Sunday, September 30, 2012

How to see my new posts


So I stopped uploading my posts to here, but I think some people are still coming here. Below is how to see my new stuff. The patriots life link is a search so you get JUST my posts. Twitter is the best way to follow me. I also have the Facebook fan page that gets uploaded with new posts.

Patriots life: http://www.nepatriotslife.com/search?q=cultofbelichick
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CultOfBelichick
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cult-of-Belichick/418628151516908

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Tuesdays Roster Moves

So, on Tuesday, the Patriots made some interesting roster moves. Cutting three young guys, and bringing in some veterans. They cut WR Greg Salas (just acquired for a late round 2015 pick from Rams at 53-man cutdown day), LB Mike Rivera (signed to practice squad during middle of last season), and FB Lex Hilliard (signed the day after 53 man cutdown day). Then, they signed WR Deion Branch, LB Niko Koutouvidis, and TE Kellen Winslow. The first two didn't make it past cutdown day, and Winslow was in Seahawks camp before getting cut and wasn't able to latch on anywhere. So, lets dive in here and see why they did all of this. As always, follow me on twitter @CultOfBelichick

-Salas for Branch: This one is very interesting because they basically cut Branch in favor of Salas at the 53-man cutdown date. Then, two weeks later they are cutting Salas, and signing Branch? My thought: The Patriots knew Branch wasn't going anywhere as he has stated his desire to play in New England, or no where else, and wanted to grab Salas for practice squad. Then, they cut Salas once they thought he'd pass through waivers. The injury to Hernandez made them move on Branch early, and we have to hope Salas isn't claimed and can get back on the squad.

The Patriots are hopeful Kellen Winslow can bring back old magic
-Mike Rivera for Niko Koutouvidis: This one is not overly surprising. After the debacle on special teams on Sunday, they wanted to bring in a veteran presence to help calm things down. Again, Rivera likely headed back to the practice squad.

-Kellen Winslow for Lex Hilliard These two do not play the same position, but it was still basically just a swap. This is a situation where they needed to add a player, and had to cut the guy on the 53-man giving the least value, and that was Hilliard. He hadn't really done anything productive, and with the offense moving away from a 2 TE offense slightly with Hernandez out, the offense is going to be more spread out and there will be less need for a FB. As for Winslow, they are basically hoping he can come in and be healthy and allow them to run half of their snaps or so out of 2TE sets. They will not run them all the time like they did in the first game, but they do not want to be forced into what they were in the Cardinals game, and HAVE to run 1TE sets.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Deion Branch Back

Deoin Branch is back folks. Tommy B jumps for joy and screams from the rooftop that his binky is back. But, I personally am bittersweet on this one. The main reason I am unhappy about this is because it opens all those damn floodgates of bringing back every Patriot that was ever cut. Everyone asking about ever player ever and if they may be coming back. Let's just go pick up Troy Brown and Tedy fucking Bruschi while we're at it. Why the fuck cut Branch in the first place if you think he can help the team? I just don't understand this. The Salas trade makes negative sense now that they are bringing in Deoin. Now, if Deoin can come in and be your 4th WR (I do not want him ahead of Edelman) and produce, he would not be the worst 4th WR in the league. He has a rapport with Brady, and that hast to count for something. My biggest thing is why did he not make this team if they thought he still had it left in the tank? I guess the only explanation would be that they wanted to get younger at WR and thought Salas was their ticket to that. I still think Salas, if he clears waivers, is back on the practice squad and hopefully we can develop him for next year. All in all, welcome back Deoin, and welcome back 3WR offense.

Julian Edelman - Why He's the Starter



So, all the talk this week has been centering around Welker, and how "the Patriots are screwing him to ruin his market value!" Ugh. I can't take any more of this. So, without further adieu, here are 5 reasons why Edelman is starting over Welker. As always follow me @CultOfBelichick

-Welker behind after missing a week of training camp. Not sure if you have seen this talk, but it is out there. This seems to be the biggest thing that people are missing. He missed that week of camp in Tampa with a death in the family. He has said he needed more reps in preseason. What veteran player, tenured starter, says that when they are ready to play? Not a single one. So, just that little piece should give you some info on the fact that even Welker doesn't think he is ready. So, as Welker gets further into gameshape, I could see him making a run at Edelman's starting spot.

-Offeseason Work. Welker spent the entire offseason in Colorado with his fiance-turned-wife. Edelman meanwhile, trailed Brady like a drug sniffing dog does Sam Hurd. BOOM Roasted. This is invaluable as it has elevated him into the same category as Welker as far as rapport with Brady. Yes, Welker has many years with Brady, but it's a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately world. They have to practice continually to keep that chemistry up, and Welker basically took everything off until it became mandatory. So, Edelman is months ahead of Welker in his preparation and continuity with Tommy B.

-Better outside receiver. Personally, I think this is probably the biggest thing that is going overlooked. Edelman has the ability to play some outside WR. This is something that Welker really does not do. With their base offense being 1RB 2WR 2TE, you are in general going to want both of those WRs to be able to play outside. You want them to play on the outside because you already have those two TEs running patterns on the inside, and you want guys on the outside that can keep defenses honest and not allow them to focus everything on the inside of the field. So, since you want someone that can play outside in those sets, you are more likely to see Edelman than you are Welker. There will be some 2WR 2TE sets that you will see Welker in, but in sets where the 2nd WR is to be on the outside, I think you will see Edelman in the majority of these scenarios.

-Blocking. This has to be one of the most overrated story lines as to why Edelman is playing. He is a better blocker, but only marginally, and this isn't a huge factor as to why he is playing. This just seems like a reach to me.

Now, this is all moot for the time being as we are likely about to see a lot more 3WR sets now that Hernandez is out. We will revisit this once he comes back and see if Edeleman is still starting then.

Monday, September 17, 2012

What happened to the offense?


Sorry I am so late with this today, dusting off my hangover from all the booze I started chugging around 4:30PM EST yesterday. So, yesterday the biggest thing that killed them was the offense. What the hell happened? How did they not score a TD for the first 57 minutes? Lets dive in here and see what caused this, starting from the most important factor on down. As always, follow me on twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/CultOfBelichick">@CultOfBelichick </a>

<b>-Hernandez Injury.</b> The amount that this affected the Patriots cannot be understated. He is their number 1 option on offense, and the keystone this offense was built around. His athletic ability creates mismatches that no one else on the Patriots can cause. He has the ability to play: Outside WR, Slot WR, in line TE, RB, Wing Back, EVERYTHING. His flexibility is what allows them to manipulate the opposing defense's personnel, and attack accordingly. With him in they have the ability to run or pass without having to substitute at all. They spent the whole offseason building this offense around him, and when he went out, it really took the air out of their sails. They have a backup for him in Visanthe Shiancoe, but he is on short term IR right now and can't come back until Week 10. Part of me wonders how injured he is and if Bill isn't kicking himself for just keeping him on the 53-man for a week or two while still injured, because they are in trouble now. If they had just held out, they could have him playing next week, and not have to change their offense. Now, it looks like they are going to have to completely change the offense and go to a lot more 3 WR looks, which they were not very effective out of on Sunday.

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjARmhrOCR3fqszzCgM7QMO0ankGJIWVQKDiZcW70hh_W-nKFoTniqshK84rBCOAlkUbrZADvqQ6fgmx-nB0YA-a1FN7a0t7-d1KwpyYunugkYDh6UoYq2ZGVJZa1QjKQtCDEigOMc00Nk/s1600/super-bowl-sad_2129909i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjARmhrOCR3fqszzCgM7QMO0ankGJIWVQKDiZcW70hh_W-nKFoTniqshK84rBCOAlkUbrZADvqQ6fgmx-nB0YA-a1FN7a0t7-d1KwpyYunugkYDh6UoYq2ZGVJZa1QjKQtCDEigOMc00Nk/s320/super-bowl-sad_2129909i.jpg" width="320" /></a><b>-Brady Skittish.</b> This was definitely a result of his distrust in the offensive line. The offensive line was bad, but there were SOOOOO many plays where they pushed the pocket behind him, he stepped up, and then waited for point two seconds and just bolted, or went down, with no one even around him. He didn't have the trust in the O-Line needed to stand in there and let those receivers do their thing and get open down the field. Brady will usually sit in there forever, but was intent on hauling ass out of the pocket at any opportunity. The offensive line giving up a few sacks is bad, but this distrust that seems to be brewing can be catastrophic. They need to shore things up, and fast. If not, I think we could reach a really bad tipping point some time later in the season if Brady is still worried about getting decleated on every dropback.

<b>-Woodhead blows.</b> Woody's only good play was that late TD, and that got pulled back. He really didn't seem to do much of anything well yesterday. We need Vereen to get his ass on the field and take over some of these 3rd down responsibilities. Woodhead just doesn't have the athleticism that we see from Ridley, and it really hurts me on the inside when I see him running the ball. I want an athlete back there. Maybe he can give us more plays like that called-back-TD-run and if so, then I guess he isn't the worst 3rd down back in the league. But, it just seemed like the only time his name came up yesterday was in a bad light.

<b>-Michael Hoomanawanui did not play up to snuff.</b> With Hernandez going down, it was a chance for the Hoo-man to get some reps and seize his opportunity. Needless to say, he was more of Uh-oh, than Hoo-man (he says those are the two nicknames to call him). He got demolished in the run game, and was non-existent in the pass game. He needs to pick up his play, or is likely to hit the streets once Fells gets healthy enough to make the active roster.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

4 Things I am Watching For

-Secondary. Secondary. Secondary. This is without a doubt the weakest point of the team right now. Our defense has potential as we have a top front 7 in the league, but what can they do without a solid defensive backfield? The DBs played OK against the Titans; nothing more, nothing less. And just OK against a kid making his first start is not going to cut it. Granted, it is not like the Cardinals have a high flying attack, but they should be better than what the Titans were throwing out there. There are question marks everywhere back there. How is Gregory assimilating into the defense? Can he play better than last week? Which McCourty will we see? This is a question that will linger most of the season, but he can help quiet that talk by shutting down Larry Fitzgerald. What is Ras-I Dowling? Can he take over the starting spot from Arrington? Can he live up to his draft status (33rd pick)? Can Tavon Wilson build on his game from last week and continue to improve? A lot to watch for here, as if they can solidify things back there, this team has what it takes to go all the way. This should be the topic of every Patriots discussion, but it is always glossed over, and I do not get why.

-Brady to Lloyd Connection. I want to see some improvement here. That deep ball last game was tantalizingly close. They need to get on the same page and they need to do it fast. I do not want to go through another season of trying to build a rapport with a receiver, only to never get on the same page. Granted, I do not think that will happen, but I want to see more results out of this combo.

Can they pick it up and maybe hit on one of those deep balls?
-Can Ridley Keep it Up? He was the biggest topic coming out of last week, and let us see if he can keep it up. If he can continue to churn out 100 yard rushing games, this offense will be near impossible to stop. One big thing I want to see out of Ridley is more consistency in his rushes. As I noted in my blog post that mysteriously disappeared, 9 out of 21 rushes went for 2 or less yards. I want to see that percentage go down, and see him churn out a more consistent effort. Also, I want to see him lower his pad level a little when he runs. For a big guy, he leaves himself open to some big hits, and those are going to take their tole over the course of the season.

-Welker Snap Count. I am not going to be playing as close of attention to this as others, as I do not see it of as big a story. However, I do want to see if they implement more 3TE sets and how many offensive snaps Edelman gets. Welker needs to take advantage of the reps he IS getting, and not let a ball hit him in the in between the eyes again. His production last game was just a function of less snaps, it was a function of him not producing in the snaps he did have.

Friday, September 14, 2012

Anyone That Thinks the Cardinals Have a Chance is Straight Ignoran


So, after all the smoke Belichick blew up the media's ass about how good the Cardinals D is, and how Larry Fitzgerald may go down as the best WR of all time (which is another story for another day, but he's not even top 10), people are somehow convinced the Cardinals have a chance. Ummm, last time I checked they have Kevin Kolb starting? Yeahhh, isn't he the guy that everybody in Arizona (well at least everyone in Arizona under 60, which is about 10 people) hates with a burning passion because he sucks and single-handedly set the franchise back years? He of the career 21 TDs and 22 picks? Around 80 passer rating career? (And no, I am not going to give ESPNs QBR the time of day) Subject of what many are starting to call "the worst trade of all time"? The "default" starting quarterback who lost his starting job to John Fucking Skelton despite his 63 million dollar contract and is only playing because of Skelton's injury?

Let me tell you, I am scared of THAT guy. Oh wait, no I'm not. All these fucking beat writers have been like, "oh this is going to be a good test for the Patriots." Ummm, if this is a good test, I am going to go jump off a cliff. The Cardinals blow. The only tests for the Patriots are: Texans, Ravens, Packers, 49ers, Giants, and MAYBE the Saints, Steelers, and Broncos. No other team is a test; they are just pieces of shit that the Patriots have to wash off their shoes until they make it to the test games.

"Oh, but they have Larry Fitz, and a really good defense!" Umm, their defense allowed more points than "The Worst Defense Ever" or whatever the Pats defense was called by many in the league last year. Yes. Read that again. They allowed MORE points last year than the Patriots defense. OK, let's re-calibrate here. They have an AVERAGE defense, and Larry Fitzgerald is good, but well....

So...uh...yeah. I don't really have much more to say about that. The ONLY aspect of this game that slightly worries me, is special teams. Patrick Peterson is a beast; he tied the record for most punt return TDs in a season. However, my boy Nate Ebner (his rugby highlights are my porno) is ready to come in there and go beast mode all over Peterson and neutralize his ass. So yeah, my prediction: 38-10.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Why What You Saw from Welker is What You'll Get


Hey, Cult here, follow me @CultOfBelichick on Twitter. This post is in response to Mike's post yesterday  and his comment that he "fully expect[s] Welker to play his normal compliment of snaps in Week 2." I have to take a disagreeing viewpoint on this. Before I came on here at nepatriotslife.com, I had my own little blog, and on there, one of my predictions for this season was less of Welker this year. My reasoning behind this was the emergence of the third TE in the offense. I think this is something they are going to be incorporating more and more of throughout the season, especially once Daniel Fells gets healthy. In a 3TE set, you are more likely to keep Lloyd on the field than Welker as you want that outside presence. So, just based on that I knew he would see the field less than the 89% of snaps that he did last year.

However, what I didn't expect was Julian Edelman getting so many reps (24) on offense. I think the coaching staff got pissed at Welker when he let that ball hit him in the head and put him on the bench. Edelman has closed the gap to the point where the coaching staff feels that he can go out on the field and give them close to what Welker is. So, they now have the ability to sit Wes down and bring in Edelman if they need to, which is something they have not had in the past.

Another point as to why Welker is not going to receive as many reps: rest. This sounds like a cop-out, but honestly, he is a 31 year old slot receiver, and that sounds like someone you want to limit the amount of times he gets crushed over the middle. This kind of goes to what Mike was saying and that maybe they were just limiting his reps for that week. However, I think this is a trend you are likely to see throughout the season to preserve him for the postseason. Again, Edelmen's progress in camp (he and Hernandez were supposedly untackleable in 1-on-1s) has made this possible.

One last way to rationalize those snaps for Edelman is this: Bill Belichick believes he has EARNED some snaps on offense. As I was saying, Edelman looked shifty in camp, and spent the entire offseason in California working with Brady. This did not go overlooked by the coaching staff, and shows in his grasp of the offense and his development as a receiver. I think the coaching staff appreciates this, and believes that Edelman has put in the work, and showed results on the practice field sufficient enough to earn him a few snaps on offense per game. If someone has earned snaps, the coaching staff is going to want to play them, so that the rest of the locker room knows that if you put in work off the field, and translate it onto the practice field, you will be rewarded.

Anyway, we will of course continue to monitor this, but I think the snap count that you saw for Welker this last week (around 65%) is going to be around what you will see all season. However, just because his snaps are down, it doesn't mean "they are trying to screw him over," or "they are trying to ruin his value." These are the most asinine lines of thinking currently out there. The Patriots are limiting his snaps because they believe it is in the best interest of the team, and that is it. No more, no less. If there is one thing I do not believe Bill Belichick is, it is vindictive. He is not going to go out of his way to harm a player, financially or physically, especially not one like Wes Welker that he has a great amount of respect for. The biggest thing for Belichick in the entire world is respect, and he is not going to sit someone because he wants to decrease their open market value and ruin that respect level he has gained from his players.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Current State of Pats DE's

So, my previous post where I called Jake Bequette a potential bust seemed to cause a little bit of discord amongst Pats fans. Some people are irrationally high on him, and I do not understand why. So, we are going to do a little run-down on the current state of the Pats DE's and a little depth chart action. Chandler Jones (RDE): He is the bonafide stud of this group. Kid is going to be IS a monster. He singlehandedly dominated the right side of the defense, and held up very well against the run. One tweet that caught me was from Matt Chatham, I think this about sums it up. In addition, his explosion coming around the corner on his pass rush is something we haven't seen here since dare-I-say, Big Willie? It looks like we've got the next JPP here. Expecting great things for years to come. Rob Ninkovich (LDE): Did not look great on Sunday, but had a solid camp. The vet of this group, but seems to be in a rotation with Cunningham. He got smothered in the run game on Sunday, and his years of playing standing up in the Patriots scheme may have made him too light to play on the line with his hand in the dirt. He has the starting spot for now, but needs to pick up play. One of lone disappointments on Sunday. Jermaine Cunningham (LDE): Really playing up to the level of his rookie year, and maybe even starting to surpass it. Had a really down year last year, and was definitely on the bubble this year, but had a solid offseason, even winning one of the offseason parking spot awards.  I think the move back to DE has really liberated him, as it has removed a lot of the mental aspect of the game and allowed him to put his hand in the dirt and get after it. He has really carved out a role as an inside sub rusher in passing downs. Basically, what this means is he comes in and plays DT in obvious passing downs. That way, they have three pure pash rushers out there, and he can use his speed to get around hulking interior offensive lineman. If he continues his play, and Ninkovich doesn't pick his up, he could be looking at a starting role. Even Bill Belichick is complimenting his play. Trevor Scott (LDE): Only played 7 snaps on defense. Did show up on two special teams units. He will need to make his name on special teams, as the seeming emergence of Cunningham is cutting into any possible snaps he would have received on defense. Not much to see from Scott, so not really much to say here. Justin Francis (RDE): This is where things start to get interesting. He was an undrafted rookie out of Rutgers, where he played for Bucs coach Greg Schiano. His play was inspiring in camp, and he seems to be Jermaine Cunningham's direct backup. He has that ability to come in on passing downs and be that interior rusher, and he also has some skills to play some snaps on the right side if Jones goes down. He was my most surprising gameday inactive. I thought he had done enough to earn his way onto the 46-man, but apparently not. Jake Bequette (RDE): I went with him to be a surprise cut from the Patriots after a disappointing camp. He had some flashes early in the preseason, but struggled mightily as camp wore on, and cannot hold up against the run. His reps steadily declined as training camp progressed, and he really did not show the same burst he did at the beginning. He has some value as a potential 3rd down pass rusher, but his techniques are not quite refined enough as of yet. This is basically going to be a Taylor Price type redshirt season where he never sees the field. The only way I could see him making the active roster is a slew of injuries in front of him, and even then they may go outside the organization as opposed to giving him playing time.

Monday, September 10, 2012

Big Day for Cult Of Belichick

So, tomorrow is a big day for the Cult. I am going to be putting my writings on nepatriotslife.com, the sister site of celticslife.com, which is the #1 independent Celtics blog on the web and winner of CBS' 2011 Best Boston Sports Blog award. Patriots Life is new, and I am hoping that my writing, along with that of the people already on staff there, can help vault it into the same stratosphere as Celtics Life. I never thought when I started this people would care what I had to say, but now their 25k Twitter followers (@patriotslife) will have no choice! I am not sure what the plan is for any twitter changes, but do plan on keeping an archive of my posts from Patriots Life on here. Anyway, I will keep you guys updated and thanks for reading.