Always enjoy this read from Chris Price with some insight from a scout. If there’s one thing that seems clear with the 2014 Patriots now, it’s how well guys not named Revis or Browner cover that will determine how well the defense plays. When Arrington is healthy and on his game it pretty much leaves the tight end matchup as the major concern. Patrick Chung has played well this year, but teams are well aware that he’s a mismatch in coverage on a big tight end. Might be an area to address next offseason. Do big safeties who can cover grow on trees?
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Pats Posits: A Resolve-Hardening Loss
Back in the blogging saddle today after my Thanksgiving weekend was ruined by a stomach bug that killed my appetite for the past four days. Perfect timing for that.
Anyway, I can’t remember feeling better about a loss than I do about the Pats’ third one of the season in Green Bay.
Those trying to rush to judgement about anything we “learned” in this one are fooling themselves. The Packers are one of the best teams in the NFL and just as unbeatable at home as the Patriots are.
Still, the Pats took them down to the wire and showed they’re not the pretenders they might’ve been in years past. It would’ve taken a perfect game yesterday and the Pats did not have a perfect game.
Really, if you take back Devin McCourty’s poor angle on Jordy Nelson’s long touchdown near halftime, a play he’s made every time this year, and this one would’ve been even closer.
But most important is the lesson the Patriots should’ve learned yesterday – what it takes to beat the best teams and the kind of effort they’ll need in the playoffs. Even better is that the Pats will stick together as they head directly to San Diego.
That kind of trip, especially after a loss, can really forge a team’s resolve. Now they’ll get a chance to regroup together and they should be a better team for it.
Once again, as we learned in 2007, it’s not about going undefeated in November/December, it’s about putting together three near-perfect games in January/February.
Of course, the one rub is that they are now clinging to a tie-breaker lead over the Broncos for the top seed in the AFC. With the final quarter of the season to go, their margin for error is zero.
My Pats Posits after the jump…
Posits
The defense was so inconsistent in the two most important areas, in the red zone they stopped the Packers all four times in the red zone, but on third down they gave up first down 10 of 17 times. They had been on a third down tear the last three games, not surprising they fell back to earth against that offense.
So it was just those quick-scoring drives in the first half that were the difference that included big-plays of 45, 32, 28 and 45 yards. Those four plays really won the game for the Packers.
Let’s not forget scoring in the second half was Patriots 7, Packers 3.
The Pats offense was not clicking like they usually do. Some of the problems stem from the interior of the offensive line, who once again played less than their best on a big stage. There’s no quicker way to give Tom Brady and the running game problems that when the guards and center are struggling.
Dan Connolly received a team-worst -5.0 pass blocking grade from PFF. Wendell had a -1.5.
Unfortunately with the way the game unfolded, with the Pats getting behind early, they were never in position to really get their ground game going.
I just don’t know how or why Brandon Bolden was suddenly getting carries again, though he did look good on his touchdown run.
Same thing with Logan Ryan, I don’t know how he continues to see time over Kyle Arrington. Not that either of them, nor Dennard were particularly good.
Once again this game came down to their #3 and #4 receiving options against our #3 and #4 coverage options and they beat us. Specifically Ryan/Arrington on Davante Adams and Patrick Chung on Quarless.
Hard to write a much worse season story for Aaron Dobson who finally got in a game, promptly hurt his hamstring and left the game. Maybe it’s the curse of #17.
Edelman is really taking a pounding the last couple weeks. I hope the cumulative effect doesn’t add up to something more significant. He could use a break, but he won’t get one until the playoff bye week.
Jamie Collins continues to impress me with how physical he’s playing. He’s taking on blockers with force, especially when blitzing, while he used to try to duck around everyone with his athleticism.
Another solid showing from Hightower, who picked up a sack on a strong blitz.
More credit for the Pats run defense who bottled Eddie Lacy up after the first drive for the most part. Seemed like Hightower/Collins/Chung were in on every run tackle, swarming the ball.
As I kind of expected, this was the game that made everyone realize we need a player like Chandler Jones who can get pressure by himself. Ayers has been solid but he’s not the force Chandler can be. If they can get to a three-man rotation with Ninkovich for the playoffs, it should really benefit the pass rush.
Don’t really understand those complaining about the Pats not blitzing enough. I thought they did a good job picking their spots, but against a great quarterback you can’t just send 5 and 6 rushers every down. The problem was the three they sent couldn’t win the individual matchup to finish Rodgers after the secondary took away his initial reads.
Felt like the offense was a little too top-heavy, and as the Packers did with Adams, they needed someone like Wright, Amendola or Vereen to have a big game. None of those matchups were exploitable it seems.
If the Pats had gotten a lead I shudder at the thought of what Blount would’ve done to the Packers run defense.
Overall it was just nice to enjoy a game of two really good teams going hard at each other. You have to adjust your expectations against a good team and not read too much into the stats. They’re going to make plays and put up points, but it’s about holding them to field goals and getting off the field on third down. The Pats did one of those things consistently.
It’s also nice to not have a “What does it all mean” day today. The Patriots are still a very good team capable of beating anyone in the NFL in any location.
But I’m glad we won’t have to go through Lambeau again to get to Arizona, that’s for sure.
Patriots vs. Lions All-22 Thoughts: Defense Edition
The Patriots turned in another stellar defensive effort against the Lions, not allowing a touchdown for the second time this season.
The coverage in the secondary is the thing sparking this new and improved Patriots defense, but the front seven are no slouches either, as they’ve been downright dominant in the running game.
They’ll face a great test this weekend in Green Bay, but until then, here are my All-22 thoughts on the defense’s performance against Detroit.
The Lions’ first drive might’ve been their best of the game and it started with a 24-yard WR screen to Golden Tate. Kyle Arrington’s overpursuit is what sprung it, but impressive speed by Dont’a Hightower to run down Tate.
Tate had another nice gain off a rub play that opened just enough space for a perfect pass. They were hitting these early, but not later.
The Patriots base, or “regular” 4-3 defense appeared on this drive, with Patrick Chung coming into the box as is often the case in almost a linebacker role. Casillas and Collins play OLB, but are at the end of the line with Hightower in the middle. We first saw this look in 2009, with six guys along the LOS and one linebacker and safety ready to make the play.
The Pats’ run defense has been among the best in the NFL the last three games, and the reason why is apparent from this regular defense play – no ground given, all taking on blocks with Hightower making the play. Just like you draw it up…
With Easley out, Chris Jones was the sub-rusher on the interior. Alan Branch had more snaps this week, but it could’ve been somewhat a trickle-down effect of Easley being out and Jones having to take his role over.
Pats double Calvin Johnson with Browner/McCourty on the final third down of the Lions’ first drive, with Revis defending the pass to Golden Tate underneath. Hightower took the RB, while Collins dropped to a short middle zone. Ninkovich/Jones/Ayers pressure was okay.
Impressive back-to-back plays by Browner on the second possession, first causing enough disruption on Calvin to force an incompletion and then coming down and supporting the edge against the run. The Pats DBs have really been great in run support lately.
On Ayers’ third-down sack, Stafford was looking to Tate coming out of a double stacked combination, but Revis got enough of a jam to force Stafford to hesitate. And Stafford probably could’ve made the throw, that kind of indecision crept into his game this day. Ayers had a nice outside-inside move and got under the left tackle to record the sack. Team defense.
Ninkovich recorded a sack on the first play of the next possession, off a great stunt with Alan Branch, who just plowed the guard into the backfield and the running back didn’t touch Ninkovich as he cut in behind. It looked like the Lions were trying to hit Tate on a double-move as Stafford pumps and goes to reload but it’s already too late. And Revis didn’t bite on the double move anyway.
Caught Wilfork talking to Raiola a bit after that sack too, planting the early seeds that would later grow into a cheap shot attempt at the end of the game.
This is a bit blurry but look at how the Pats are taking on blocks and holding their ground against the run and then getting off those blocks to make the tackle. There’s just nowhere for the RB to go.
Third-and-long, Pats in zone and no one is open.
Lions tried to get back to their run game on the next possession and had a bit of success against the Pats, who were in their nickel defense. They had runs of 6, 5, 4, then 0 yards.
Then comes one of the most frustrating kinds of plays – a broken play third-down conversion as Stafford slips out of the pocket and Zack Moore misses an open field tackle on him. I wanted to dive at Moore’s knees after that one.
Moore dropped into coverage and the pressure should’ve gotten there, but Moore dropping off killed the edge of the front, allowing Stafford to scramble. Really not sure how Moore misses the tackle, it’s exactly what he’s supposed to do and as straight-on as the come.
Tate picked up 42 yards on the next play as Stafford found him in a hole in the Pats’ zone defense. Collins probably should’ve picked up Tate, but didn’t see him until it was too late. Not out of the question to expect Collins to turn and pick this had he seen Tate earlier.
Impressive goalline stand on the next set of downs, that was made more difficult after a PI call on Chung in the end zone. Lions tried a run left, a fade to Calvin (Revis in coverage), then a fade to Fauria (Chung in coverage). Good tight coverage on both fades, not an easy play to defend especially against big guys like that.
Chung and Hightower are in on pretty much every single running play.
Casillas showed up with good read-and-tackle after Stafford had to take the checkdown to the runningback. Over the top Revis and Browner did a good job playing the Calvin/Tate stack with McCourty over top.
3rd-and-11 and the Pats were in Cover 2 Man. Ninkovich gets the sack as Jones and Higtower crash down on the right side of the line, allowing Nink to loop around and get a clean sack. Too bad Jamie Collins “held”. Drive continues…
Tate picked up 13 yards on a reverse as Hightower lost contain and Chung lost his contain with a couple false steps inside.
A quick bit on tactics – Collins and Hightower are both really good on the line of scrimmage, something the Pats lost the ability to do full time when Mayo went down. However now they’re doing a good job of moving the around and using them in all manners of ways. Both are on the LOS sometimes, both will blitz sometimes. Part of what is making the Pats defense so good is having these two versatile LBs who can do it all.
Good job getting off the field on third-and-3, one of my plays that defined the game. Just perfectly played by Revis who backed up off the line and avoided the stacked receivers trying to rub him off.
Nice gain of 18 on a screen pass to Riddick on the final drive of the first half. Hightower read it well, but Ayers did not as Riddick ran right past him on the way to get the pass. If he reads that right the play is dead.
Stafford just keeps looking more and more unsure on his deep throws as this game goes along, throwing it up off his back foot consistently. The in-time comebacks are about the only thing working for him that he looks comfortable throwing.
It does seem like they were just going after Arrington on every play here on this drive.
The missed field goal, then the Pats turning around and putting up a field goal of their own pretty much sums up what kind of game this was.
Second Half
Quick change to start the third quarter, just like the Broncos game and the Pats defense responds.
Raiola once again getting into it, now with Chris Jones.
Revis with another beauty pass defense, making it look like it ain’t no thang on what would’ve been a long 50+ bomb to Ebron.
Third-and-11 for another one of my plays that defined the game. Stafford throws a strike, but the gang tackling Pats hold him short of the first down. Just love how this defense is swarming the ball with such energy. Fun to watch.
Looks like the Lions were starting to pack it in at this point, with a three-and-out featuring three incompletions. First one hits Tate in the chest, second one the Lions WRs get caught up with themselves on the rub combo as Browner puts Calvin directly into Tate, and on the last one Chung comes in clean on a blitz forcing a bad throw by Stafford.
Next possession opens with a great play action that Ebron flat out drops.
Ugh, third down QB scramble for a first. I hate when that happens so, so much. Great coverage though.
Subtle play by Revis showing his genius as he’s in the slot faking like he’s playing man but really in zone. Sees Stafford wants Fauria on the post and drops perfectly into position to take it away.
Pats have really improved their coverage against stacked releases from earlier in the year. Forcing perfect throw-and-catches to beat them.
I like Sealver Siliga, but it’s looking like Alan Branch is just the better player given his height. Siliga still has long-term potential, but for this year I think he might be taking a back seat.
I also don’t really care about all these penalties the Pats have been racking up, because they’re playing on the edge and that will be more beneficial than the calls that might hurt them.
Pats’ great coverage continued to close out the game. It’s amazing to see how many times Stafford had to reload/reset after his preferred target was covered. That kind of coverage works magic for the pass rush.
If Chandler Jones comes back, ideally at least for the season finale, it could really put the defense over the top. They’re playing great.
3 GIFs that Defined Patriots Win Over Lions
As you might expect after a 5-of-17 third down defensive performance, we’re going a little heavy on defense in this weeks GIFs That Defined The Game.
Can’t forget Amendola’s kickoff return or Ryan Allen’s punt either, both were tone setters in the first half, but the return was just too long to GIF and as appreciative as I am of Allen’s boomer, no one wants to see a punt on loop. So good job, guys, but here are the plays that defined the game otherwise.
First, we start early in the second quarter, with New England holding a four-point lead and Detroit sitting on the two yard line on third down. Patrick Chung has had problems with big tight ends in the past, and they’re certainly not his ideal matchup, but here Chung is agile and physical enough to avoid the traffic and get into perfect position to defend Stafford’s attempt to throw it up to Fauria.
This was the only time all game the Lions would get into the red zone and the Pats held. This is the kind of play that great defenses make. Holding opponents to field goals in the red zone will be very necessary in January/February.
Next, we’re still in the second quarter, with New England up by eight as Detroit is on the outskirts of field goal range facing a manageable third-and-four. Revis and Arrington play the attempted pick play perfectly, while the four-man rush gets just enough pressure to force a backfooted throw by Stafford. Great team defense to force the punt and keep points off the board.
We’re still in the second quarter when we get these next two plays to Rob Gronkowski to take the Pats from their own 42 to field goal range after being in a 2nd-and-17 hole. Gronk is so hard to stop, with these two plays coming after a relatively quiet first half.
These catches show the quick-scoring ability and explosiveness of the Patriots’ offense right now. No down-and-distance is unmanageable. Putting points on the board before the half were some of the final nails in the Lions’ coffin.
Finally, comes a third down on the Lions’ first possession of the second half. A touchdown drive here might swing the momentum and made things interesting.
The pass is completed, but it’s the way the defense closes on the ball to keep the Lions short of the first down that most stands out here. This is the kind of swarming defense that the Patriots have been showing lately.
This play essentially snuffed out any hope the Lions might’ve had coming out of the locker room as the Pats would tack on another field goal on their ensuing possession.
Pats Posits: The Most Balanced Patriots Team Ever?
It’s not often that I make predictions, but this weekend I had a feeling the Pats would beat the Lions pretty easily. I didn’t think it would quite be the domination that it was, but it seemed clear he Lions didn’t really want to win the game that bad – they packed it in early.
After the Jets game in Week 7, the Pats had lost Chandler Jones and were facing a gauntlet of legit quarterbacks. But the Patriots haven’t blinked. They’ve gone 4-0 since then and been dominant in all three phases of the game.
Only their playoff finish will determine how the 2014 Patriots stack up compared to previous teams, but right now this looks like the most balanced Patriots team we’ve seen since Bill Belichick took over, capable of breaking a game on any side of the ball.
Early in the 2000s the Pats were loaded on defense and had an offense that wasn’t exactly explosive, but made all the clutch plays. The script slowly flipped as the defensive core got old and departed, while Brady and offense hit a historic level of explosiveness, then efficiency and pace.
They met in the middle in 2007, where the offense’s prolific scoring hid the quickly declining defense. In 2010, the defense hit a low point with a dearth of talent giving up tons of yards. Since then the defense has been on a slow track of marginal improvement, but now in 2014, the defense is back to the levels we saw in the early-2000’s.
And I must mention special teams, as they’ve been solid throughout Belichick’s coaching reign, but they’ve seemed to hit a new level this year. It was on display yesterday after a big punt by Ryan Allen and big return from Danny Amendola jump started an offense that started the game with two three-and-outs.
Right now it seems like the only thing standing between the Patriots and Glendale in February will be injuries. If they stay healthy and keep homefield advantage for the playoffs, they’ll be extremely tough to knock off. The Broncos might be the only team who could have a chance in the AFC, and that would depend on non-January-like conditions in Foxboro on gameday.
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Pats Posits
We can talk all about the superlative play of the secondary yesterday, but the tangible effect has been on third down. This is an area I’ve talked about ad nauseum the last five years. The Pats third-down defense has been amongst the worst in the NFL over the time, but over the last three games they’re the third-best third down defense in the NFL.
For the season they’re now 13th overall, they’re highest ranking since 2009.
In recent years, the Pats would have occasional good games on third down, but never did they have the kind of consistency we’ve seen the last month or so.
Yesterday’s game was a head-nodder for me because a lot of things I’ve been waiting for finally happened. Tim Wright became more involved. Danny Amendola showed up again. The team is rounding out and getting contributions all over the place.
It’s nothing short of amazing how much better the Patriots run defense has been compared to earlier in the season. They’re not just good against the run right now, they’re dominant.
In the last three games, they’re giving up an NFL-best 51.0 yards-per-game. Jamie Collins and Akeem Ayers are two guys who are expectedly doing a great job. I expect Ninkovich/Wilfork/Hightower to be good and they’ve been great.
I’m getting 2007 flashbacks a bit for the first time since then, where I just hope the team can still play this well in January and February. We’re used to the Patriots looking good this time of year, but in most years since 2007 there’s always been a weakness that they’ve been able to cover up – an Achilles Heel that we knew could come back to bite them against the good teams.
Not this year. I don’t t know what the weakness of this Patriots team is right now. Before the bye I might’ve questioned their run defense, if their offensive line could get it done against good interior rushers and their ability to win when Gronk and/or Edelman were taken away.
I don’t question either of those things anymore. We’ll see if the Packers can expose something.
I’ve said it before and I’ll continue to say it – Where have you been the last five years, Brandon LaFell?
Games like yesterday’s were what I was looking forward to when the Patriots signed Revis. It’s been so long since we’ve had a playmaker like him in the secondary. And he makes it look so easy. I really hope this isn’t the only year we get to cheer him on. This offseason will be intense.
It’s somewhat cathartic to see Kyle Arrington and Patrick Chung being key players on this defense after they were such whipping boys for the 2010/2011 defensive problems.
It once again goes to experience, one of the most underrated aspects of team-building that gets no credit in the offseason.
Now we turn the page to what will be hyped as a Super Bowl preview. Win or lose the next two weeks will be good Super Bowl prep for the Pats. They’ll have two tough road games, but they’ll also be on the road the entire time for both (they’re heading straight out west after Green Bay).
That kind of experience is a good chance for the team to bond a bit before the stretch run and should get them ready to play in hostile environments against good teams.
New England Patriots Gameplan: Week 11 at Indianapolis Colts
These are the games that define your season. The Patriots have had plenty of success at home, against the good and the bad, but on the road, in their recent house of horrors (4th and 2, SB46), against a team that badly wants to beat them to prove they’re “elite”… this is where a good Pats team can prove they’re great.
The last time we saw the Patriots, they were clicking on all cylinders against the Broncos and getting all the bounces. That tends to happen less often on the road.
It’s not surprising that Rodney Harrison said earlier this week that Belichick is treating this like a playoff game. Maybe it doesn’t have the same buzz as Brady vs. Manning, but this game is every bit as big as far as the AFC goes, and it will definitely have an impact on the playoff seedings.
What do the Pats have to do to get out of Lucas Oil Stadium with a win?
Here’s the gameplan.
Offensive Gameplan
The Pats have had an extra week to do some self-reflection so there could be some new wrinkles, or perhaps some expanded roles, for guys who got here late.
While Jonas Grey has shown some decent power, Shane Vereen is essentially the lead back now. Since Stevan Ridley went down, Vereen has played 65 percent of the snaps. With Gronk drawing coverage, things have only been getting easier for Vereen in the passing game. Look for him to be a key contributor.
The Pats’ success with play action has been well-documented this week. For all the talk of the two tight end sets of 2011 and 2012, now the Pats are having success with fullback James Develin and/or Michael Hoomanwanui joining Vereen in the backfield. Simply put, the threat of a fullback/halfback tandem has been enough to put defenses on their toes against the run game and that has helped the passing game. The Patriots have a miserable ground attack, Football Outsiders has them 31st in rushing DVOA.
The Colts should focus on two things – stopping Rob Gronkowski and pass coverage. Force the Pats to beat them running the ball or squeezing it in tight windows to someone other than their dominant tight end.
Will the Pat take the cheese and run the ball? This could be a game that tells us a lot about their balance on offense. But it’s a passing league and in a dome the conditions are perfect, so look for this to be a Vereen/Edelman/LaFell heavy attack.
Defensive Gameplan
The bye week was much-needed for the Patriots defense because it gives in-season newcomers likes Akeem Ayers, Jonathan Casillas and Casey Walker a little extra time to get up to speed.
The Pats had Ayers in a full-time edge role against the Broncos and I can’t see why that would change now, the only other option is to play the injured Dominique Easley out of position.
Jamie Collins had a breakout game against the Colts last year in the playoffs and there’s every reason to think he’ll once again be a big key. Despite some knocks on him in the run game early this season, he’s looked better recently, likely due to his thigh getting fully healthy. Collins was drafted for games like these.
As always the big question is how the Pats deal with explosive deep threat T.Y. Hilton, old nemesis Reggie Wayne and the Colts’ strong duo of tight ends, Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen. There’s little question that Hilton will get over-the-top focus, so is it worth using Revis on him? Perhaps letting Browner kill him at the line, while putting Revis on Wayne is a better use of resources.
Patrick Chung, Dont’a Hightower and Collins will have their work cut out for them, not just with the tight ends, but with resurgent running back Ahmad Bradshaw, who has over 700 all-purpose yards and eight touchdowns this season.
Disguise, and forcing Andrew Luck into the kind of mistakes he’s made in his first two games against the Pats are key, but those games were in Foxborough and Luck cannot be counted on to hand the game over in Indy.
This one will take a total defensive effort just like the Broncos game did. Do the Pats have another one of those in them, this time on the road?
It’s a great test.
5 Points of Emphasis
1. Keep the Gronk Times Rolling: The Colts are 29th in DVOA covering tight ends so that’s an area to attack. However I believe the Colts will give extra attention to Gronkowski, even if it comes at the expense of weakening their defense elsewhere. Still, it doesn’t really matter. Gronk makes plays no matter how many guys are on him and there’s no reason to shy away from him now.
2. Stop Bradshaw In Sub: I could probably write the same keys every week for the Patriots – stop the run in sub-defense and protect Tom Brady. The matchups at wide receiver versus the Pats’ secondary are favorable, but it’s Ahmad Bradshaw who could ruin the game. The defensive tackles and ends must build the wall and contain him, while the linebackers must stick with him in pass coverage. Even giving up a bomb or two to Hilton is preferable to letting Bradshaw put up 150 yards of offense.
3. Fast Start on Offense: I have a feeling this one is going to be a high-scoring affair and the Pats would be well-suited to get some points on the board early. So far, they’ve had really good in-game perseverance this year – bouncing back after slow starts and mistakes in recent weeks, but it would be preferable to avoid the drama of trying to come back on a Colts team that specializes in comebacks.
4. 60 Minutes: Along those same lines, this one is going to come down to the end and no lead is safe against Andrew Luck in Indy. If the Pats snag a lead for the second time in two games, they might be feeling pretty good about themselves and take their foot off the gas. That’s just what the Colts love. The Pats must finish.
5. Win: The Pats lost to the Panthers coming out of their bye last season, looking flat and needing a late comeback that probably should’ve happened. They should be better prepared and more focused against a conference rival this year.
A win would seal the Patriots’ spot atop the AFC, and give them the inside track on a bye, owning a direct tie-breaker over the other two best teams in the conference.
A win over a very good team in a very tough place to play would say even more.
Alright Mike, we’re up to the bye week so it’s time for some mid-season superlatives. Who are your… 1.) Biggest Surprise, 2.) Biggest Flop, 3.) Best 2014 Draft Pick so Far, 4.) Funniest Pats Moment thus far (on or off field), and 5.) Biggest WOW moment of the year thus far. Thanks!
Love it. Here goes:
1) Biggest Suprise – few options here, but let’s take one from each side of the ball. On offense, I have to go with Brandon LaFell. What a perfect fit and signing at half the cost of Emmanuel Sanders. He brings size and physicality to a wide receiver corps that badly needed it. On defense it’s Patrick Chung. He was an old favorite of the blog and I thought he’d be strictly a role player, but as he proved against the Broncos he can be an every-down player and is a great tool to have on defense.
2) Biggest Flop – Probably Aaron Dobson, but it’s pretty easy to see why the Pats like LaFell over him. I haven’t written him off completely yet, but it’s scary how his career is following a similar trajectory to Chad Jackson. I’m just not sure of a single trait Dobson does better than anyone else. You can’t say that for the rest of the wide receivers.
3) Best 2014 Draft Pick So Far – Bryan Stork. Going to take a closer look at the offensive All 22 today but with him at center and Connolly/Wendell at guard the Pats offensive line has looked strong down the middle. Most impressive was seeing him handle Terrance Knighton, the guy who blew up our gameplan in last year’s AFCCG. Malcolm Butler is probably second at this point even though he wasn’t drafted. Still giving Easley a pass, my hopes remain high on him, we just need some patience until all his explosion comes back, hopefully by the playoffs.
4) Funniest Pats Moment: All of them revolve around Edelman – from his Dunkin Donuts shorts to him and Brady tossing the ball back and forth to see who spikes it, he’s brought a lot of character to the team.
5) Biggest Wow Moment: There’s been a few but Gronk’s catch against the Broncos was a huge head-shaker. Just a ridiculous catch. But in the big picture, the blowouts of the Bengals and Broncos were “Wow’s” that left e shaking my head for days after the game.
