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Chris Long Announces He Won’t Return to Pats

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Chris Long posted this to Instagram today, letting Pats fans know he won’t be returning.

Thank you Pats Nation. As a player you’ve given so much support to, I owe you an explanation as to why I’ll be moving on in FA… even if it isn’t a big deal. This year and this opportunity gave me a ton. I made lifelong friends in a great locker room and became a champion. I’m so thankful that Coach B (the GOAT) took a chance on me and allowed me the opportunity to play a small part in this wonderful year. This has zero to do with money, etc. It’s the right move in my heart because I want to get back to being the player I was before. I’m thankful for my role this year, but as a competitor, I’m itching to do what I do best. It was important to say thank you personally. You may not remember me much, but I’ll always remember y’all!! #driveforfive #missionaccomplished

A post shared by Chris Long ?⚡️ (@laflamablanca95) on

Wish it could always be this easy, with players reaching out to the fans to tell them exactly what is going on. Usually free agency happens under a shroud of secrecy, but Long goes out just like he spent this year with the Pats, showing great appreciation for everything that happens in New England from the coach (GOAT) all the way down to the fans like us.

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Ranking the Patriots Impending Free Agents

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Dont'a Hightower

Dont’a Hightower

The Patriots are set for a major re-evaluation of their defense this offseason with a number of key free agents that will force them to determine the direction they want to go. The offensive free agents won’t be far behind. Of course, things certainly look a lot easier now (unfortunately) than they did when both Chandler Jones and Jamie Collins were still on the team. Two less major pieces to worry about paying.

And really, the poor overall performance of many of the impending free agents still on the team make it easier too. Again, unfortunately. But of course things can change quickly as the important part of the season and playoffs roll around. A huge playoff performance by one of these players could up their importance and price tag.

We’re at the halfway point of the season, so why not take stock of where we’re at?

One note before we dive in, Malcolm Butler is a restricted free agent. The Patriots should, in my opinion, pursue a long-term extension with him, but the team can easily slap a first round tender for around $3.6 million and retain his rights unless someone wants to give up a first rounder for him, which I wouldn’t entirely rule out.  So for our purposes here, I’m leaving him off this list, but if he was on it he’d be second.

Let’s do it, starting from the lowest priority, counting down to the most important.

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Patriots-Browns Film Review: Third Down Defense Edition

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In this week’s film review I’m going to take a little more micro look at the third downs that the Patriots failed to get stops on against the Browns. Right now the Patriots are 27th in the NFL in third down defense (44.6 percent, worst since 2010) and 30th in red zone defense (80 percent).

Combine the two and the Patriots are by far the worst third down defense in the red zone in the NFL, giving up a first down 83.3 percent of the time. The second-worst team in the league, Baltimore, is at 70 percent, while the third-worst, Houston, is at 57.1 percent. That shows just how far below the rest of the league the Patriots have been in the critical area of their beloved bend-don’t-break, which depends immensely on third down stops in the red zone.

Now I’m not here to go all doom and gloom on the defense. These stats are certainly concerning, but there’s a long way to go and with Tom Brady back in the mix, we’re just getting our first taste of the real 2016 Patriots. So we can reserve some judgement at this point.

Here’s a look at five third downs against the Browns with what went wrong and how the Pats might fix it.

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Chris Long Still Has Plenty of Gas in the Tank

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One of the more intriguing free agents that the Patriots brought to town this year was veteran DE, Chris Long. There have never been questions about Long’s work ethic, attitude or abilities during his time in the NFL. As a second overall pick, he represents one of the higher caliber players in the league from a pure talent perspective.

However, nagging injuries have plagued Long for the last two seasons to the point where there are now questions about “how much does he have left in the tank?” Well, rest easy Patriots fans, because it appears Chris Long has plenty of fuel left to burn.

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Long Brothers Reunite on Field in Foxboro

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It will be a family affair at Foxboro on Thursday when first-year Patriots defensive end, Chris Long, squares off against his brother, and three-time Pro-Bowl guard for the Bears, Kyle Long.

Their only previous meeting, in week 12 of the 2013 season, was certainly one to remember. Back when Chris was with the Rams and Kyle was a rookie with the Bears, the two were involved in a wild fracas which resulted in Chris leaving his team’s bench to pull his brother out of a scuffle. Kyle was fined just under $8,000 for his role in the incident.

This week, in a case of history repeating itself, Kyle, 27, was weary of his 31-year-old brother during another skirmish on the football field. After a dust-up in joint practices on Monday, Kyle was quoted as saying, “I was just making sure [he] wasn’t coming to dropkick me. I turned around and, of course, he was making a beeline for me.” Note to readers who can’t detect sarcasm, he was joking. Regardless, it will be interesting to see if there is any sibling rivalry on the field in Foxboro come Thursday.

Neither is expected to see considerable playing time as both project as starters for their respective teams, but hopefully we’ll see some reps where the two square off directly. I went back and watched the tape from the last two times these guys played each other and a couple of things stood out to me:

  • Chris Long looked freakishly athletic at times. Long absolutely decapitated McCown on this play. Long was a problem and drew double-teams all game. Was really fun to watch him work. He is obviously older now and has had to deal with some injuries in his career, but watching this tape you understand why he was drafted second overall.
  • I was hoping to see if Chris would rush to the inside on Kyle in these games, however, Chris lined up almost exclusively over the Bears tackles in this game. I only saw one play where they went head-to-head, and Chris worked off a stunt. To be fair, it totally fooled his brother, although he couldn’t finish with the sack.  Long shot (see what I did there?), but maybe BB will draw something like this up in the game today.

Chris and Kyle’s father, NFL Hall of Fame member, Howie Long, was born and raised in Charlestown, MA and attended high school in Milford, MA. It should be a fun night for the Long family tonight, and certainly a match-up on the field that warrants Patriots fans’ attention.

Patriots Free Agency Analysis: Value Strikes Again

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No one values value more than Bill Belichick and that’s just what has been on display once again in Patriots free agency this year. In years past, I took a look at just how Belichick maximizes value, turning single draft picks into multiple players and future draft picks.

The 28th overall pick in the 2007 draft was turned into Randy Moss, Jerod Mayo, Shawn Crable, Ryan Mallet and then this year’s 7th rounder from Houston that they got for Mallet. That’s right, nine years later the value of that one pick is still paying dividends.

The 23rd overall pick in 2009 was turned into Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman, Darius Butler and Brandon Tate. Gronk and Edelman are the core of the Patriots offensive weaponry, while Butler and Tate have gone on to have solid pro careers even though not in New England.

This is what Belichick understands, that the draft is a crapshoot and even when you get good players they often get injured. The only way to consistently build a good football team that can overcome the under-performance and injuries that plague all professional football teams is to have quality depth and always work to strengthen that depth.

This philosophy was on display once again yesterday when the Patriots effectively flipped Chandler Jones for a 2nd round pick, and a once-promising guard in Jonathan Cooper, while also adding defensive end Chris Long at less than half what Jones was scheduled to make. Jones was a talented player who would’ve made an impact for the Patriots in 2016, but the long-term health and overall depth of the franchise is once again what the Patriots gained by making these kind of trades and acquisitions.

Long has had two years of injuries, but had never missed a game prior to 2014. It’s very possible that Long will rejuvenate his career if he can stay healthy in New England, and could easily be a more impactful pass rusher than Jones would’ve been. At the very least, Long will likely get his first taste of the playoffs and by that time he should be playing with his hair on fire. That’s the kind of play that helps you win championships.

As for Cooper, the Patriots loved him coming out of college but never had a shot at him as he went 7th overall in 2013. This is what makes the Patriots even more impressive, they rarely get a chance at the best talent in the draft. Instead they have to wait until they either fall out of favor or have their careers derailed by injuries. That’s when they pounce. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

Screen Shot 2016-03-15 at 12.50.50 PMThere’s no denying Cooper has talent and if he can find a way to rekindle that, the Patriots will have improved a vital part of their offensive line. If anyone can get to Cooper, it’s Dante Scarnecchia.

But perhaps most important is the second round pick. The Patriots now have both the 60th and 61st picks in the draft, and by the draft value chart that’s enough to package and get them all the way into the top of the second round, if not the late first round. That kind of flexibility is invaluable and opens up a number of doors that were closed to them without it.

Once again, it’s all about value, and with 11 draft picks the Patriots have the ammo to do as they please during draft day, maximizing each and every pick not only for this year but for the years to come.

 

 

Patriots Sign Chris Long

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After shipping Chandler Jones to Arizona, the Patriots signed Chris Long to fill the hole in their defensive end rotation late Tuesday night.

Long was released by the Rams earlier in the offseason after an injury-riddled 2014 spilled over into 2015, knocking the former second-overall pick from the ranks of elite NFL pass rushers. Long has 54.5 sacks in his eight year career and hadn’t missed a game until 2014.

His best two seasons were 2011 and 2012 when he had 24.5 sacks. But since then it’s been two years to forget with the Rams, though I’m sure most of them were pretty forgettable when they were losing so many games. Still, Long was a big part of one of the better defenses in the league, despite their record.

Perhaps most telling is that Long has never been to the playoffs. Signing a one-year contract with the Patriots almost certainly figures to change that. He’ll be trying to follow a long list of one-year hired guns who were able to revive their career with the Pats then go on to sign a significant contract elsewhere.

Long will be just 31 later this month and should still have something left in the tank to give the Pats. After letting Jones go, the Pats figure to have Rob Ninkovich and Jabaal Sheard as their starters, with Long, Trey Flowers, Geneo Grissom and Rufus Johnson competing to be part of the rotation or at least a designated pass rusher.

That’s what should help Long more than anything, not being forced to play every down and being selectively positioned to excel and do what he does best — get after the passer. If Long can revive his explosive get off the Patriots upgraded their pass rush on this day.