PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

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Supplies of our DO YOUR JOB tees are running out fast. Get yours before it’s too late!!

https://www.patspropaganda.com/supplies-of-our-do-your-job-tees-are-running-out/

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I’ve been chilling. Obviously I had that surgery and I’m just getting better day by day and week by week. I feel way better than last week. I’m just walking around now, taking it easy, and hopefully I’m 100 percent when it comes down to that time so I can get to where I want to be this offseason.

Gronk on Gronk’s Ankle

Still in boot, Gronk is upbeat – New England Patriots Blog – ESPN Boston

https://www.patspropaganda.com/ive-been-chilling-obviously-i-had-that-surgery/

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During his 45-minute interview, Bill Belichick said “We’ll see” 11 times and “I don’t know” 32 times.

Ian Rapoport via Twitter

https://twitter.com/#!/RapSheet/status/184663094474178560

And this is why I love following the Patriots from afar. You know BB isn’t going to give you anything, so it’s more enjoyable to just sit back and let other people get frustrated over it. I do know this though, there’s a lot going on inside the walls of Foxborough, and the plan for 2012 is well under way.

https://www.patspropaganda.com/during-his-45-minute-interview-bill-belichick/

AFC East thoughts from a Patriots perspective

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I’ve resisted commenting on the goings on (or lack of goings ons… cough Dolphins) around the rest of the AFC East until now but it seems like a good point to review the moves made thus far by the Patriots main opposition, and by that I mean Bills and Jets since I have no idea what the Dolphins are doing.

The road to the playoffs goes through the division, and the Patriots have won the division nine of the last eleven years. So what have the Jets and Bills been doing to close the gap?

Let’s start with the Bills. By now everyone knows they’ve signed the big fish Mario Williams, adding him to a defensive line with Marcel Dareus and Kyle Williams. Then they added Mark Anderson as the other bookend.

I have mixed feeling about Anderson. He’s like that guy you let stay in your castle and he’s a valued warrior in a couple battles, then the next thing you know he’s taking a buttload of money to go fight for one of your direct rivals. (I’ve been watching a lot of Game of Thrones lately if you can’t tell). So whatever Mark Anderson, you got paid and that’s fine. Just keep any celebrating you do at the Pats expense to a subdued minimum. You owe us.

On paper, and with a pending 10th overall draft pick, the Bills look formidable. Seems like they’ve seen what the Giants have been able to do to the Patriots and are trying to replicate it, to their credit.

The problem however is the same problem they had last year, and that is lack of depth. The Bills were off to a great start until the injury bug hit them, and then they finished 6-10.

The Patriots off-season has illustrated yet again why they value the middle of their roster as much as the top, and there has yet to be an injury, no matter how major that the Patriots haven’t overcome in the last decade.

So the question is, can the Bills stay healthy? If they’re the rare team that escapes the injury bug they should surely challenge the Patriots. If they can’t keep Anderson, Dareus, K. and M. Williams on the field it could be lights out just like it was last year. And by lights out I mean Sean Merriman who hasn’t quite turned all the lights out since 2007.

I like Ryan Fitzpatrick but it’s all going to have to line up perfectly for him. If the Bills defense stays healthy they should be able to keep Fitzpatrick in a good position. If they don’t, and Fitz is forced to play from behind or “keep up” he will struggle.

The other question is can Fred Jackson continue the kind of dominant performance he turned in last year before getting hurt. He’s a huge key to everything they do on offense and they need a full year from him.

I expect the Bills to get off to a good start, how long they stay on that course will directly relate to how healthy they stay. But for the first time in a long time the Bills games will be ones that Patriots fans circle before the season.

And then there’s the Jets.

Look, I’m a Patriots fan. My general feeling toward our main rivals is well known. But all bias aside, I don’t know WTF the Jets are doing.

If you’re not building your team to specifically take down the Patriots what are you doing? The Jets holes are well documented. Safety, Right Tackle, and Pass Rush are three major needs for them, and what have they done to address any of them? Took a gamble on Laron Landry and signed Tim Tebow.

If Landry is healthy it’s a good move. They absolutely needed someone to help deal with Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez because Eric Smith and Jim Leonhard were not getting it done in 2011. Landry could be an answer there.

But the Tebow move does nothing to attack a Patriots weakness (they shut him down twice last year) and it also undermines the quarterback you just extended. We all know Jets fans. Does anyone doubt there will be chants for Tebow, even just mockingly, at the first mistake Mark Sanchez makes? Tebow is another whole sideshow for a circus that has been full of sideshows over the past couple seasons.

To be honest I like being a Patriots fan even more when the Jets are making moves that concern me. Moves that make me think this could be the year they actually win the AFC East. But I’ve seen none of those kind of moves this off-season.

It’s seeming more and more like the only real talent on their roster was either brought in by Mangini or with Rex from Baltimore. Is there a single elite player that’s been added by the Rex Ryan regime? I can list off quite a few Patriots that have been added since 2009 that are impact players, who are on their way to elite if not there already. The Jets cupboards are starting to run bare and I’m not sure where the plan is to restock and build a team that can beat the Patriots.

Not that I’m complaining about it, but come on Jets. The NFL is better when you’re a tough ground and pound team, not a bunch of attention-seeking, contract-misreading, buffoons with no real plan to get back to those AFC Championship games you lost two of.

The Bills sure look like they’ll be ready to give the Pats a run for their money, at least in the early part of the season. While the Jets seem like they’re still trying to figure out what they’re doing. The Jets should have huge concerns about the Bills, especially with the pass rushers they’ve added. The Jets offensive line needs to be a lot better this season or it won’t matter who’s playing quarterback.

I’ll write something about the Dolphins when we know who their quarterback is. Until then, they don’t concern me.

Fullbacks back on the radar for Patriots

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Per the Boston Globe’s Greg Bedard the Patriots signed fullback Tony Fiametta today. The Patriots haven’t gone into a season with a true fullback since 2008 with Heath Evans, leading many to believe that the fullback position was dead in New England’s offense. Instead, they used a combination of offensive lineman and tight ends in short yardage and goal-line situations over the past three seasons.

Fiametta replaces Lousaka Polite and joins newly signed Spencer Larson as the newest two fullbacks on the Patriots roster, so are the Patriots reviving the fullback in their offense?

None of them are going to replace BenJarvus Green-Ellis’ production, though some of his short yardage carries could possibly go to a fullback, especially in those 3rd or 4th and 1 calls.

A fullback would also help the transition for a spike in carries for Shane Vereen and/or Stevan Ridley. It’s not uncommon for the NFL’s leading rushers to take great benefit from a reliable fullback such as Vonta Leach and Lorenzo Neal. Both Leach and Neal have paved the way for some of the most successful ground games of the last decade.

But perhaps the easiest answer to the question is that with the loss of Green-Ellis and likely retirement of Kevin Faulk, but three young talented running backs who need to get carries, it’s a better use of a roster spot  on someone who brings something new to the party.

If you were to bring in a new halfback he’s either going to take carries from Ridley, Vereen, or Woodhead, and at an expensive free agent cost, or he’s going to end up being a waste of a roster spot. It’s far more likely that the current three halfbacks on the roster can co-exist in harmony (on the field) with a fullback who might even make them better, while also giving another dimension to the Patriots backfield.

Of course this leaves the Patriots with Danny Woodhead as the only (somewhat) proven running back on the roster. Are Ridley and Vereen ready to show why they were second round picks? The Patriots certainly need to give them the ball to find out, but it’s not often a position on New England’s roster is so unproven heading into the season.

In hindsight the Patriots never gave up on the fullback position in their offense, it’s just the combination of personnel and available players never quite lined up for one to be valuable to them over the past few years. Some of that was Green-Ellis’ reliable, hard charging ways, some of it was Sammy Morris, and some of it was the collection of offensive linemen who had the athleticism to play fullback for the 2-3 snaps per game they needed.

I don’t see this is as a philosophical shift for Belichick, moreso a way to maximize roster diversity while also gaining a complimentary piece for his young running backs.