Week 3 Patriots vs Lions: New England’s wide receiver issues
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#1: Week 3 Patriots vs Lions: New England’s wide receiver issues Autor: liny195,
Poslato: Pon Maj 20, 2019 3:19 am
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display during 26-10 loss The New England Patriots looked good on opening day against the Houston Texans http://www.patriotslockerroom.com/authentic-james-harrison-jersey , but their season has taken a turn for the worse ever since: the team struggled against the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Detroit Lions and now sits at 1-2 and two games behind the Miami Dolphins in the division. One of the reasons for that is the offense’s inability to consistently move the football down the field.Against the Lions, this was again a major issue as the Patriots finished the game with just 10 points, 209 yards of offense and 12 first downs. Only 120 of those 209 yards came through the air, which makes for one of the least productive outputs of Tom Brady’s career as the team’s starting quarterback. But despite some questionable decision making at times, the blame for this should not solely be placed on the 41-year old’s shoulders.Brady has to play with the weapons he is given, after all. And against the Lions, it was obvious that the weapons as they are currently assembled are not getting the job done – especially at the wide receiver position. Neither Chris Hogan nor Phillip Dorsett are able to carry New England’s offense as number one receivers, while Cordarrelle Patterson’s skill set appears to be limited despite his outstanding athleticism.The Lions attacked the group with tight man coverage – and it was unable to beat it, which took the wide receivers out for most of the game: Hogan had three catches for 31 yards, Patterson one for 12. Dorsett was targeted five times but failed to come down with a catch. The wideouts’ inability to generate consistent separation against defensive backs hurt New England all game long and had a trickle-down effect on the rest of the offense.Without a true threat at the position, Detroit was able to focus on other areas: Rob Gronkowski and the running backs. While they had their moments Isaiah Wynn Jersey , the Lions did a good job of limiting the other weapons’ impact. Gronkowski finished the game with a team-leading four catches for 51 yards, while the three-headed attack of James White, Rex Burkhead and Sony Michel combined for six receptions for 39 yards and a touchdown.It is not too big a leap of the imagination to say that Gronkowski in particular would have had a bigger impact if not for the wide receiver issues. It was clear that he was Detroit’s defensive priority and nobody else stepped up with the NFL’s best tight end constantly double-covered. The Brady-Gronkowski connection never got off the ground tonight as a result, while the rest of the offense didn’t pick up the slack.Who is to blame for this? Well, the Patriots’ personnel decisions and drafting history at wide receiver certainly did not help and led to the present state of the position. But the problems extend beyond that as Jordan Matthews, Kenny Britt and Malcolm Mitchell all suffered injuries severe enough for the team to cut ties. This combined with Julian Edelman’s four-game suspension made for a bad mix that was presented to a national audience tonight.Maybe it will all look different next week, though, with Josh Gordon potentially active. Or maybe the week after that, when Edelman returns from suspension. The Patriots offense will be drastically different once all the missing pieces are back on the field. Until then, however, the unit will not strike fear into the hearts of defensive coordinators – despite the greatest quarterback of all time leading it. ATLANTA (AP) — Patriots defensive backs and twins Devin and Jason McCourty both have a lot on their minds as they prepare for Sunday's Super Bowl matchup with the Rams.Jason is thinking about the past and the magnets their mother Womens Danny Etling Jersey , Phyllis Harrell, collected and used to post various keepsakes on the refrigerator of their childhood home in Nyack, New York.Jason and Devin, the eldest twin by 27 minutes, were about 12 years old and playing in the Valley Cottage Pop Warner league together. Everything went on the fridge, from school report cards to their football schedule. It was a way for Phyllis to celebrate her youngest sons after their father, Calvin McCourty, died following an asthma attack when they were 3 years old and with their older brother, Larry White, in the military fighting in the Gulf War."After each game we'd write how many touchdowns we had in the game and I remember after that season we finished with the same exact touchdowns," Jason recalled. "I just remember practicing Pop Warner was fun. … We'd wake up early on game days and we'd go outside before games and we'd go over all the plays and we'd throw the ball to each other."Nineteen years later Youth Isaiah Wynn Jerseys , they will again be tossing the ball around before a game. Only this time they'll be preparing to make history as the first set of twins to play on the same team in a Super Bowl.For Jason it is a moment he calls "surreal" after spending the first nine years of his NFL career never experiencing a playoff game. He nearly got there a few times during his eight-year stint in Tennessee, then went through "a lot of suffering" last season as a member of Cleveland's 0-16 team.That changed after the 2017 season when he was traded to New England and reunited with his brother, Devin, a winner of two Super Bowl rings with New England."I look back now and being at this stage on this platform. … You couldn't have imagined that now you'd be playing together in the biggest game of your career," Jason said.Devin has been Jason's biggest fan and supporter throughout a season that saw Jason appear in 16 games for the first time since 2014.They are rarely more than a few feet apart in the Patriots facility. And Devin has helped Jason quickly acclimate to and make an impact on a franchise that has given them their first opportunity to be teammates since they played together at Rutgers University.Jason wound up starting 12 games at left cornerback. He had an interception in the Patriots' 24-12 regular-season win over Buffalo late in the regular season, which secured New England's 10th straight AFC East title. He also had five tackles in the Patriots' divisional-round win over the Chargers.Watching his brother's success this season is exactly why Devin is also thinking about the clock this week.He turned some heads during Super Bowl Media Night when he said "I don't know for sure" when asked if he planned to return for his 10th NFL season in 2019. It will be the final year of his current, five-year $47 million contract.But Devin said he looks at this as a rare opportunity to recapture a moment he and his brother haven't truly had since they were kids."I do look at it if we can win this game, win it with my brother, I don't know what else I could do that would top that," Devin said.He said he'll be playing for Jason on Sunday."I'm excited. He's been a great guy just to see as far as excitement and being ready to go, but when it's time to lock in Isaiah Wynn Jerseys Stitched , he's locked in," Devin said. "He's showing leadership of being ready to go."Jason, who is in the final year of the two-year, $6 million deal he signed in Cleveland, said he hasn't thought about retirement."At this point, no," he said. "Throughout your career you always talk about the end of it like, I sat out my rookie year and said, ‘Man, it would be cool to hit double digits.' Now here I am and double digits. … I think there will be a point, mentally Youth Duke Dawson Jerseys , physically that you're just done with the game. I think at that point you'll be at peace with it and ready to walk away."In the meantime, a sport that has always been a family affair for the McCourtys will continue for another week. Their mother used to wear a custom-made half-Patriots, half-Titans jersey on game days. She updated it to a half-blue, half-white Patriots jersey this season honoring her sons.Jason said he isn't sure what she has up for Sunday's game."You never know with mom," he said. "I wish her luck, though. She won't have me out at the Super Bowl this year to help gather everybody together and get everybody to breakfast, lunch and all of that. So she's on her own this year to deal with all the family."Has she already gotten Super Bowl keepsakes for her fridge?"You just gave me a great idea for a gift," Jason said. "So at some point I have to go to the gift shop and grab a magnet."
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