Tag: Eric Rowe

The Patriots Got Poached by the Jaguars Yesterday

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Sunday was an ugly day for the New England Patriots. I was feeling pretty confident heading in and since I was in the great state of New Jersey I even placed a legal wager on my boys to pull it out. Welp, midway through the first quarter I knew I wasn’t getting that money back ever again. What seemed like a steamrolling by the Jaguars was a game that actually pivoted on just a handful of plays and missed opportunities, which I have painstakingly compiled below. Andddd go!

-Gostkowski missed another bunny in a key moment. Yuck, this guy is basically Tuukka Rask to me these days. He’s not as bad as sports talk radio says, but he’s definitely not as great as the team would have you believe. I know it’s only a handful of kicks he’s missed over the years, but they all seem to stick out in my memory because they all came in key situations. Regardless of his FG percentage, I do not want this guy anywhere near a game tying or game winning kick anymore.

-Refs missed a holding call against Gronk (and a potential roughing the passer) and the Pats were forced to kick on 4th down on their first drive, which as we mentioned above Gostkowski shanked with an absolute duck of a kick.

-A Jacksonville receiver fumbled a ball that jumped like a magic fucking bean right into another Jacksonville receiver’s hands for the luckiest of recoveries.

-This defense looked like swiss cheese all day, which is alarming, but it would be out of character for any Patriots fan to completely overreact. We’ve seen these early season losses when the team is still trying to figure it out. Whether it was the offensive line or the right linebacker rotation, we’ve seen it before and this year is probably no different especially when it comes to the wide receivers. Hell the Pats are like the high school jock who got a little too high on himself and dumped a perfectly nice girl (Kenny Britt), only to try and get her back after he’s put on the freshman 15 at college.

-Eric Rowe got roasted all day long. One of the plays against him was impossible to stop:

But he then immediately got beat for a TD he should have been able to defend.

-The defense got burned on 3rd down all game long as Bortles scrambled and found an open man or ran for first downs himself. Hell he’s got the third highest Avg Yards per Rush for a QB in the history of the league, just a tick behind Michael Vick.

-The defense was bad yes, but lets remember that it took a career day from Blake Bortles (29 of 45 for 377 yards, 4 touchdowns, 1 interception). Literally the best game of his career to topple the Patriots, which kind of stung after I clowned Bortles all week long and lost a little coin in the process, but hey thems the breaks.

Hey, at least this defense can lay the wood:

-How about Tom Brady and Josh McDaniels losing their shit on the sidelines in the first half?

Thats the most concerning visual from the entire game. It kind of felt like Brady and McDaniels were starting to worry that this team might not be able to get them where they want to go. Hopefully it’s just the two of them blowing off some steam on the new guys making mental errors.

-Breathe and say it with me….Julian Edelman will be back in 3 weeks.

-I’m pretty sure Mattes and I have stumbled onto some black magic as the two guys we picked for team MVPs on The 300s Podcast, Rex Burkhead and Trey Flowers, have each gotten concussions in the first two weeks. Another guy Mattes picked as a DPOY was Deatrich Wise, who left the game late with what the announcers speculated as some jumbled finger digits. I’m not comfortable with this type of power.

-At one point midway through the second half the broadcast team pointed out that it had been a full 45 minutes since Tom Brady had thrown the ball. That cannot help gameflow and momentum.

-The non-call of the Jags jumping offsides on 4th down late in the game as the Pats tried to draw the penalty before punting. As the broadcast team, and TV shots of a fuming Belichick pointed out, the offensive lineman needs to touch the the defender if he jumps onside otherwise he can reset and the refs won’t call it. Romo even pointed out in the replay you can see the official reach for his flag before deciding against it. That one hurt.

-Before the season I predicted the Pats would split with the Jags and the Texans and be 3-1 after the first month. After Week 2, we’re exactly where I expected so unless they drop a game to the Lions and old friend Matt Patricia

or the Dolphins, who tried their very best to give away a W to the Jets on Sunday, then we’re fine.

-Don’t get it twisted, this defense is somewhere between hot garbage and a cold lunch, BUT its probably a little bit better than the defense that was one stop away from winning back to back Super Bowls last year. So it may not always be pretty, it will probably be infuriatingly bad at times, but at the end of the day it should be good enough to keep the team alive as long as TB12 is under center…..and not a second longer.

-After predicting the Pats would do their best to eviscerate Jalen Ramsey for trash talking Gronk (I may have said something about making his children orphans, but I forget) and they did nothing of the sort. The offense could not get into a rhythm and anytime they did, their momentum was killed by turnovers and missed kicks.

-Cordarrelle Patterson killed a drive when he tripped over the Ghost of Christmas Past on a key third down. After the Pats defense came up huge and forced a quick 3 and out, the offense came out onto the field and these next two tweets came over the span of 6 minutes.

Patterson caught a screen out of the backfield and looked like he had room to run, but his feet would not cooperate as he tripped over nothing and fell down to end the drive in its tracks.

Anddd 5 minutes after that Bortles threw a pick to try and let the Patriots back into the game. Anddd then 3 minutes after that Brady was strip sacked and that was the game.

So I just have to tip my cap to the Jaguars. It’s only Week 2 so I hope they aren’t riding too high….

“It kind of felt like we won a Super Bowl, man,” safety Tashaun Gipson said. “I won’t even kid you. It was that type of atmosphere and environment.

….because we’ve seen this story before (see: Chiefs 2014), but alas I tip my cap.

-Josh Gordon?? I say yes because of the pure ability coupled with the age; 27 whereas Dez Bryant will be 30 soon.

But obviously the guy has been dealing with issues for years. The last, and only, good season Gordon had came back in 2013. Back when Shane Victorino played for the Red Sox. Tom E. Curran makes a pretty compelling argument against the receiver as well:

He’s played in 11 of a possible 65 games since his absurd 2013 season (86 catches, 1,646 yards). He needs full-time supervision, it seems. Permissiveness, understanding and contorting for Gordon’s needs all offseason got the Browns . . . a game. One catch. A touchdown. And then they threw up their hands.

How’s that return on emotional investment and time spent? Not real good. It’s not inhumane to tell a troubled person he is unemployable, which Gordon has been and seemingly still is.

Besides, the Patriots were already down the road with one wide receiver project, Cordarelle Patterson. Then they added Corey Coleman this week.

If feels like they are at capacity when it comes to getting talented but hard-to-reach downfield receivers assimilated. This isn’t July when there’s nothing to do but conditioning, working on timing and getting on the same page. There are games every seven days now, game plans to install, fine-tune and execute.

The reality is, nobody’s got time for Josh Gordon right now.

Despite all that, the Patriots are at least doing their due diligence on Gordon according to Bert Breer.

So that may have been more than just a few pivot points, but I think its just an early season misstep for the Pats (one that I expected) as they build for the longterm and assess what their strengths and weaknesses are. Plus I feel much more confident going against the Jags in the playoffs going for the split, rather than trying to beat Sacksonville twice in one season.

Up next is old friend Matt Patricia and my worst fantasy draft pick in a decade; Matt Stafford.

The 300s Previews the Patriots (Part 3): Who’s Replacing Malcolm Butler?

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Image result for malcolm butler

First and foremost, the boys are finally back in action tonight!!! After what felt like an extremely long offseason, the first Patriots preseason game of the year kicks off at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday night at Gillette Stadium against Washington.

Even though the team is just getting things started, we are already three levels deep into “The 300s Previews the Patriots” series. After focusing on the offensive side of the ball in both Part 1 and Part 2, today we’re going to give you a look at the defense, specifically regarding exactly whom is going to replace Malcolm Butler.

It’s actually really sad how things ended with Butler, who signed a deal with the Titans this offseason, and I’ll be entirely honest in saying that I’m still not over Belichick’s decision to sit him for the Super Bowl. (Seriously, though, what in the HELL could the guy – a guy who played 98 EFFING PERCENT of the defensive snaps last season – have possibly done to not play in the biggest game of the year? Even worse, we’ll never know the actual reason, because Belichick is apparently taking that shit to the grave.)

I’ll still always love you, Malcolm. And while I’ve yet to get married or have a kid, I know this will always remain one of the very greatest moments of my entire life:

Anyway, it’s time to suck it up, and it’s time for someone else to step in and take Butler’s place opposite Stephon Gilmore in the team’s secondary this season. At least we know Gilmore is a stud; he was excellent in his first year with the team last season. But other than that, there are a couple solid veteran guys and a mishmosh of talented young players/rookies to choose from at corner.

For some reason, the team also worked out free-agent cornerback Bashaud Breeland on Tuesday, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rappoport:

But for now, that’s as far as it’s gone with him.

According to the team’s current official depth chart (which means diddly squat this early in camp, but still), Eric Rowe is leading the way. The 25-year-old has had an inconsistent two years with the Pats after being acquired from the Eagles for a fourth-rounder after his rookie season in 2015. At times, he’s been really bad, and at other times he looks like he’s worthy of the pick the team gave up for him. If Rowe (6’1″, 205 pounds) wins out, he and Gilmore (6’1″, 201 pounds) will make for a pretty stout pairing that should be able to match up physically with most outside receivers. Rowe doesn’t have the speed that Gilmore possesses, but both are tailor-made to play on the boundary.

Image result for eric rowe

What many fans are rooting for instead, however, is that Jason McCourty – twin brother of Patriots safety Devin McCourty – will win the job and give the team a little dose of double trouble in the defensive backfield. The Pats acquired Jason McCourty this offseason from the Browns, and many assumed he would automatically win the starting job, especially considering the fact that the trade occurred just two days after Butler signed with Tennessee.

Image result for mccourty twins

While brother Devin has been a Patriots mainstay since 2010 and is a two-time Pro Bowler (2010 and 2016), Jason hasn’t been quite as prolific. Still, he has been a starter for both Tennessee and Cleveland, respectively, for the past seven seasons and has 26 passes defensed over the past two years with the Browns.

Other than Rowe and McCourty, nobody else has much of shot at winning the open job at outside corner, but there are a few young guys vying to be team’s “third” corner. Here’s a quick look at some of the players gunning to be the team’s starter in the slot:

Jonathan Jones: After a season-ending ankle injury he suffered against the Titans in the playoffs last season, Jones returned to practice for the first time on Tuesday and is expected to be the frontrunner. He initially made the team as an undrafted rookie out of Auburn in 2016, and he continued his impressive ascension last year by playing on over 40 percent of the team’s defensive snaps. Overall, he finished with 44 tackles and eight pass breakups, and he is also one of the team’s top special teams guys.

Duke Dawson: The rookie out of Florida was selected by the Pats with the 24th pick in the second round of the draft this past May, and according to ESPN Boston’s Mike Reiss, he has been playing alongside Gilmore and Rowe in three-cornerback sets this summer. This may be subject to change with Jonathan Jones back in the fold, but the the team wouldn’t have used such a high selection on the 5’10”, 198-pounder with 4.46 speed if they didn’t believe in him.

J.C. Jackson: Undrafted like Jones, Jackson is another rookie who’s impressed so far this offseason. While he’s been roasted at times by guys like Gronk and Chris Hogan, MassLive’s Andrew Callahan also points out that he’s made some pretty great plays as well, breaking up passes in 11-on-11 drills and picking off a two-point conversion attempt. Still, he’s pretty unlikely to beat anyone out for a starting spot just yet.

And oh by the way, Cyrus Jones is still on the team, too, (*vomit*) and it seems like the team is still going to give him a chance to prove himself in some capacity. (At least he can return punts?)

Regardless of exactly how the final depth chart looks, I can’t remember the last time the Pats had such solid depth in the secondary – and we haven’t mentioned the team’s safeties either. Even with the team set to face the likes of Deshaun Watson, Matthew Stafford, Andrew Luck, Marcus Mariota, Ben Roethlisberger, Kirk Cousins, and the other really good No. 12 who plays quarterback in Green Bay this season, I’m feeling pretty good.

So even though I’ll still miss you, Malcolm, I think we’re gonna be just fine.

I’m Not Worried About All the Patriots Injuries, You Are

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The Patriots cruised to a blowout win over the Saints yesterday so its all popsicles and sunshine around here. Kind of. Not to throw cold water on a great victory, but we saw some key players exit the game or clearly playing at less than 100% with various injuries. I’m not yet in panic mode, but this shit has me straight up concerned.

  • Julian Edelman (IR)
  • Malcolm Mitchell (IR)
  • Matthew Slater (OUT – hammy)
  • Danny Amendola (OUT – concussion/knee)
  • Philip Dorsett (came out of the game)
  • Chris Hogan (was in and out of game, severely limping)

“It really, really sucks that Edelman is done for the year, but if there was ever a year to have an injury at receiver, its this year.” I said those words after Edelman went down because we still had Hogan, Amendola, Mitchell, and of course the newly acquired Brandin Cooks. Now? Frighteningly thin. Sure, Brady went out there and had one of his best games ever with fucking fullbacks lining up out wide, but that game had an eerily-2006 feel to it when Brady was basically throwing to trashcans in the AFC championship game.

  • Dont’a Hightower (OUT – knee)

Reports are still pegging this at  2-3 week “minor” injury, but the fact that it happened in Week 1 after the Pats and other teams in Free Agency were concerned with Hightower’s health is not a great sign. If he misses a lengthy period of time, then this Pats defense is cooked against the better teams in this league.

  • Rob Gronkowski (left the game with a groin injury)

Here’s my real-time reaction to Gronk making a reception and taking a hit before gingerly getting up and taking himself out of the game.

And its true, I legit can’t bear to watch the guy take hits anymore because you never know which one is gonna be the one that ends his season this time. But in the sick paradox that is football, its the only way for Gronk to be effective. If he’s not out there being a physical monster, then he’s just not making an impact. It seems like this is a groin injury and not too serious; Gronk said he was “fine” after the game. Thankfully its not the back as Tony Romo pointed out multiple times on the broadcast. Romo’s career was effectively ended by back injuries so this guy knows what he’s talking about, which is scary. Hopefully its just a tweak and Gronk’s back out there next week.

  • Eric Rowe (left the game with a groin injury)

Role players for the Pats (except both started against the Saints) so to see these guys exit the game with injuries is concerning as well. Rowe is the 2nd or 3rd corner depending on what day it is, so to lose that guy for any period of time is a huge hit for the D.

  • Rex Burkhead (left the game with a rib injury)

Burkhead looked like yet another wrinkle in the Pats offense that McDaniels could have some fun with before leaving the game with a rib injury. Its unclear how serious that injury is, but he didn’t return to the game. Sure the Pats have a stable of RBs, but their effectiveness is in the combined efficiency of their diversity, ya know kind of like the Captain Planet Planeteers. So the more of them that are healthy the better off the Pats will be.

So long story short, injuries are starting to pile up for the Patriots and its not even October yet, which has me concerned. Combine the recent injuries with preseason losses like top draft pick Derek Rivers (ACL) and Rob Ninkovich (delicious Bud Lights in retirement and arguing with Felger on TV) and the Pats are getting thinner each week on both sides of the ball. They looked awesome against the Saints, but hopefully some of these injuries clear up or Tom Brady will literally have to carry this team on his back like the old 2006 squad.