PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

bill belichick

Notes on a fantastic regular season: Patriots tie up division and number one seed

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I know there’s still one game to be played but for all intents and purposes we can say goodbye to the 2010 regular season for the Patriots.

I’ve always tried to make it a point to enjoy the regular season as much as possible because if you base your fan satisfaction solely by how the season ends you’re probably going to be disappointed most of the time.

This 2010 Patriots season has been remarkable.  We didn’t know what we had with the defense, and even though statistically they were probably worse than any of us expected, this team will finish with the best record in the AFC. Amazing.

The list of teams they beat is impressive. Not always dominating, but close, heart-filled victories with players making clutch plays. And sometimes dominating too.

Even I would’ve thought 13-3 or 14-2 was a little too optimistic of a record prediction given the schedule the Pats faced. Throw in the fact that they jettisoned Randy Moss mid-season, and it was a memorable season that surely has a place alongside the great regular seasons of the last decade.

Being a Pats fan is all about surprises, and this year I think just about everyone can say the 2010 Pats have been surprising to say the least.

Offensively they’re just as unstoppable as the 2007 team was, yet this group looks like it’s peaking as the playoffs start, whereas the previous team began to fizzle.

Defensively they gained a ton of great experience in a lot of big games in the national spotlight. They performed well every single time. What the defense lacked they made up for by getting turnovers, lots of them. The pass rush continues to be a concern due to injuries and inconsistency. Look for that to again be an area of focus in the offseason.

This is what a rebuilding year looks like in New England. The future looks even brighter, but for now there are three more games to be won.

Late Audibles on Matt Flynn, the Packers and the playoffs…

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Looking forward to a full day of quality football tomorrow. As you may have heard Aaron Rodgers is indeed out, so it will be Matt Flynn going for the Packers.

It’s time for the Patriots young defense to prove that they can shut a quarterback and his offense down. I’m talking a dominating performance. The opportunity against a back-up is sitting in front of them. 

If they can show they’re capable of that they’ll intimidate the AFC teams that have to come to Foxboro in the playoffs. 

If Matt Flynn suddenly looks like he can’t throw an incompletion the questions surrounding this defense will continue.

I feel confident that our offense will score. Dom Capers is a Dick Lebeau disciple, and we know what the Pats usually do to that defense.

A lot of Clay Matthews vs. Vollmer coming, I think it’s Vollmer’s chance to shine on national tv by shutting him down.

Will Gerard Warren play? If not it will be interesting to see how they hold up against the run, and how much inside pressure they get in passing situations.

Brandon Meriweather in the doghouse or rebounding? Or is Jarrad Page starting to show he’s better than Meriweather is?

I think McCourty plays.

I think Tony Carter plays McCourty’s special teams spots though.

Will we see more Dane Fletcher at OLB?

Finally some thoughts on the playoffs. An unofficial twitter poll had Indianapolis as the number one team my Patweeps didn’t want to play, though some had Baltimore or San Diego as their top teams as well.

For me it comes down to keeping our weakness (pass defense) hidden. I’d prefer not to give Manning or Rivers a crack. But we’ll probably have to beat one of them.

I’ve seen a lot of Baltimore and I’m convinced of two things. The Ravens defense is not what it once was, and Joe Flacco isn’t consistently clutch. I respect the Ravens of course, except for you Terrell Suggs, the new Joey Porter in my life, but I’d far rather face Flacco than Manning or Rivers.

The potential Kansas City match up would be something really cool to me. I just don’t see Tom Brady losing to Matt Cassel. But to see Charlie, RAC, Vrabel, Pioli on the other sideline? That’d be cool. Almost as cool as ending their season.

Enjoy this last prime time dress rehearsal before shit gets real.

I like 84 Branch just as much as I liked 83 Branch.