PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

detroit lions

Notes on Taking Care of Business: Patriots Knock Off Lions

by

One thing you can say about the 2010 Patriots is that they are consistent. Consistently hard to stop on offense, and consistently easy to pass on on offense. 

It wasn’t surprising that Detroit jumped out to a 14-3 lead. Nor was it surprising that the Pats came back. It’s becoming pretty apparent that if the Patriots are going to make a Super Bowl run this year the defense must continue to get turnovers. Those are hard to depend on, especially in January.

The offense should be able to put up significant points against anyone. This is not the 2007 offense that depends on the spread aerial assault more than anything. This is an offense that can play any kind of game and play it well. It’s amazing what having three diverse tight ends can do for a team. If Tom Brady continues to play at a high level they will be hard to stop.

The scary thing will be if the offense goes cold one game and needs to depend on the defense to hold the opponent. That’s when it will get interesting. But for now the defense is getting interceptions, the offense is moving the ball well and all is right in Patriots Nation.

Some Notes from the game…

Benjarvus Green-Ellis has elevated his game to a place I never thought he could. He’s always run hard but he’s running fools over now.

An early key to the Jets game will be getting Jonathan Wilhite back and allowing Patrick Chung to play more in-the-box safety. Chung’s been stuck at nickel corner the last two games and that’s not his greatest strength.

Devin McCourty for DROY? If he loses it will only be because the Pats defense is it’s weak link.

Kyle Love is really coming on strong and even got some love from Mike Mayock on Playbook last week. The Pats were able to shut down the run with just him and Wilfork on the inside of the line.

Did Jermaine Cunningham see a reduction in playing time yesterday? Didn’t see him much in the 4th quarter but I did see Pierre Woods out there.

Dane Fletcher got some solid time yesterday playing in his dime package. It looks like they’re expanding his role a bit, used him to pass rush, covering the running back and also spying the quarterback a bit.

The Lions and Suh and Megatron, Oh My!

by

In the brief few days since the Patriots held on to beat the Colts you probably haven’t heard much about the Detroit Lions. If you’re a regular reader here you definitely haven’t. In fact there’s probably only one thing you heard if anything at all:

Before we get to the Lions let’s talk a little bit about “Trap” games. I guess the definition of a trap game is when a good team is on a roll and/or has a big game coming up but first must play a team that, on paper, looks like shit.

Sometimes it could be boiled down to simply any time a good team plays a shitty team. But with a huge matchup on the Pats’ horizon with the Jets on MNF this Lions game fits the classic ‘trap’ game definition. 

Calling it a trap game implies that the better team will overlook the inferior-on-paper team and thus be half-assed in their preparations.

Football Outsiders’ Aaron Schatz and Bill Simmons debated if trap games are a reality on Simmons’ podcast this week. Schatz said they don’t exist, that in the modern NFL any team can beat any team. Records don’t matter. On any given week a team that has looked horrible can put it together and play well. Just like on any given week a team that has looked great can look like crap.

The players understand this and never overlook a game.

Simmons of course disagreed and thought that this was human nature to overlook a challenge you think you’re superior to. It’s also hard to get those competitive juices flowing when you don’t have any kind of a rivalry with a team.

Personally I side with Schatz, especially because we’re talking about the Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots. This team has been in close, hard fought games with teams of every kind of record or reputation. Stats are for losers, and that includes the stat of a team’s overall record. Belichick will absolutely make sure his team knows it’s in for a dogfight.

Tom Brady was already looking at the Lions on Sunday night after beating the Colts just hours earlier. I am not worried that the Patriots will overlook the Lions. Nor do I believe that any single player on the Patriots believes they will just show up, blow Detroit out, and be home in time for turkey.

Because the reality is that the Lions are not the bumbling, stumbling Lions of old. This is a team that competes hard on every snap. They are still rough around the edges and have their weaknesses, but they will not be walked over, especially at home.

Let’s not forget that the Patriots have yet to hold a passer under 300 yards. Granted they’ve faced some very good offenses, but they have not proven they can shut down anyone’s passing attack. And guess what, the Lions are 6th in the NFL in passing yards.

So yes the Lions are 2-8 and have a reputation for being one of the worst teams in the NFL over the past decade but that record and rep are deceiving.

The Lions are 2-2 at home this year and their two losses were by just 3 points each. And anyone who saw the Jets game knows the Lions should’ve won that.

The other loss? Oh just a close 35-32 shootout loss to the mighty Philadelphia Eagles.

The Patriots coaches and players are well aware of all these stats and many, many more. This is not a trap game. This will be a sizable challenge game.

The Lions have a revamped defensive line led by Ndamukong Sug and Kyle Vanden Bosche. The Patriots offensive line better be ready for them, because they will be coming hard and fast, just like the rest of the Lions team.

The Patriots will also have their hands full with Calvin Johnson, aka Megatron, who in the words of BB is “never covered”.

If the Patriots win this game most will write it off as just “taking care of business” but the reality is that the Lions are the type of offense that this young defense badly needs a good performance against.

If the Lions have seen what the rest of us have seen (and I’m pretty sure they have) they will attack the Patriots through the air early and often. Detroit’s stellar rookie running back Jahvid Best has been battling a foot injury and the Patriots defense has been excellent the last two weeks against the run. So I don’t expect them to try to move the ball on the ground much.

If the Patriots are to make a run in January their pass defense must improve or else they’ll be forced to rely on take aways to stay in games. That’s not something you want.

Shutting down Shaun Hill and a formidable receiving corps featuring Johnson, Brandon Pettigrew, and Nate Burleson would send a message to those who pay attention and give confidence to the young Pats defense. 

Beating this Lions team in their house will not be an easy task. This is their Super Bowl and the short week for prep levels the playing field somewhat. If you still think this is a trap game you’re in for a nerve wracking start to your Thanksgiving day. It will be close. The Lions will move the ball. But if the Patriots stick to what has gotten them to 8-2, playing mistake-free football, executing on offense and bending but not breaking on defense they should be able to pull it out.

And if the defense can hold Hill under 300 yards it would be a big step in the right direction. 

Do Not Underestimate This Decepticon

Lions Fan Lays Down the Gauntlet on the Patriots

by

If you’re a Patriots fan who is still basking in the afterglow of beating the Colts I present the video below from the “Lions to the Super Bowl” vlog. In this terrifying display of a gross over-confidence, our gap-toothed host predicts this game will top Pearl Harbor as THE new day of infamy. Seriously.

I really suggest you watch all four minutes, but if you can only handle a glimpse shoot over to the 2:40 mark where he tries to come up with a really good zinger on the fly. It involves a three-legged turkey. Yeah I’ve watched it a few times and I still don’t get it. But seriously, it’s comedy gold.

The growl at the end is also especially intimidating.

The biggest problem I have with what our Lions fan friend (who is broadcasting from a secure undisclosed location for reasons unknown) says is that he raises more questions than answers.

The Lions are going to punish former Michigan quarterback Tom Brady because Michigan has “taken a turn for the worse”?  So they’ve turned on the Wolverines for two seasons of no bowl games but this guy still loves the Lions enough after decades of ineptitude to be making vidcasts?

Or how about this gem: “We’re gonna manhandle ya like a TSA agent.” So you’re going to gently pat Brady’s balls while searching for contraband? Kinky.

You have to take your hat off to our host, he certainly is confident and for no reason at all. The Lions are not the laughing stock they once were but this guys confidence is almost at Rex Ryan level.

But hey, just a little something to get you to turn your attention to the next battle, which is less than 66 hours away.

Notes on Surviving: Patriots hang on vs. Manning and Colts

by

There were a lot of eerie similarities between this year’s Patriots Colts match up and previous games of the rivalry. Of course lately we know  a lot about blown leads. And this one came very close to being a blown lead. 

But finally we also saw something ala 2003, a big defensive play to preserve the win at the last moment. Then it was Willie MacGinest’s goal line stop. This time it was James Sanders, a guy who deserves a big play as much as anyone.

Never celebrated, it was Sanders who was credited with galvanizing the 2009 defensive backfield. He’s a quiet leader. Knows his assignments and does his best to get them done. It was good to see Sanders finally come through with a clutch play, his career lacked a notable big one until he made that interception.

Though the defense gave up a whopping 78% of their third downs, they did pick off Peyton Manning three times. That’s three times more than the Colts defense picked off Tom Brady. 

So yes, they looked like swiss cheese but they had less holes than the Colts and made more plays. More big plays. That is a big positive going into the final six games.

But it is still a very big question mark if this Patriots defense can shut down three good quarterbacks en route to a Super Bowl. 

The good news is that the Patriots are very much vying with the Jets for the first seed in the AFC. This is a race the Pats must win because whoever finishes in second place in the division will be looking at a five seed, even though they’ll probably have the second best record in the conference. 

That’s what makes it interesting when you have two teams in one division both atop the conference. I have no clue how the Jets have won the last three games. Three miracles. They’ll be confident when they come to Foxboro, they’re 5-0 on the road.

The Patriots offense is amorphous and as balanced and potent as we’ve seen. The Randy Moss offense was dynamic, but this offense is so versatile they can play with power or finesse with the same personnel grouping.

However, Brady and company did sputter at the one time you can’t sputter…the fourth quarter. All they really needed was one more decent drive to bleed the clock out and they had two chances to get it. Went three and out on both of them. Consistency is something that will be stressed this week.

Unfortunately there really isn’t much time to savor this one. Thanksgiving kickoff against the Detroit Lions is 85 hours away.