Tag: Jason McCourty

Patriots Chiefs Week 6 Game Preview, Odds, and Things to Watch For

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Two straight wins have vaulted the Pats right back up to the top of the AFC East heading into Week 6. Go ahead and smile, Pats Nation. It’s OK. But don’t get too cocky, as the SCORCHING-HOT, undefeated Kansas City Chiefs are coming to town this weekend for a Sunday night showdown.

As always, here’s a quick look at where, when, and how to watch the game along with the latest lines:

  • Location: Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, MA)
  • Kickoff: Sunday, Oct. 14, 8:20 p.m. ET
  • TV: NBC
  • Odds (via Odds Shark): Patriots: -3.5 (spread)/Patriots: -175 (moneyline)/59.5 (total)

Just by looking at the numbers, you can see that this one is expected to be a barn burner and an absolute shoot-out. In fact, the current 59.5-point total is slated to be the second-highest over/under for any game within the last 15 years (just behind the 60-point total which closed for a game between the Chiefs and Raiders in 2003). Points are going to be scored in this one. Get ready for some major offensive firepower – on both sides.

The Chiefs currently have the league’s fourth-ranked offense and are averaging 35 points per game, which is the second-highest mark in the league behind the New Orleans Saints. The team is being led by MVP-candidate Patrick Mahomes, a second-year quarterback who was given the keys to the car this year and has rewarded Kansas City for that move with a league-leading 16 total touchdowns so far.

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Here’s Mahomes – probably getting ready to embarrass some poor defensive back in front of thousands of people.

It’s worth noting that he’s only got a five-game track record – six, if you want to include the one game he started as a rookie last year – and young signal-callers usually end up defecating all over themselves their first time playing in Foxborough. But this kid has been absolutely electric this year, and while Belichick probably has a few tricks up his sleeve to slow Mahomes down, the Pats defense just doesn’t have the talent needed to shut down a player of his caliber completely.

Mahomes’s historic season has certainly been aided by the plethora of offensive weapons at his disposal. Seriously, this offense is LOADED. Tyreek Hill is one of the league’s most explosive talents at wide receiver. Travis Kelce is the easily best tight end behind Gronk. Former first-rounder Sammy Watkins is a solid, albeit inconsistent, No. 3 option in the passing game. And Kareem Hunt – last season’s league-leading rusher – is off to another great start with 376 yards on the ground so far, good for fourth in the league. (Oddly, though, for a guy who had over 50 catches last year, Hunt is not getting the ball thrown his way anymore and has just five receptions in 2018. Mahomes has pretty much been getting it done with his wide receivers and tight ends all year.)

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Hunt (27), Hill (10), and Kelce (87) are one nasty trio.

Fortunately, the Chiefs’ defense is ranked dead-last in the NFL, and they have given up by far the most passing yards in the league. Therefore, Brady & Co. should have no trouble keeping up on the scoreboard. And while our defense doesn’t come without it’s own issues (gee, have I mentioned that before?), I have much more confidence in the Pats’ ability to stem the tide than I do the Chiefs.

Also, after coming out EN FUEGO the first few weeks, Mahomes is actually starting to come back down to earth. Over the past two weeks, he’s only thrown for one score while tossing two picks; the yards have still have still been there, though, and the team hasn’t lost, so he’s still moving the ball. However, maybe he’s not completely impossible to stop after all.

Storylines

(Can Jason McCourty Solidify His Spot in the Secondary?): After going from exciting new offseason addition to potential final-roster cut candidate and starting the season buried on the depth chart, Jason McCourty has played outstanding the past couple of weeks and seems to be quite rejuvenated. He’s truly been one of the team’s very best defenders and was all over the Colts receivers last Thursday night. Eric Rowe, who started the season as the team’s No. 2 corner, is now probably unlikely to reclaim his starting spot when he returns from injury. That is, of course, unless McCourty gets torched by Mahomes and his minions this week. This is a huge game for Jason McCourty, and I’ll be watching him very closely on Sunday night.

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You’ve been playing great lately, Jason. Don’t blow it.

(Will Chris Hogan Finally Wake Up?): There is no doubt that Hogan has been one of the team’s biggest disappointments this season. With Julian Edelman out for the first four weeks of the season and a dearth of other receiving options on the team, many expected Hogan to serve as a bona fide No. 1 wide-out for as long as needed. Except for a lucky two-touchdown game in Week 2 against the Jags, Hogan has yet to surpass 34 yards in a game this season. There’s also two games this year where he’s hauled in just one pass. To be fair, he hasn’t been getting many targets, but that probably has to do with him being unable to get any separation. I believe Hogan is much better served as a No. 2 or 3 option in an offense, and Edelman’s return should actually open more things up for him. But if he can’t get it going against Kansas City’s horrendous pass-coverage, YIKES.

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EARTH TO CHRIS HOGAN! Where ya been, bud?

(Two of the Best Minds in the Game Go Head-to-Head): I’m pretty sure by now everyone’s heard of that guy Bill Belichick and how great of a coach he is. And even the most casual of NFL fans should know about Andy Reid, now in his sixth year as head coach of the Chiefs after spending 13 years as the leading man in Philadelphia. Both men have a pretty extensive track record of success, but I’m unsure if people realize just how much of an offensive visionary Reid is. Not only are his offenses always near the top of the league each season, but he was the one who decided to go all in and draft Mahomes last season, even when most others throughout the franchise were fine sticking with Alex Smith. The guy is an offensive visionary, and this will be a fun chess match to watch between two of the game’s best and brightest.

Prediction

As I said, this one is going to be a whirlwind, with tons of yards and points galore. I do think the Pats will tame Mahomes much more than people expect, but don’t forget about Kareem Hunt and the running game; this is not a one-dimensional offense. This one could be a real boxing match, with both teams trading blows all night long. In the end, I think the Pats benefit from some home cooking and eek out a win, 33-30, with a late Stephen Gostkowski field goal.

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

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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.

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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.

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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.