A Total Team Effort Fueled The Patriots

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http://www.wallpaperasu.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/New-England-Patriots-Playoffs.jpgSince 2001, the New England Patriots have been one of the model franchises in all of professional sports. Over that span the Patriots have compiled a regular season record of 170-54 while winning 12 AFC Eastern Division Titles and four Super Bowl Championships. From 2001-2004, the Patriots won three Super Bowl Titles and they did it with a blend of running, passing, and a savvy defensive unit. Over the years the Patriots wavered here and there, but they remained contenders. As some of their veteran defensive players got old or retired, more concentration was put on the Patriots offense. The Patriots would set a National Football League record in 2007 by scoring 589 points as they were led by quarterback Tom Brady and wide receiver Randy Moss and they were a few seconds away from going undefeated. A few years later after the deep pass was not as effective, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick decided to base his offense around a pair of tight ends in Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski as the Patriots were still a playoff team. The Patriots left Sports Authority Field in Denver last January dejected as it was their second straight loss in the AFC Championship Game and Belichick along with Patriots owner Robert Kraft vowed to make the proper adjustments.

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Darrelle Revis

Like they did when they won three Super Bowls in a four-year span, the Patriots relied on veteran cornerbacks in their secondary this past season. During his time with the New York Jets, cornerback Darrell Revis was a thorn in the side of the Patriots. After being released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last March, Revis signed with the Patriots. Belichick also signed cornerback Brandon Browner who at 6’4″ can match up with most of the bigger wide receivers in the NFL. Now Belichick had two cornerbacks that could consistently match up with opposing wide receivers while leaving other defenders to freelance more.

When Hernandez was arrested in 2013 and subsequently released by the Patriots, it put more of an onus on Gronkowski. Gronkowski was never healthy in 2013, but a healthy “Gronk” appeared in 15 games this past season gaining 1,124 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns. Aside from what Gronkowski can do on the field, it is also his presence that opens things up in the passing game. When Gronkowski is healthy and on top of his game, safeties cannot stack the box to stop the run or give help on wide receivers due to his presence.

The Patriots were only 18th in the NFL this past season in rushing, but they could rely on it when it mattered the most. In the Patriots 45-7 victory over the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship Game, New England gained 177 yards on the ground and 148 of those yards came on the powerful legs of running back LeGarrette Blount. Blount was a member of the Patriots in 2013 before leaving as a free agent to sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers. But things never worked out for Blount in Pittsburgh and he was released by the Steelers midway through the season as the Patriots were happy to bring him back to their motley crew that surrounded Brady.

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Tom Brady

In his 15-year NFL career, Brady has gone from being dubbed as “overrated” to being one of the best that has ever done it at his position. At 37-years of age, Brady began the season hearing that he was done by some of his skeptics, but all he did was put together another Brady-type season as he passed for 4,109 yards, 33 touchdowns, and just 9 interceptions.

This was the same Patriots team that after their Week 4 beat down at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs in which they lost 41-14, we heard everything from Brady asking to be traded to that New England had the worst offensive line ever in the National Football League. But just like they did in 2003 when they began the season with a record of 2-2, the Patriots cancelled out all of that white noise and focused on what they needed to do and they got rolling. The Patriots would finish the regular season with a record of 12-4 and every week it was another player stepping to the forefront making the key plays.

http://www.concordmonitor.com/csp/mediapool/sites/dt.common.streams.StreamServer.cls?STREAMOID=9vm1CM_zMZa0RNXYT04sps$daE2N3K4ZzOUsqbU5sYtewUysoZW$bdMh0PLycJ$JWCsjLu883Ygn4B49Lvm9bPe2QeMKQdVeZmXF$9l$4uCZ8QDXhaHEp3rvzXRJFdy0KqPHLoMevcTLo3h8xh70Y6N_U_CryOsw6FTOdKL_jpQ-&CONTENTTYPE=image/jpegWhen the Patriots took the field this past Sunday for Super Bowl 49, they were eager to put behind them all of the distractions from “Deflategate” and the AFC Championship Game. The Pats trailed the Seattle Seahawks late in the third quarter of the Super Bowl by the score of 24-14. The Seahawks had all of the momentum and it appeared that Brady and Belichick would lose their third consecutive Super Bowl, but the great ones know how to make adjustments.

New England attempted establish the running game early in Super Bowl 49 with Blount, but when that went nowhere, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels went with smaller running back Shane Vereen. Vereen finished Super Bowl 49 with just 13 rushing yards, but he had 11 receptions for 64 yards which amounted to runs as they were quick passes out of the backfield. These quick passes along with the ability of wide receiver Julian Edelman and Gronkowski to navigate through the Seahawks secondary was a big part of the Patriots erasing a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter.

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Malcolm Butler

In the second quarter of Super Bowl 49, the Patriots defense was being lit up by Seahawks wide receiver Chris Matthews who at 6’4″, was having his way with 5’11”, Patriots cornerback Logan Ryan. But in the second half Belichick put Browner on Matthews who would go on to become a spectator. And with the Super Bowl Championship hanging in the balance, it was rookie cornerback Malcolm Butler that stepped to the forefront to intercept Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson. Butler’s interception put the game on ice and in the process he put himself into Boston sports lore alongside Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz, former Boston Bruins defenseman Bobby Orr, and former Boston Bruins small forward Larry Bird just to name a few.

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Bill Belichick

Belichick always preaches to his team to simply “do your job” which is what all 53 men on the Patriots roster did. Brady is a superstar player, but he doesn’t consider himself to be one as he is just another guy on a team that simply wants to be the best. Brady checked his ego at the door a long time ago which means that other 52 players on the Patriots roster should do the same which resulted in the Vince Lombardi Trophy coming home with the Patriots once more.

 

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