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Pats Posits: 4-1 and It’s Real Fun

October 9, 2016 by Mike Dussault

Tom Brady is back like he never left. Brady tore up the Browns for his 8th career 400-yard game, with three touchdowns to Martellus Bennett, en route to the Pats 33-13 win over the Browns in Cleveland.

All in the Patriots Universe is right.

Now, with Deflategate firmly in the rearview mirror (I pray…) the Patriots are ready to move on in pursuit of their fifth Super Bowl. Their offense looks primed to take them there. Their defense shut down Cleveland’s ground game and gave up just two scoring drives.

All three phases have things to clean up, but make no mistake, the 2016 Patriots are on track now and the season is very much underway.

Here da’ Posits…

Breaking Down the Patriots Four-Drive Defensive Breakdown

September 19, 2016 by Mike Dussault

Quick turnaround this week so I’m jumping right in on the film review (before the A22 is released) to take a closer look at the last four Dolphins’ drives of the game. Miami scored three-straight touchdowns on 70-plus yard drives that ranged from five plays to nine plays, turning what should’ve been a blowout into a game that went down to the final play.

The Dolphins moved the ball with frightening ease, but it’s important to remember this is how the Patriots defense started off the game:

Punt
Punt
Punt
Punt
Fumble
Interception
Field Goal

The Patriots defense is far better than what they showed on the final four drives before the game-sealing interception.

Let’s take a closer look at what was going on:

Patriots vs. Cardinals Film Review: Defense Edition

September 13, 2016 by Mike Dussault

It’s always exciting when the Patriots unveil their fully operational defense in the first game of the season, but there wasn’t much surprise this year. The Pats continued to stick to their Cover-1 Man coverage that they’ve played extensively the last two seasons. There were occasional zone coverages and blitzes mixed in, but otherwise it was about lining up and forcing their receivers to beat our cornerbacks.

The real fun of the defense is in the front seven, where you have a collection of athletic pieces who can all rush the passer or drop into pass coverage on any given down. They’ll show a front like the one below, and then let the offense figure out who’s going where. On this particular play, Flowers, Collins and Hightower all drop, leaving a three man rush. Chris Long got the one-on-one and not only got the sack but drew a facemask.

Cardinals Wk 1 Defensive Front

So there you have it. Five guys on the LOS and the offense has to figure out how to block who’s coming after the snap. This is where the magic of this Patriots defense lies and when Rob Ninkovich returns and if Barkevious Mingo finds a defensive role, they’ll have another two pieces to play with like this.

The other fun things they can do are fake a coverage drop, then come on a delayed blitz, or just the opposite, start to come, then stop and drop. This allows the defense to stick to their conservative roots of mostly four- and three-man rushes, but makes the front so fluid it creates more opportunities for free rushers.

Here are some more observations about the defense after reviewing the All-22 film…

Coffin Corner: (TB) 12 Reasons I love this Sunday.

September 8, 2016 by James Conway

Chapter 1 (of 22): “The Suspension Begins”

1. The NFL loves “The’s”. We’re relentlessly reminded of The Catch, The Comeback, The Fumble, The Drive, The Commissioner and now, they have added another “The” to their pantheon of the absurd and miraculous: The Suspension. (That link courtesy of the great, Fitzy).

It’s been hanging over our heads like the ‘light’ that popped up on the dashboard a month ago, only if the future of humanity was at stake not a new transmission. As the tacky, trolling ESPN clock counts down to the moment when TB12 races out of the tunnel with two baby lambs in his hands and revs the engine of the New England Patriots suped-up offense. So let’s pull into the service station, get rid of the “glowing wrench” and move on to football.

Speaking of wrenches, when Brady’s story is told, starring Matt Damon, they can just insert this footage to tell the story of his suspension negotiations:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sCWkBPML4E

‘He put three punishments on the table: the 4-game suspension, a game, or a public confession.’

As George Herbert brilliantly said: “The best revenge is living well.” So let’s live well. Also let’s take some Goddamn revenge! Here’s how we start:

Patriots Trade for CB Eric Rowe

September 6, 2016 by Mike Dussault

Of course the Patriots weren’t done wheeling and dealing after Labor Day weekend, finalizing a deal today that sent Josh Kline and a 4th-round draft pick to the Eagles for cornerback Eric Rowe.

Rowe was the 47th overall pick in 2015 and is a bigger defensive back at 6’1″, 215 pounds. He played free safety his first three years at Utah before moving the cornerback as a senior. Here’s some of the scouting report from NFL.com on Rowe:

Tall cornerback with long frame. Has the ability to disrupt wide receivers off the line of scrimmage and can mirror them out of their release. Jams and disrupts shallow crossers. Will throw his body around in run support if needed. Solid tackler. Attacks ball at catch point and makes it hard for receiver to finish the catch. Was a three-year starter at free safety before moving to cornerback this year. Can break hard on throws in front of him. Instinctive in zone with ball skills to match.

Rowe’s length and ability to play press-man coverage has some teams excited while his ball skills have other teams interested. He doesn’t always play to his timed speed and a team will have to figure out whether or not he’s a safety or a cornerback, but he should come off the board on the second day.

Rowe’s a really interesting addition to a secondary we already looked at as stacked. But they can certainly use the skillset that Rowe has, which is unique but still fits the mold the Pats desire in their defensive backs these days.

Random Pats Musings on the Final Preseason Game of 2016 (and more)

September 1, 2016 by Mike Dussault

Tonight the Patriots will play their fourth and final game of the 2016 preseason, and if they can just get through this one without an injury they’ll have escaped an entire summer without a season-ender. That’s pretty impressive and of course, the injury risks are somewhat lessened because most of the big names will see limited, if any, action.

But let’s not get too excited yet, because who knows what Belichick’s plans are for Tom Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo. Both players could play and anytime the (two) starting quarterback(s) play in the preseason, I’m holding my breath.

Julian Edelman travelled with the team as well and if he enters the game that’s one to hold your breath for as well. Otherwise it should be a scrubfest and there’s not a ton we can take from anything we see.

Still, for all the debate that rages in Patriots nation right now, all that really matters are injuries. Tell me in January how many guys are on Injured Reserve and I’ll tell you exactly how the Patriots season went and what their Super Bowl chances are. I know this is the boring take, but it’s the truth.

That’s where the Patriots are now. They’re a hand-picked, finely-tuned football team that is better coached than any one else. The only way they don’t make it within a play or two of their fifth Super Bowl is if the wrong guys get hurt.

While people invent talking points like Brady hating Garoppolo (or whatever it is they’re saying because I don’t really listen to it) or Marcus Cannon being little more than a turnstile in a Patriots jersey, it’s all just noise. And as I love to say here on the blog, Ignore the Noise.

So let’s just try to enjoy one last mostly-stress-free football games before things get intense.

Here are some things to keep an eye on and some ramblings on what’s about to go down over the next four days.

Pats Posits: Jimmy Lights It Up, Brady Gets Cut

August 18, 2016 by Mike Dussault

Okay, Brady got cut with scissors, but if you’re reading this blog you are probably well aware of that already. The Patriots offense came to life against the Bears, with Jimmy Garoppolo turning in an impressive performance (16/21 181 yards, 1 TD), behind an offensive line that didn’t allow a sack (though one was negated by a penalty).

The Patriots defense on the other hand showed some holes early, negating two third-down stops with penalties on Patrick Chung and Justin Coleman. Still, as they often do, the Pats plugged up the early holes (Hoyer in for Cutler sure helped) and the Pats got a meaningless 23-22 win.

Here are the Posits as we hit the mid-way point of the preseason!

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
				1	2	3
4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17
18	19	20	21	22	23	24
25	26	27	28	29	30