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Post by soxfansince67 on Dec 26, 2021 18:28:25 GMT -5
Interesting times for Boston sports fans, with Celts and perhaps Bruins spinning wheels, the baseball strike, and Pats possibly going in reverse...
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Post by umassgrad2005 on Dec 27, 2021 4:41:30 GMT -5
Patriots don't have elite weapons, it's a group attack. So when guys are missing and guys miss the week practicing it really hurts the Patriots. Kinda surprised by the game plan, yet that could have been personal. I would have come out spread throwing it three straight times after last game. You clearly need an upgrade at WR long-term.
Yet much biggest fear came true even with no Davis or Beasley with Myles Bryant. He might be a very smart tough player with good instincts. Yet he's slow and it showed last game. Time to work in Shaun Wade more.
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cdj
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Post by cdj on Dec 27, 2021 15:52:23 GMT -5
Bryant almost plays like an in-box safety, he just doesn’t have that kind of size. Great in zone defense too. I still like him as a player but as displayed yesterday he can be exposed on crossers. Just doesn’t have the speed to man-cover NFL receivers. Probably why he was on the PS
Josh Allen is a very good QB. He identified when the pats were in man and whoever Bryant was guarding was typically his first look
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Post by jimed14 on Dec 27, 2021 16:35:34 GMT -5
Patriots don't have elite weapons, it's a group attack. That's also why Brady left, because this is not sustainable. It's not going to work long term, especially without a Tom Brady. They got by so long because of Gronk + Welker/Edleman/Amendola slot guy (Myers is not one of those) and an elite catching RB like James White. Now they have none of that. |
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Post by beasleyrockah on Dec 27, 2021 18:09:57 GMT -5
The defense was terrible yesterday, that's the main issue for a team built to win behind strong defense. The offense obviously needs to be better too, but even if they were very good they'd still likely lose that game 9/10 times. You can't expect to win a game when you force zero punts, zero sacks, zero turnovers, and allow them to drive to the red zone all game. I kept waiting for an adjustment and they had zero answers, even though it didn't look like the Bills were doing anything exotic and they were shorthanded.
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Post by umassgrad2005 on Dec 28, 2021 9:06:52 GMT -5
Patriots don't have elite weapons, it's a group attack. That's also why Brady left, because this is not sustainable. It's not going to work long term, especially without a Tom Brady. They got by so long because of Gronk + Welker/Edleman/Amendola slot guy (Myers is not one of those) and an elite catching RB like James White. Now they have none of that. I've been bitching about adding weapons by way of the draft so long I can't remember when it started. Yet Brady didn't leave because of the talent at this level. We likely win the superbowl if Brady had this amount of talent in 2019. You just need everyone healthy, it's about being deep enough you can find matchups to pick on. So no Agholor, Stevenson and Bourne didn't practice all week and you can’t do that. You have Harry playing way too much. Nevermind Mac Jones is a rookie and it showed last game. We seem to forget that given his play, yet Brady would have adjusted things and Mac didn't. I'm not blaming Mac either, he's a rookie without Agholor, Stevenson and Bourne didn't practice. Plus it wasn't McDaniels finest day. There was one thing you knew the Bills focused on for this game, stopping the run. |
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Post by voiceofreason on Dec 28, 2021 9:52:50 GMT -5
As I said before the last Bills game, stopping Allen from running the ball is what scares me. And luckily for the Pats in that game he didn't even try all that often but when he did he made things happen and that led to a long drive as Judon lost contain 3 times in that one drive.
Fast forward to this past weeks game. Yes he carved up the secondary but he also ran for 64 yards and got some crucial 3rd and 4th down runs to keep drives alive. That is a nail in the heart of a defense, they can do almost everything right and still give up a 1st down and that sucks as a player. This is what makes Allen so dangerous, his size and running ability on top of having a great arm. The Pats will have to face that for the next decade and it isn't going to be fun.
As for the Pats, this has been a season to build on. There have been some great surprises and a few disappointments, the pros outweigh the cons. But there are some definite holes to fill and they are exasperated by age and free agency going into next yr. Although I fully expect them to use the tag on Jackson so that solves that problem. Hightower has not been great but it creates another need.
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Post by rasimon on Jan 1, 2022 14:46:38 GMT -5
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Post by ghostofrussgibson on Jan 1, 2022 17:46:43 GMT -5
Nice to see NE lock up Phillips. Seems to be on pretty reasonable terms, too.
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cdj
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Posts: 15,884
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Post by cdj on Jan 1, 2022 19:01:40 GMT -5
Nice deal. He’s been super versatile and valuable for them
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Post by rjp313jr on Jan 2, 2022 7:42:58 GMT -5
These aren’t always accurate, but OvertheCap had Phillips as worth 10m per season and he signed for less than 5. So much for guys not wanting to play here. Philips has been great in this system. That’s not really an understatement, he’s been excellent. |
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Post by voiceofreason on Jan 2, 2022 9:27:54 GMT -5
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Post by voiceofreason on Jan 2, 2022 9:39:53 GMT -5
This really helps solidify the secondary moving forward and at a very reasonable price. It seems like he fills all of these rolls very effectively and makes big plays to boot. What makes this all the more important is the chances that Devin calls it a career. Maybe he comes back for one more year if he thinks they will have a solid chance of a Super Bowl run but he will likely retire IMO. |
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cdj
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Posts: 15,884
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Post by cdj on Jan 2, 2022 14:38:30 GMT -5
The Wilkerson Game!
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Post by jimed14 on Jan 2, 2022 14:49:24 GMT -5
Who the hell is this guy?! lol Had to look at 5 search results to figure out that he was signed as a UDFA by the Titans. The Patriots signed him off their practice squad, dressed him for one game and has been on the practice squad until today. |
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Post by jimed14 on Jan 2, 2022 15:25:35 GMT -5
Looks like Antonio Brown just quit in the middle of the game for the Bucs. What a headache that guy is.
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Post by rjp313jr on Jan 2, 2022 16:40:55 GMT -5
Did Phillips get hurt? He took himself off the field holding his arm/hand?
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cdj
Veteran
Posts: 15,884
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Post by cdj on Jan 2, 2022 17:09:48 GMT -5
Did Phillips get hurt? He took himself off the field holding his arm/hand? They said his wrist looked banged up on the broadcast. Wouldn’t have seen him again once he came out because they wouldn’t put him back in considering the score |
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Post by jimed14 on Jan 2, 2022 19:00:15 GMT -5
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Post by umassgrad2005 on Jan 2, 2022 19:07:49 GMT -5
Who the hell is this guy?! lol Had to look at 5 search results to figure out that he was signed as a UDFA by the Titans. The Patriots signed him off their practice squad, dressed him for one game and has been on the practice squad until today. From the pre-season, has talent just was raw and dropped too many passes. At one point he was looking like a lock to make the team, then he started dropping passes. |
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Post by jimed14 on Jan 2, 2022 19:23:58 GMT -5
The Bengals look like they are for real. Chase is so damn good and Burrow is going to be a top 5 QB if he's not already.
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Post by voiceofreason on Jan 3, 2022 7:11:19 GMT -5
I was watching the end of the Dallas, Cardinals game and how Kyler Murray was able to get 1st downs with his legs to run the clock out. I like Mac a lot and his game translates to what the Pats want from their QB but when a QB has that running dimension it is just so hard to stop. The defense can only account for so many things and it is just so hard on 3rd and short to contain a QB with great legs. And given the Pats like to methodically move down the field just picking up 1st downs it would be great to have a guy who added that option.
Hopefully Mac can also be Bradyesque and work hard on his body and athleticism to improve arm strength and maneuverability. I know he will only be able to do so much but incremental growth could add up over time. If Tom can be a better athlete at 40 than he was at 25 then I think Mac can improve a little yr to yr. He did have a good run yesterday and wisely went down a little early. I think that showed his football IQ as he got more than he needed for a first down and wasn't greedy about getting more yards.
On a different note Agholor is scheduled to be a 15 million dollar cap hit next season or the Pats can save 5 million by cutting ties and it will count as 10 million. Right now that seems like a tough decision but I think I would rather save the 5 million and let him go unless he would be willing to take a restructure.
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Post by rjp313jr on Jan 3, 2022 8:57:12 GMT -5
The Bengals look like they are for real. Chase is so damn good and Burrow is going to be a top 5 QB if he's not already. He is and you see the balls that Burrow has to throw (nothing so special) for him to catch it down the sidelines over defenders and then you see Mac drop a dime and Wilkerson drops it. I hate agreeing with UMASS (kidding kidding6, but he’s right - Mac needs a legitimate elite receiving option. Every elite QB has at least one. The Patriots have exactly 0 and typically have had 2 over the years (moss/welker and Gronk/Edelman) plus a great receiving back. Mac has zero of those things. |
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Post by umassgrad2005 on Jan 3, 2022 12:17:16 GMT -5
Last mock draft I looked at had both Olave and Dotson sitting there at our pick. Dotson might be one of the most underrated WRs in the draft given his QB play. If he was on Bama or Ohio State he'd be a top 15 pick. I haven't seen a ton of him, yet he makes OBJ type catches on the regular.
I'm looking at the 2020 draft as the help Mac Jones class. Go get him a Dotson, Kevin Austin Jr. and Kyrie Williams types, look at value OL guys. Sure you'll take some defensive players, yet focus on helping Mac Jones.
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Post by jimed14 on Jan 3, 2022 15:15:12 GMT -5
Last mock draft I looked at had both Olave and Dotson sitting there at our pick. Dotson might be one of the most underrated WRs in the draft given his QB play. If he was on Bama or Ohio State he'd be a top 15 pick. I haven't seen a ton of him, yet he makes OBJ type catches on the regular. I'm looking at the 2020 draft as the help Mac Jones class. Go get him a Dotson, Kevin Austin Jr. and Kyrie Williams types, look at value OL guys. Sure you'll take some defensive players, yet focus on helping Mac Jones. I watch most Penn St games and you're not wrong. Dotson is gonna be a good one. He's so explosive and can catch anything. Not perfect yet, but should get better. |
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