was time that changed.

2006 AFCDG vs. SD Pregame

Since then I’ve been to 13 Patriots games, and the Pats are 10-3 overall. The only losses — ’08 at SD, ’11 vs NYG and ’12 at SEA. The best wins — ’06 AFCDG at SD and ’14 vs. DEN. Hopefully this game gets us to 11 wins! But really, the result of the game is always secondary to the good times with family and friends, and the excitement leading up to the game itself.

And if you’d like to join us, we’ve got a bus running out of Quincy Center to the game and will have a bunch of stuff to giveaway as well. So yes, it will be a wonderful day and we’ll have social media updates flying all over the place.

It seemed like the Pats and Bengals were on a collision course last season, but then Andy Dalton got hurt and Cinci later imploded against the Steelers in the playoffs and it never happened. Now, the 2-3 Bengals aren’t off to the same hot start they had last year, and let’s face it, usually the Pats have their way with Marvin Lewis‘ team, save that one rainy performance in 2013 on the road.

So maybe there’s a little less hype surrounding this one than we might’ve thought, but still, the Bengals have plenty of talent on both sides of the ball and this will be a good challenge for a Patriots team that is starting to round into form after the return of Tom Brady.

Here’s the gameplan to get a win and make my annual trip a success.