Patriots aware of Raven strengths at first practice of game week

(Photo by Matt West/Boston Herald)

by Dakota Antelman

The Patriots knew on Saturday, as the Baltimore Ravens dispatched the Stealers in the Wild Card Playoffs, the identity of the team that will be playing them in the Divisional Playoffs. On Monday, they got to work preparing for what could be a rough and/or close game.

The Patriots have a history with Baltimore facing them in back-to-back AFC Championship games back in 2011 and 2012. Those games went in two different directions for the Patriots with the 2011 affair punching New England’s ticket to the Super Bowl and the 2012 game ending in a disappointing, injury filled loss.

Though it is obvious that the Patriots would love to tap into that vein of victory circa 2011 when they play next Saturday, they are not buying into that mindset of hindsight; they are not looking at Baltimore’s unassuming six loss regular season either.

"They're well coached, they're physical, they do a good job on the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said Monday. "They have explosive skill players on offense, in the return game and on defense.”

Belichick went on to say  “I think Coach [John] Harbaugh has, as always, put those type of teams out there with [general manager] Ozzie [Newsome] and their respective staffs. I think that's what they have again. That's what they are. They're tough; physically and mentally tough. They can play in tough situations and they're talented. They keep coming at you."

Baltimore kept coming at the Stealers in Wild Card Week. Their play dispelled an equally physical team with apparent ease. The running game dominated the Stealers defensive line while a set of blocking tight ends seemed to regularly clear space for the receivers; Steve Smith and Owen Daniels particularly.

Smith caught five passes for 101 yards while Daniels accounted for 78 yards.

Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco tossed a pair of touchdowns and completed passes to nine different receivers in the win, drawing praise and cautious envy from Patriots coaches and players.

“I think it’s really a great system fit for him from his ability to get the ball downfield," Patriot defensive coordinator Matt Patricia said of Flacco and the Baltimore receivers. "Obviously Joe Flacco has an extremely strong arm. [He] can really make those hard throws downfield, the deep throws downfield. Along with his mobility, this guy is a very athletic quarterback.”  

Aware of Baltimore’s strength, the Patriots went to work Monday with a traditional practice. The coaches split off with their respective portions of the team, working to either solve Baltimore’s no-nonsense defense or crack the will of their offence.

Practice was heavy on Patriot linemen like Dan Connelly and featured intense coverage drills for members of the secondary like Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner. On offense, offensive coordinator Josh McDanials stressed the need to work on having a varied attack vs the Ravens in post-practice interviews. Belichick seemed to agree. He had Tom Brady consistently spread the ball across his receivers.

The Patriots have a full week of practice ahead of them. There is no joking around in Foxboro because Brady, Belichick and company know all too well how the Ravens have had their number in the past. As we near Saturday kickoff, the Patriots are working hard to do the things they need to do to prevent 2012 from repeating itself.

Tom Brady summarized those sentiments best on Facebook, Monday morning. He posted a picture of the end zone militia looking up at a flock of birds above Gillette Stadium and captioned it, “all eyes on Ravens this week #OurHouse.”

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Julian Edelman, Kyle Arrington, Le Garette Blount do not travel to New York, out vs. Jets

(Photo courtesy of Jared Wilkerham/Getty Images)

By Dakota Antelman

According to multiple reports, the Patriots realized the extent of several key players’ injuries Saturday afternoon before they travelled to New York for their game against the Jets. As a result, they elected to leave WR Julian Edelman, RB LeGarette Blount and CB Kyle Arrington home; ruled out for Sunday’s game.

All week, injury trouble has been a common theme and an overtly discussed topic for the Patriots. Julian Edelman had been listed as limited in each of the Patriots practices this week reportedly nursing a concussion. During that time, LeGarette Blount had participated in almost no contact drills as he is said to be dealing with a shoulder injury.

Finally, Kyle Arrington, who pulled up lame during last week’s game with Miami, has been out for much of the week with an injured hamstring.  Even though an MRI conducted Monday morning showed no major damage to Arrington’s hamstring, the CB appears to be still feeling soreness and as a result will not play.

The losses of Blount, Edelman and Arrington stand as big stories going into Sunday’s game. But against a 3-11 Jets team that has the worst passing game in football and is ranked 20th in pass defense, the Patriots ought to be able to compensate.

Without Edelman, who has hawked big target numbers from Brady all season, passes could be distributed to less targeted players like Danny Ammendola or Brian Tyms. Tyms has only been targeted six times this season, catching one ball. Ironically, that catch went for a touchdown in Week Four vs. Buffalo.

In the run game mind you, the Patriots excelled earlier in the year when Blount did not even play for them. Predictions and past trends dictate that rookie running back Jonas Gray could see increased snaps while an appearance from draftee James White has not yet been ruled out.

The New England secondary will likely absorb the loss of Arrington seamlessly as, beyond cornerstone CB Darelle Revis, Brandon Browner has been on the rise in recent weeks, increasing his effectiveness and thereby decreasing the yards his opponents gain off of him. The Jets passing game, which largely consists of just two capable targets (Eric Decker, Jeremy Kerley) could be negated by Revis and Browner alone.

Las Vegas favored the Patriots to win this game on Monday and still does on Saturday night. Though a lack of Blount, Edelman and Arrington stings on paper, a Patriots team that prides itself in positional depth feels they are able to absorb the loss. 

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Patriots vs Dolphins Preview: Team Not Giving Week One Loss Excessive Weight

(Photo courtesy of Lynne Sladky of the AP)

by Dakota Antelman

The Patriots will be looking to wrap up the AFC East Sunday vs the Dolphins. A win for New England will clench the division for the 12^thtime in 14 seasons while a loss for the Dolphins will potentially eliminate them from the playoffs once again.

Needless to say, the near annual nature of their winning the division, does not make the accomplishment any less appealing as it often predates postseason success.

“It means a lot but obviously not focusing on that, it's more about winning and seeing what happens after that,” Patriots linemen Sebastian Vollmer said to ESPN’s Mike Reiss earlier this week.

One theme that rings loudly in the minds of Patriots fans going into this game is the Week One loss the Dolphins handed the Patriots back in September. The game did not go well for the Patriots as a weak running game and a mediocre start to the season for Brady immediately created much of the worry and questioning that was present for the first four weeks of the year.

However, since these two teams met in Week One, the Patriots have climbed to a sustained position where they have rained touchdowns and stunning losses down upon opponents, effectively erasing the pain of that rough Week One loss. For New England the result of that game is not as much a cause of worry but rather a reason to work even harder in practice.

“Obviously [we have] moved on from that, but there is some stuff that we're goanna try to do better, you know stuff that didn't go well, we'll work on that. Overall, we'll have to play better than we did. Loosing is not acceptable.”

Among the units that have been called upon to improve considerably on their effort last time they faced Miami is the offence as a whole. The Miami defense has given the Patriots trouble in the past. Their run game is prepared while Tom Brady is focused on dumping short passes and not tempting the secondary with deep balls.

In general though, Bilichick has been preaching about giving full effort on all sides of the ball all week.

"We need to talk about how to play offense, defense and special teams against the Dolphins a lot better than we did the last time we played them, which wouldn't take much," he said. "That's what we'll be talking about this week: what to do and how to do it.”

The Patriots defense will have to contend with a mobile quarterback in Miami’s Ryan Tannihill and a varied run game that has hit it off this year with wide receiver Mike Wallace.

Good news for New England though is that Wallace in particular has struggled to catch passes when matched up against physical corners like Brandon Browner or Darelle Revis so far this season. Also, as with almost every matchup between New England and Miami, interceptions could be favored to decide the game.

Many comparisons have been drawn this week between the Week One incarnation of the Patriots that lost to Miami and the Week 15 version that will try to beat them. But according to the team, those comparisons are meaningless. 

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The contract by the numbers: Brandon Browner

Term: 3 years
Total worth: $12.35 million
Incentives: $4.45 million

Year 1
Base: 1 million
Off-season bonuses: $250,000 (workout)
Roster bonus: $500,000 (for making 53 man roster at any point during the season)
$150,000 (per game he is on the 46 man roster)
Playtime incentives: up to 1.2 million

The bottom line: In the only year where any money is guaranteed for Browner, the Patriots are all but set. If catastrophe strikes, the Patriots will only be set back 1 million dollars. At the same time, the 150,000 dollars per game wrinkle allows for a much better and therefore fairer distribution of the cash in relation to playing time. If Browner goes down early in the season the Patriots will be back 3 to 5 hundrud K and if he plays a while than the deal if okay.

Year 2
Base: $1.9 million
Roster bonus: $2 million (is on the 90 man roster at the beginning of the year)
Second roster bonus: 100,000 (per game he is on the roster)
Playtime incentives: 500,000 (250K for 75% playing time, 250K for 85% playing time)

The bottom line: The Patriots are in an interesting place when it comes to the second year of this  deal. Nothing is guaranteed so they can drop Browner if next season does not work out but if they decide to pick up the option of this second year, they will owe Browner 1.9 million dollars and in all likelihood 2 more million when Browner makes the roster at the start of the year. Without even taking into account the 1.7 million he could earn by extra incentives, this seems to be a bit of a situation of overpaying between the Patriots and Browner.

Year 3
Base: $1.9 million
Roster bonus: $2 million (is on the 90 man roster at the beginning of the year)
Second roster bonus: 100,000 (per game he is on the roster)
Playtime incentives: 500,000 (250K for 75% playing time, 250K for 85% playing time)

The bottom line: Once again, this is a bit of a situation of overpaying. However, the Patriots did break the mold from the other contracts they dished out this week, basically copy and pasting their details from year 2 into year 3 of the deal. While my opinion on this year is the same as the year before, this 3rd year seems to be a bit more logical. That season might very well be one of the last that Tom Brady plays and therefore, it may be one of the last opportunities the Patriots have to win it all before what will likely be a period of rebuilding that will not be much fun. Browner might very well play a big role that season and he should be paid accordingly.

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One by one: A precise breakdown of the recent additions made to the Patriots via free agancy

After a week that included the resigning of Julian Edelman, the loss of Aqib Talib and eventual replacing of him with Darrelle Revis, the request for release made by Vince Wilfork, the signing of Brandon Browner, and finally the deal that brought former Panther Brandon LeFell to the Patriots, one big question has rang through Foxborugh almost without cease. That question being, amidst all this, are the Patriots better?

By alot.

Looking back to last season, a season ended by the firepower of Peyton Manning and his legion of dexterous receivers but also an incurable slew of injures to the Patriots, it was those injuries that evidently held this team out of actual Super Bowl contention. Right out of the gate, New England's most promising young running back - nimble Shane Vereen - was knocked out of his Week 1 match-up with Buffalo as a result of a broken hand. He did not return until Week 11 against Carolina. Also felled in Week One however was wide receiver Danny Ammendola who fell victim to a hip strain that between several flare ups amounted to 4 missed games and a diminished trust on the part of Tom Brady in the man who was supposed to be the replacement to Wes Welker. Averaging just 6.9 targets and 4.5 receptions per game, Ammendola was possible the biggest disappointment of the 2013 regular season for the Patriots largely because of his inability to stay healthy and therefore develop a connection with the passer. Keeping on the topic of injures, it would only be about a month before things got even worse for New England as in Week 4 against the Falcons, middle defensive lineman - Vince Wilfork - went down with a freak achilles injury. That knock took him out for the entire season. From there, the theme of injury susceptibility had been set for these 2013 Pats. By mid-season, their line backing core had been decimated and their offensive line had been compromised by a nearly constant turnover as a result of injuries to various starters.

When the one rock left on that unit - Nate Solder - suffered concussions in back to back weeks towards the end, many Patriots fans partially expected it solely because when it came to injury, everything that could possibly go wrong last season did. But Solder was not even the best example of that. After missing the first 6 games of the season as a result of a slew of off-season surgeries, star tight end - Rob Gronkowski - returned in Week 7 against the Jets only to be taken out at the knees 6 games later. As a result of the low blow, Gronkowski tore both his ACL and his MCL and did not return to action before the season was over.

If one were to try to pinpoint the cause for the Patriots short comings last season, injuries would be a viable pick. You see, the Patriots had enough skill under contract to win the Super Bowl only when it came to the sideline, many of those talents were simply not there. Knowing that success in 2014 would be gotten by health, the Patriots went into free agency looking to replace those who are prone to injury with those who are not. That theme was evident right from the first sequence of transactions we saw this week.

Though he was one of the best corner backs in years for the Patriots, the 5 interceptions in 19 regular season games, Aqib Talib made were overshadowed by the back to back injuries in AFC Championship games to Talib as well as the 3 regular season games he missed in 2013. After 23 games in New England, the Aqib Talib experiment was concluded when the team allowed him to walk and sign a 57 million dollar contract with Denver. But the importance of having a shutdown corner in New England did not leave with Talib.

Less than a 24 hours after the Talib contract was signed, the Patriots inked a 1 year 12 million dollar contract with former Jet and Buccaneer Darrelle Revis effectively replacing Talib with someone even better. Through 7 seasons, Revis has missed games due to injury in just 2 seasons. During the 95 games he has played, Revis has defended 108 passes, made 21 interceptions and 284 total tackles. Solely on the basis of playing time, Revis has made the team better than they were with Talib.

Also coming into the system is 4th year, hulk of a human corner back, Brandon Browner. Standing at 6 foot 4 inches and 221 pounds, Browner was a key name within the Seattle Seahawks' Legion of Boom that won them the Super Bowl this season. He defended and average of 1.25 passes in the 8 games he started this season keeping true with a theme of consistency he has built himself in Seattle. He defended 23 passes and picked off 6 more in his rookie year and dispite suffering a bit of a drop off 1 year later piled in 35 tackles with 3 more interceptions and 3 powerful fourced fumbles.

It seems that the only drawback about Browner is the big black mark next to his name that cost him the last 8 games of the regular season, the 3 playoff games the Seahawks won en route to the Super Bowl and the first 4 games of this coming season. Midway through December is was announced that Browner was facing a drug suspension as a result of failed tests from earlier in his career and on December 18th, he was suspended indefinitely from the league. During the offseason however, he was told he would be allowed to return in Week 5 of this coming season.

Now I know what you are thinking. You are thinking 'hey, haven't we already had our fair share of bad character signings in Boston?'. The answer to that is yes but here me out. While Browner was dealt a pretty sizable deal when it comes to the cap, not much of the deal is guaranteed. In fact just 4.8 million of the 17 million dollars Browner is eligible to receive will come guaranteed. The remaining 12 million plus will only be earned if Browner can meet a wide array of statistical milestones, namely 250,000 dollar paydays if he can appear in 75% and then 85% of the team's plays in years 2 and 3 of the contract.

Fact is with the Browner deal, if he works out, the Patriots will have a booming, ball hawking hulk covering an opponent’s secondary targets on the large majority of plays. And yet if things go badly and Browner does not reform himself, than the Patriots will get out without much financial lament.

Finally, we cannot help but recognize the work of Julian Edelman and how much he absolutely deserves the contract he was dealt. But nevertheless, even after the Patriots locked down Edelman with a 4 year 17 million dollar contract, they looked to add one more target for Tom  Brady. Late Saturday night, they signed, former Panther, Brandon LaFell to a 3 year 9 million dollar contract therefore locking down a durable target of healthy Amendola skill for the reminder of Brady's productive career. In 5 years with Carolina, LaFell has made just 167 receptions but has miraculously averaged almost 14 and a half yards per reception. Additionally, in each of his 5 seasons, LaFell has improved upon his yardage totals from the year before. In each of his last 3 seasons, he has logged 600+ receiving yards. 

Fact is every team will have its weaknesses only the good ones are better at makeing up for those weaknesses elsewhere. In 2014, the Patriots will likely be a team with weak linebackers and safety but that will not matter because their corner backs and downfield receivers will be without refute.

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