SB Nation User Blog: PaulRevere

A good season

PaulRevere — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 14:46:11 -0000

The Patriots have a lot to be proud of this season. Finishing with an 11-5 record while starting a qb who hadn't played since high school and a severely injury-depleted defense is quite a feat. It was only terrible luck that made us miss the playoffs.

This season reaffirmed a few things about our team and football in general:

1.) Belichick is the greatest coach of all times. Hands down. Not up for debate.

2.) Our talent scouts know better than anyone. I was ready to throw Cassell (sp? probably, but I'm a mathematician so shut up) under the bus with most of Patriots nation by week 3, but the staff's belief in him proved to be very much founded. He was one of the top quarterbacks in the league this year. I might have said THE top qb in the league if not for PM's late season resurgence.

3.) We are well-disciplined (probably a subset of number 1). We set an NFL record for fewest penalties this season. The one lowlight of this might have been Dave Thomas' personal foul at the end of the Colts game which I believe probably cost us that game (and susbequently one possible route to a playoff run).

4.) There is no substitute for good defense. We need only look as far as our SB teams and this year's Steelers, Giants, Titans and Panthers to see this. A look at the games we lost would also demonstrate this quite clearly.

5.) Play to win every game. Intensity lags kill teams. I think the Titans' 31-0 loss to the Colts the other day was the wrong way to enter the playoffs. The Colts know that better than anyone. It's a fine line between protecting starters and being flat in the playoffs. Especially after a week one bye.

6.) Damn, football is fun to watch.

On that note, we yield to Boston winter sports and for the first time in my cognizant life, the Bruins are a legitimate cup contender! Holy moly are they good. I recommend everyone watch that team. Hockey might be the greatest sport there is. So fast, so brutal, so action-packed. Also, go Celtics.

AND... YANKEES SUCK!

Defensive Set

PaulRevere — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 17:18:46 -0000

I think I tried to post this while I was at work and never actually did it.

While I do not pretend to be an expert on the level of Bill Belichick or any of the Patriots' personnel, I was curious if there had been any discussion about the Patriots possibly switching from a 3-4 to a 4-3 defensive set. The reason why I am wondering this is because after the rule changes which occurred between the 2004 and 2005 seasons, the prospect of a defensive which depends on covering wide receivers has been looking increasingly grim.

The 4-3 defensive set appears to provide more consistent pass pressure which appears to be the key to success these days. The Giants demonstrated this on Black Sunday. Also, this year the Giants and the Titans have had tremendous success with the 4-3 because they can pressure quarterbacks. It is true that the Steelers play a 3-4, but they always lose to teams with good vertical passing games. Anyways, I am completely open to the fact that I may be missing factors (like mismatch on set and personnel, etc) that would make this idea less favorable, but I was curious if there was any discussion for it. I think it's a good thing to talk about and something we might want to ask on WEEI.

There is trickery afoot...

PaulRevere — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 02:51:59 -0000

Well, I just came across a certain article on nfl.com:

http://blogs.nfl.com/category/adam-schefter/

A summary of the article is that the Patriots were looking at some pretty good quarterbacks and suddenly they told them, "The situation has changed, thanks for coming, but goodbye." Now, the Patriots' trademark has always been trickery. They run offensive plays that fool the people watching it on tv. Their defense reads zone cover and comes in with a safety blitz, etc. They also display similar dry, tongue in cheek, very humorous media trickery to the point where I would swear that they were run by the Russian mafia at some points. So the point is:

Who the Hell knows what they're up to now? I am certain that Bellichick had a contingency plan for this since he's far too smart and cautious not to (and Brady was hurt already). I wouldn't be surprised to see anything from Tom Brady trotting out on the field on Sunday to Brady trotting out on the field disguised as Cassel (or vice versa with a switch at halftime), to Dan Marino being announced as the new quarterback to the Patriots having randomly found and picked up some drunk Irish dude who was throwing beer cans 90 yards down Yawkee Way who just happens to be the greatest quarterback talent in the world. Who knows... all I know is that I love the Patriots and with or without Brady, they're still murder.

Go Patriots!

Official: Brady out for Season

PaulRevere — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 19:06:29 -0000

Well, it's official... the NFL network has just told us that Tom Brady is out for the season. I wouldn't panic just yet though... we're still the Patriots. We still have a boatload of awesome on that team. A retooled defense and a quarterback with something to prove. The Giants won with Eli Manning last year and as far as I could tell before they "caught lightning in a bottle", Eli was eligible for the special olympics. So, we'll see how this plays out.

Press Conference at 3

PaulRevere — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 18:21:24 -0000

Alright, I am fortunate enough to be not starting work until September 22 so I will be here watching the Patriots press conference where they will be reporting on the condition of Brady's knee. I will then immediately come here and do my best to transliterate the whole thing for PatsPulpit.

On a more entertaining note, did anyone see Chicago's defense last night? That is one mean team. Peyton looked rusty and the Colts have apparently returned to not having a defense to speak of.

2008 Pats Season

PaulRevere — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:46:18 -0000

Well, it looks like the draft actually played into our hands pretty well. I've just had a look at our schedule and I'm going to go ahead and give a conservative regular season win estimate of 14. Just like last year, I don't see a single game that we shouldn't win. I really wish the powers that be would allow us to play Indianapolis in Foxboro for once. Anyways, no big deal. My overall prediction for this season is:

Regular Season Record: 14-2 or 15-1

Overall Record: 17-2 or 18-1 AND Super Bowl Champions in both cases

Someone should have...

PaulRevere — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 17:44:47 -0000

reminded our offensive line that the drinking party is supposed to start after the game, not before it. The Giants have an outstanding pass rush, but we're also supposed to have an awesome offensive line. Well, I simply didn't see that in the Super Bowl. Our O-line looked stoned. I don't think Matt Light successfully blocked Osi Umenyiora on a single occasion. It was also the first bad game I've seen Bellichick coach. That being said, Brady still played pretty well considering he had under a second to throw it every time. Those deep throws to Moss (which he shouldn't have attempted) fell short simply because he was hit as he was throwing pretty much every time. Any other QB (including either Manning) in the situation would have thrown 4 picks. Also, Michael Strahan should have been Super Bowl MVP, not anyone on the Giants' offense. And if it were to be someone on the offense, then it should have been Tyree whose miracle catch essentially won them the game.

Everyone Must Read This Article

PaulRevere — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 22:06:46 -0000

This is an article that the Onion put out making fun of all the teams and their attempts to beat New England. It's pretty funny because I think they've captured the sentiments of the entire league since very early in the season.

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/giants_we_almost_beat_the_patriots

No one

PaulRevere — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 18:21:29 -0000

will beat the Patriots. If you don't believe me, just go to this page:

http://www.nfl.com/news/story;jsessionid=AB86173A691A06407645CD4657092ACE?id=09000d5d806382db&te mplate=with-video&confirm=true

And realize with the foresight of doom that no team can possibly stop that. Whether by Moss or the rest of the arsenal, the opposition will eventually crumble like a stale cookie. Also, Tom Brady didn't play particularly well last week. How uncharacteristic. Expect him to be spot on this week.

hello guys and gals

PaulRevere — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 05:29:26 -0000

You may find this video interesting. This is called "The best of Rany Moss". I had to marvel at his superhuman abilities. At least once per game he does something that leaves me with my jaw firmly fixed to my sternum. Something that you couldn't possibly imagine being possible... whether he does a jumping full extension one handed catch on a 60mph pass or he reaches around a defender whose going to intercept and manages to bounce the ball over the guy's head and catch it himself or gets held and tripped and still manages to land underneath a 60 yard pass. The man is unbelievable. Here it is:

http://www.nfl.com/videos;jsessionid=F7D44D6A0802B247B7146B259BFCB4A4?videoId=09000d5d805b04d4