Tag: Patriots

No Experience Required?

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super-bowl-li-patriots-patch-590x590On The 300s Podcast this week, we discussed whether or not previous Super Bowl experience would be a benefit for the Patriots heading into their Super Bowl LI matchup with the Atlanta Falcons. At first thought, I assumed previous Super Bowl experience would be a huge advantage for the Patriots.

The week leading up the Super Bowl is a gongshow. Media Day Opening Night is a just the beginning of a week full of distractions, and who blocks out distractions better than the Patriots? But Michael Salfino had an interesting piece in the Wall Street Journal on Friday, basically picking my assumption apart, piece by piece.

New England has 17 more players with Super Bowl experience (21) than the Falcons. In the last 40 Super Bowls, a team has held this advantage over its opponent 38 times. These teams are 16-22 in those games…

An edge at the game’s most important position didn’t matter either. Teams have had a QB with prior Super Bowl experience 19 times versus a team like the Falcons and Matt Ryan with none and are 9-10.

I stand corrected. Upon further reflection, this holds up pretty well over the last 15 years. Just off the top of my head, experience didn’t help the 2001 Rams, the 2007 Patriots, the 2009 Colts, the 2010 Steelers or the 2013 Broncos in the big game. It seems like Super Bowl veterans are just as liable to put up clunkers (Peyton Manning 2013) as Super Bowl first-timers (Cam Newton 2015).

The Super Bowl is such a colossal event that maybe no matter how many times you’ve been, each trip is its own adventure. We’ll see what events unfold this week, but I’m no longer under the impression that Brady’s six previous Super Bowl appearances give him the edge over Matt Ryan. I’d still take Brady over Ryan if I had my pick at QB but maybe Ryan and Atlanta’s blissful Super Bowl ignorance isn’t a shortcoming after all. Looking at the history of this game, maybe having no baggage is an advantage.

Episode 003 of The 300s Podcast: Countdown to Super Bowl 51, the First Annual NBA Jam Tournament and the Hunt for Big Mac Sauce

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In episode 003 of The 300s Podcast we touch on our Super Bowl 51 Preview, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick going for GOAT status, Introducing the First Annual 300’s NBA Jam Tournament and the Hunt for McDonald’s Big Mac Sauce:

No. 1 Offense vs No. 1 Defense? “I’ll take the No. 1 defense every time.”…”Is Atlanta a crappy sports city? They’ve lost two hockey teams.”…”How about Bartolo Colon? He started the same year as Turner Field. Dude outlasted a ballpark.”…”You know how many Super Bowls Bill Parcells won after Belichick left? Zero.” …”To get the fifth ring with this supporting cast of castoffs is even more impressive”….”NBA Jam – If we have 8 guys and 7 games, maybe 6 of them end in a buzzer beater. Down by 12? Don’t worry you’re gonna hit 6 shots in a row”…”There is no reason to have any kind of post game in NBA Jam. LeBron you are nothing more than a decoy”….”These are mouth breathers. Go to McDonalds and just ask for Big Mac Sauce, it’s free.”

Los Angeles Chargers Coach Thinks He’s Still in San Diego; Cue the BASEketball Reference

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Hilarious. The team hasn’t even been in LA for a week and the new guy in charge just called them the wrong city. Rough first presser for Anthony Lynn. Thats what ya get for moving 2 hours south, Chargers! You’re basically the same exact thing to anyone not from California. That’s a reasonable game day tailgate commute. Takes me 2 hours to get home from a Patriots game and I live in Boston. But I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t post this classic clip from BASEketball because it is the same EXACT situation. Trey Parker and Matt Stone predicting the future from 19 years ago, who would’ve guessed.

I Love That Jonathan Kraft is Roasting DeflateGate Creator and Recently Fired Colts GM Ryan Grigson

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ESPN – “The New England Patriots obviously haven’t forgotten who started Deflategate, as team president Jonathan Kraft expressed little sympathy for former Indianapolis Colts general manager Ryan Grigson, who was relieved of his duties on Saturday. On Kraft’s weekly pregame interview on 98.5 The Sports Hub on Sunday, Kraft initially deflected a question about the Colts’ firing of Grigson, before referring to the AFC Championship Game against Indianapolis that started Deflategate. Said Kraft: “That game might have been Ryan’s pinnacle, I don’t know.” The Patriots beat the Colts 45-7 in the conference title game on Jan. 18, 2015.”

Jonathan Kraft is throwing shade and I love it. Robert won’t do it, at least not outright. Brady won’t do it. You know Belichick won’t do it. So it’s up to Jonathan to throw out these subtle little digs.

Oh you wanna create a gigantic fugazi scandal about something the NFL had never cared about to actually check or measure in the history of the league? It’s entrapment really. Just like that Sean Connery movie, but not as good. Grigson – you want to cause us to lose draft picks, get fined and have the greatest player in Patriot history suspended for 4 games? Cause an absolute shitstorm in the media that lead to investigations, league sanctioned and biased reports on how Tom Brady maybe, possibly knew about something? TB12 getting dragged into court over air pressure in footballs?

Well guess what, when you get fired because you can’t draft for shit, Jonathan Kraft will roast you. Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

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PS – Has there even been a more appropriate quote to describe Tom Brady and the entire DeflateGate saga than the one from the end of The Dark Knight?

“Because he’s the hero Foxborough deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So we’ll hunt him. Because he can take it. Because he’s not our hero. He’s a silent guardian, a watchful protector. A dark knight.”

Patriots Dismantle the Steelers On The Way to Their 9th Super Bowl Appearance

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The Patriots are going to their 9th Super Bowl. The most in NFL history. Bill Belichick is going to his 7th Super Bowl as a head coach. The most in NFL history. And Tom Brady is going to his 7th Super Bowl as player. The most in NFL history.

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The Patriots played their best game of the year in all 3 phases of the game and Pittsburgh just had no answer. Tom Brady went 32 for 42 for 384 yards and 3 TD’s in the 36-17 dismantling of Pittsburgh. A handful of those incompletions were drops or intentional throwaways too. And Brady now has 22 TD’s and 0 INTs in his last 7 games against Mike Tomlin and the Steelers.

Sure, LeVeon Bell getting hurt did not help the Steelers (who appeared very LaDanian Tomlinson-esque on the sidelines), but the Pats shut down Deangelo Williams (34 yards and a TD), who in the past has roasted New England. But they also held All-Pro receiver Antonio Brown in check to just 7 catches for 77 yards. Kudos to Malcolm Butler and also to Mark Zuckerberg for setting up shop in Brown’s head with the whole Facebook Live debacle.

Patriots corner Eric Rowe does scare the shit out of me though. The stats say he had a pick and no huge plays given up, but in reality he was getting burned all night and if it wasn’t for 2 or 3 drops by Pittsburgh receivers this could have been a much tighter game. So he should be a blast to watch against the No. 1 offense in the NFL during the Super Bowl.

The Pats running game wasn’t great, save for that pile-carrying run Blount had down to the 1. But it didn’t need to be as Chris Hogan and Julian Edelman lit up the Steelers questionable secondary all night. The two combined for 17 catches, 298 yards and 3 TD’s. Hogan in fact broke the Patriots record for receiving yards in a playoff game with his 9 for 180, which is all you need to know about last night’s game. The Steelers either didn’t respect him or just forgot to cover him because he found holes all night long for big plays and 2 TD’s. He should have had another huge play too, but Brady underthrew him on a deep crossing route.

Tom Brady was brilliant once again. Completing passes to 9 different receivers. I’m sure the entire week of talk radio and ESPN saying how poorly Brady played against the Texans the previous week and how vulnerable they looked was a good boost of extra motivation.

The Patriots have now won 17 of 20 home playoff games with Belichick and Brady. That is bananas.

And, my goodness this ESPN the Magazine cover. Just look at it. You’ve done a lot of terrible, unforgivable things ESPN, but goddamnit will I be purchasing this beauty.

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We’re on to the Super Bowl.

Patriots are Headed Back to the Super Bowl as Tom Brady Continues to Be American Royalty

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Tom Brady and Gisele continue to be true American royalty.

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Huge win for the Patriots, especially after all the talk about the “tomato cans” they’ve played, their weak strength of schedule, and how the Steelers are a playoff tested team. Didn’t matter. Cannot stop TB12 on the Drive for Five. We’ll have more of a game recap later today. Until then just set this pic of Tom and Gisele as your laptop background.

Chip Kelly is Meeting with Belichick and the Patriots After Not Getting Jaguars OC Job

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Man I feel like I saw someone predicting this weeks ago. Oh right it was me.

Sure McDaniels may not be off to San Francisco, but tell me the Patriots and his good friend Bill Belichick would not welcome the offensive brain of Chip Kelly. I predicted Chip coming on as an offensive analyst for the Patriots earlier this month after SF dumped him. The guy needs to reboot his career after a couple of rocky years in San Fran and Philadelphia. Most of the NFL jobs are already dried up and I don’t think he wants to go back to college. Plus Oregon hired a new coach like 2 weeks before he got fired by the 49ers, which may be the only reason he’s not back in the NCAA ranks already.

Bill has a history of bringing on guys he trusts during playoff runs too. In 2011 he brought McDaniels on as an offensive analyst while Bill O’Brien was still the OC. Maybe it doesn’t happen in the playoffs, but I still see him ultimately joining the Patriots staff. It just makes too much sense.

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Patriots Preparing to Stomp the Steelers Out Zoolander Style

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This is just too good not to post. Just picturing TB12 and the Pats players driving to the stadium every day as the Steelers are busy talking shit and Facebook Live streaming their coach’s postgame speech.

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Thank God Tom Brady just came out with his new science altering PJs last week. Just in time. The whole team is probably sleeping like lambs. Just catching all the z’s before they stomp the Steelers out on Sunday.

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