It's easy to look at Monday's night's contest between the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles and claim that the Eagles got the best of things, though that wouldn't necessarily be true.
Yes, the Eagles won 27-17 and found out that their 3rd round draft pick, Quarterback Nick Foles, may be the steal of the draft and, yes, their defensive ends had their way with the Patriots' offensive line - but for the entire first half and part of the third, the Patriots deep, dark depth chart hung with the front line Eagles starters - perhaps showing the rest of the NFL that the Patriots' 2nd stringers could be as good (if not better) than most team's starters.
Which is bullshit, of course, but great fodder for bandwagon jumpers and fair-weather fans. In reality, Belichick got an extended look at mostly what he has in the secondary. The defensive line is starting to take form and the Linebacking corps are - as we already know - a collection of young, athletic thugs that has the potential to be one of the best units in the league.
That's a luxury that the Patriots haven't enjoyed in quite some time, and it all comes from the stark realization that fundamental football is violent and must be played with a soldier's will power and the guile and heartlessness of an assassin - it's Darwinism being taught by Atilla the Hun - a game of violent ground acquisition in which the best prepared and most fit emerge victorious.
Bill Belichick understands this concept better than most, and his roster moves for this particular game gives us a pretty good idea of what the front seven is going to look like. His projected starters played only the first two series of the game, then took the opportunity to sit back and enjoy the pleasant late summer evening,as we watched the depth chart form before our very eyes.
Vince Wilofrk didn't play, and his battery mate Kyle Love was in on only a handful of plays, indicating that Love has a lock on an interior line spot along with Wilfork. Both Ron Brace and Brandon Deaderick have impressed enough for the team to cut free agent signee Jonathan Fanene, giving the interior line a solid look, while Defensive End Chandler Jones has a lock on the Right side. Jermaine Cunningham had the hit of the night, of course, giving Eagles Quarterback Michael Vick a shot to the ribs that he won't forget for a while.
Mayo, Spikes and Hightower appear to be locked in at Linebacker, though both Spikes and Hightower are playing like they're fighting for roster spots, even if it was only for 2 series a piece. There are a few others in the running for situational substituting but the overall feeling is that the front 7 is set - which leads us to the secondary....
...which we know nothing more about now than we did prior to the game, with the exception of a former Rugby player who probably secured a roster spot.
Nate Ebner excelled in the Big Nickle, a role that Tavon Wilson was drafted to fill. Taking over for starting Free Safety Steve Gregory in the 1st Quarter and made solid contributions in run defense and had a nifty interception in coverage support, mirroring his performances in practice this week. He also excelled in his special teams appearances, carving out a niche on the team.
Ras-I Dowling and Sterling Moore saw exclusive action at corner, while Marquis Cole took the majority of the Reps at Nickle, and former corner Will Allen took the most Reps at Safety after taking over for the injured Patrick Chung, and performed very well. My own reflection on this is that Arrington and McCourty are being viewed as the top options at corner with Dowling and Moore and Cole backing them up, while Chung and Gregory are a solid safety tandem backed up with three intriguing players.
The Patriots' next contest should tell us just how the secondary is going to come together, working in tandem with the new and improved pass rush and working in the depth - but it appears for all intents and purposes that the defense has improved greatly over this offseason, and now it's time for them to show it with a full effort against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Friday night.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Beantown Brutes - Part I: Setting the mood
Neither cheap food nor opinions are in short supply at Barnies, a quaint little pub located on upper Sabattus Street in Lewiston, Maine, a dirty little burgh of about 35,000 people located along the banks of the Androscoggin river in what is deemed "Central Maine", a former textile and paper mill town, blue collar in every way imaginable and typical of towns all over New England.
You'll not find Guy Fieri filming a segment for an episode of Diners, Drive-in's and Dives, though Barnies could certainly be mistaken for the latter. The crowd is usually late arriving and heavy drinking, weighed down with the burdens of life and not given to idle chatter - so when talk around the horseshoe shaped bar turns to football, people without knowledge are dismissed abruptly, as are know-it-all's and Giants' fans.
Time was that the Giants' fans dominated Lewiston, this being back before the NFL merger and the emergence of the New England Patriots as a dynastic entity...but now the old time Giants fans are dwindling in numbers as the faithful slowly die off, and are outnumbered in any bar around town 10 to 1 on any given night, their presense usually greeted with sneers and grumblings of hateful discontent.
Monday night will be no exception, though both Patriots and Giants fans would equally enjoy a New England victory as the Philadelphia Eagles travel to Foxboro to take on the Patriots in preseason action. For three hours these fans will share a common interest, but the tolerence for each other will end there and the barbs will be just as sharp - at least the ones that I can hear from my vantage point in the kitchen.
The kitchen at Barnies Bar and Grill is about the size of a walk-in cooler at a normal restaurant. Between fitting a 6' cold table, 2 fryolators, a 3 foot flat top grill, a pizza oven and a traditional 3-bay sink system, not to mention storage of various pot, pans, plates and dry food, there is little room for error, mentally or otherwise. A step in the wrong direction or a lapse of concentration could mean disaster, or at least a big mess...
...which is exactly what the defensive coaching staff for the Patriots have been going through for a few seasons now, coaching up rookie and free agent castoffs as fill-in's for players that weren't even that good to begin with, usually just doing well enough to make sure that the high-powered offense had a little cushion to roll to victory on - except for the isolated step in the wrong direction or lapse of concentration, which is fine, I suppose, where having a great win/loss record is concerned, but that style of play is never going to win a championship, though they came within a dropped pass of doing the impossible last February.
That is a testament to the strength of the offense and it's impressive depth - but that is for other people to ponder on other nights. The offense is lethal and is a source of much confidence in and about the six weird little states that comprise the New England region - a far cry from how the defense is viewed given the fact that last season's Patriots' defense's margin for error was smaller than mine.
Sure, the defense appears to have improved and names like Jones and Hightower are being thrown about as demi-Gods and saviors, but it is not the just the new personnel that have knowledgable Patriots fans sitting up straight and paying attention, it is also a return to the attitude that made New England the World Champions 3 out of 4 years in to form the NFL's latest Dynasty - a return to the rough and tumble, to the mantra "Hit them when they have the ball, and hit them when they don't".
Call them the Beantown Brutes, call them whatever you like - just don't call them "bend but don't break", because that's not what this new breed of Patriots defenders are all about...
Tomorrow: Part II, To be or not to be - can the Patriots defense corral the illusive Michael Vick?
You'll not find Guy Fieri filming a segment for an episode of Diners, Drive-in's and Dives, though Barnies could certainly be mistaken for the latter. The crowd is usually late arriving and heavy drinking, weighed down with the burdens of life and not given to idle chatter - so when talk around the horseshoe shaped bar turns to football, people without knowledge are dismissed abruptly, as are know-it-all's and Giants' fans.
Time was that the Giants' fans dominated Lewiston, this being back before the NFL merger and the emergence of the New England Patriots as a dynastic entity...but now the old time Giants fans are dwindling in numbers as the faithful slowly die off, and are outnumbered in any bar around town 10 to 1 on any given night, their presense usually greeted with sneers and grumblings of hateful discontent.
Monday night will be no exception, though both Patriots and Giants fans would equally enjoy a New England victory as the Philadelphia Eagles travel to Foxboro to take on the Patriots in preseason action. For three hours these fans will share a common interest, but the tolerence for each other will end there and the barbs will be just as sharp - at least the ones that I can hear from my vantage point in the kitchen.
**************
The kitchen at Barnies Bar and Grill is about the size of a walk-in cooler at a normal restaurant. Between fitting a 6' cold table, 2 fryolators, a 3 foot flat top grill, a pizza oven and a traditional 3-bay sink system, not to mention storage of various pot, pans, plates and dry food, there is little room for error, mentally or otherwise. A step in the wrong direction or a lapse of concentration could mean disaster, or at least a big mess...
...which is exactly what the defensive coaching staff for the Patriots have been going through for a few seasons now, coaching up rookie and free agent castoffs as fill-in's for players that weren't even that good to begin with, usually just doing well enough to make sure that the high-powered offense had a little cushion to roll to victory on - except for the isolated step in the wrong direction or lapse of concentration, which is fine, I suppose, where having a great win/loss record is concerned, but that style of play is never going to win a championship, though they came within a dropped pass of doing the impossible last February.
That is a testament to the strength of the offense and it's impressive depth - but that is for other people to ponder on other nights. The offense is lethal and is a source of much confidence in and about the six weird little states that comprise the New England region - a far cry from how the defense is viewed given the fact that last season's Patriots' defense's margin for error was smaller than mine.
Sure, the defense appears to have improved and names like Jones and Hightower are being thrown about as demi-Gods and saviors, but it is not the just the new personnel that have knowledgable Patriots fans sitting up straight and paying attention, it is also a return to the attitude that made New England the World Champions 3 out of 4 years in to form the NFL's latest Dynasty - a return to the rough and tumble, to the mantra "Hit them when they have the ball, and hit them when they don't".
Call them the Beantown Brutes, call them whatever you like - just don't call them "bend but don't break", because that's not what this new breed of Patriots defenders are all about...
Tomorrow: Part II, To be or not to be - can the Patriots defense corral the illusive Michael Vick?
Saturday, August 18, 2012
New England Patriots on Paper: The Rich Get Richer
Bill Belichick has been bitching about his special teams all summer. Apparently he's been secretively working on the solution all summer as well.
Olympic sprinter and former University of Florida Running Back Jeff Demps and his agents have been under a constant barrage from the Patriots' Head Coach to sign with New England ever since Demps announced that he was foregoing the 2012 NFL Draft to concentrate solely on his Track career - and his persistence paid off on Friday afternoon as the Silver Medalist signed on to be a Patriot.
In signing Demps, he not only has solved his kick return issues, but has also caused himself a bit of a roster quandry. There are four quality Running Backs on the Patriots' depth chart, and many reports had them keeping all four players. Bringing Demps into the fold causes some rethinking and scrambling amongst not only the "Experts" in the media, but also within Belichick's own inner circle.
This is a make or break deal. He can not be destined for the Practice Squad despite the fact that he has missed all of training camp - Demps either makes the roster or he will not make it through waivers and will sign with another team. So unless Demps turns out to be a total flop, he will be on the 53 man roster, which means that one of the other backs, most presumably impressive rookie free agent Brandon Bolden, will not be on the final roster and will end up on the practice squad, provided he clears waivers.
Regardless of the impact on the roster, the Demps signing has the potential of changing the dynamics of the Patriots' offense. In college, he averaged an absurd 6.8 yards per rush, is decisive and is that rare athlete that can make sudden cuts at full speed. He has shown toughness between the tackles, though his forte is zipping off tackle and beating the defenders to the edge - and once he's got the seam, the afterburners ignite and he's gone.
In the Patriots "Pass first" philosophy, he is potentially even more dangerous. Good hands and patience make him an excellent candidate for the omni-present screen game, where he can curl out of the backfield and into the flat behind pulling linemen, survey the field and his blocking, then dash through the smallest of seams.
Add this dynamic to All Pro talent already present on the Patriots' offensive depth chart, and it's clear that 11 players on the opposing defense is just not enough to contain every weapon that New England can put on the field at one time. With Hernandez, Gronkowski, LLoyd and Welker, the Patriots already had 4 players who are legitimate candidates for double teams. Adding a fifth makes an already unstoppable offense a literal jaugernaut.
Every scouting report there is on this kid suggests that he is a legitimate threat to take the ball to the house any time he touches it, be it as a Running Back, Reciever or kick returner. The only thing that is in question in regard to Demps is how Belichick managed to trump all the other teams that were interested in signing him...
Olympic sprinter and former University of Florida Running Back Jeff Demps and his agents have been under a constant barrage from the Patriots' Head Coach to sign with New England ever since Demps announced that he was foregoing the 2012 NFL Draft to concentrate solely on his Track career - and his persistence paid off on Friday afternoon as the Silver Medalist signed on to be a Patriot.
In signing Demps, he not only has solved his kick return issues, but has also caused himself a bit of a roster quandry. There are four quality Running Backs on the Patriots' depth chart, and many reports had them keeping all four players. Bringing Demps into the fold causes some rethinking and scrambling amongst not only the "Experts" in the media, but also within Belichick's own inner circle.
This is a make or break deal. He can not be destined for the Practice Squad despite the fact that he has missed all of training camp - Demps either makes the roster or he will not make it through waivers and will sign with another team. So unless Demps turns out to be a total flop, he will be on the 53 man roster, which means that one of the other backs, most presumably impressive rookie free agent Brandon Bolden, will not be on the final roster and will end up on the practice squad, provided he clears waivers.
Regardless of the impact on the roster, the Demps signing has the potential of changing the dynamics of the Patriots' offense. In college, he averaged an absurd 6.8 yards per rush, is decisive and is that rare athlete that can make sudden cuts at full speed. He has shown toughness between the tackles, though his forte is zipping off tackle and beating the defenders to the edge - and once he's got the seam, the afterburners ignite and he's gone.
In the Patriots "Pass first" philosophy, he is potentially even more dangerous. Good hands and patience make him an excellent candidate for the omni-present screen game, where he can curl out of the backfield and into the flat behind pulling linemen, survey the field and his blocking, then dash through the smallest of seams.
Add this dynamic to All Pro talent already present on the Patriots' offensive depth chart, and it's clear that 11 players on the opposing defense is just not enough to contain every weapon that New England can put on the field at one time. With Hernandez, Gronkowski, LLoyd and Welker, the Patriots already had 4 players who are legitimate candidates for double teams. Adding a fifth makes an already unstoppable offense a literal jaugernaut.
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