New England Patriots

Clear Schedule Trends Stand Out for Stretch Run

The NFL has always tried to be the league of parity.

Teams with the worst records get the best draft choices. The salary cap forces the best teams to struggle to keep all of their players. It’s not that the league wants 32 8-8 teams, but it does want close competition and the hope that teams in playoff contention as late in December as possible.

That’s not going to be the case this year. Only 13 teams have winning records. Eleven teams are three wins or fewer. You have the haves and the have not, which makes teams’ schedules all that much important.

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Game of Week – Patriots-Titans Should be Close

New England at Tennessee

Spread: Patriots -7

When New England Has The Ball:

Tennessee is allowing the fewest points per game while only three teams are putting up more points on a weekly basis than the Patriots. That being said, New England’s offense has certainly been better at home than on the road and the Patriots probably will not play with as much pace and tempo in this contest. As of this writing it is difficult to speculate if Rob Gronkowski and Sony Michel will play in this road matchup, es

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Game of Week — Brady and Gronkowski are Big Fantasy Plays

New England at Chicago

Spread: Patriots -4

When New England Has The Ball:

We can’t do this, but when analyzing the Bears defense, we should really throw their disastrous game last week out the window. Why you ask? Of course it counts like every other game and you can’t make excuses in the NFL, but there were many things at play working against the Bears. First off, they prepared all week for Ryan Tannehill, not Brock Osweiler who was named the starter right before kickoff.

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What Teams are Favorites to Land Oregon QB Justin Herbert

OK, it’s just the middle of October and there is plenty of NFL to be played this season.

Yet, because this is an ever-trending forward league, it’s always relevant to look toward the future and it appears were will have another intriguing offseason.

The 2019 draft appears to be loaded. There are several unit-changing defensive players available. However, this has always and will always be a quarterback-driven league. Quarterbacks especially rule in the draft.

While defenders like Nick Bosa and Ed Oliver will have plenty of draft house, there appears to be one name to keep the closest eye on – Justin Hebert of Oregon. Yes, the quarterback.

Scouts are talking Herbert up as a special talent and better than all of the high picked quarterbacks of recent years. If that’s the case, there will be plenty of teams jockeying to get him beginning prior to the February combine, which is not too far away.

So, let’s look at some of the early contenders for Herbert, presented in alphabetical order:

Denver: This may be one of the favorites. The Broncos are 2-4 and probably headed for another top-five pick. Herbert has been compared to John Elway. I’m sure Elway would like to get someone like him on his team. Case Keenum isn’t working out and he has a short contract. I can see Elway trying everything he can do to get a new quarterback.

Jacksonville: A longshot because the Jaguars would have to trade a lot to get this done. But the Jaguars are pretty set other than at quarterback. It would be worth it.

L.A. Chargers: Another longshot. Philip Rivers will turn 37 in December. But he is still playing at a high level. But Chargers could try to spend big and get some excitement going for the future in the new stadium. They are going to be roommate, the Rams’ caddie. They need to build some excitement in L.A.

Miami: Another longshot. But if the Dolphins decide Ryan Tannehill isn‘t the guy, they could make a bold move.

New England: Tom Brady isn’t going to be there forever, right? At some point, Bill Belichick is going to make a big move.

New York Giants: Another favorite. The Giants could get the No. 1 pick. They would have to take Herbert, right? Eli Manning is done. The Giants could be in good shape for the future with Herbert, Saquon Barkley and OBJ.

Oakland: They have Derek Carr, right? Well, with Jon Gruden running the show that might not matter. If the Raiders get the No. 1 pick and Chucky, a sucker for quarterbacks, falls for Herbert, Gruden will trade Carr and take Herbert.

San Francisco: The 49ers love Jimmy Garoppolo. But his injury could cause the 49ers to get the No.1 pick. If Kyle Shanahan decides he loves Herbert more than Jimmy G., he could get a huge return for the veteran. Just something to think about.

Fantasy Fact or Fiction – Time to Buy Josh Gordon

Week 6

Fantasy Fact or Fiction

Below are several fantasy players whose production stuck out in Week 5 in either a positive or negative manner. Let’s examine if that trend will keep up or if it was just a blip on the radar.

Josh Gordon

Week 6 Stat Line: 5 Receptions for 42 Yards

Fact or Fiction? Fact

That doesn’t look like all that great of a stat line. What isn’t in the stat line is the pass interference call Gordon drew at the goal line and that he played in over 80% of the Patriots offensive snaps.

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There is Clear Threat in AFC to Patriots and Chiefs

The Patriots narrow Sunday Night victory over Kansas City in Foxboro was one for the ages. These look like the clear top two teams in an AFC Conference that looks far more respectable now than it did to open the season. It may even be the superior conference right now.

If we put New England and Kansas City in the top tier of AFC franchises right now and at this point, that is a safe assumption to make, which franchise or franchises belong right behind the Patriots and Chiefs?

Unlike in the NFC, the second tier in the AFC looks just as clear as tier one. Four teams make up this group: Baltimore, Cincinnati, Los Angeles and Pittsburgh.

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Clayton Injury Friday – Chiefs Will Miss Justin Houston at New England

Probably the most concerning news on the injury report Friday was in Kansas City.

The Chiefs expected Eric Berry to miss the game against New England, but having linebacker Justin Houston on the report as doubtful with a hamstring is even more concerning. Houston is their pass rush. It’s that simple.

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Game of Week – Why Patriots Will Tame Red-Hot Chiefs

Kansas City at New England

Spread: Patriots -3.5

When Kansas City Has The Ball:

The two games during Bill Belichick’s amazing tenure as the Patriots head coach in which his team allowed the most yardage both occurred during the 2017 season: The first game of the year against the Chiefs and the Super Bowl loss to the Eagles, two extremely similar offensive schemes.

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Patriots-Colts Game Could Lead to Expanded Game-Day Roster

The New England Patriots 38-24 victory over the Indianapolis Colts is the best game in years to re-open the debate of expanding the 46-man active roster. For decades, long-time owners vetoed thoughts to eliminating or shortening the inactive list, which is currently at seven.

Their reasoning is that they believe such a move would give too much an advantage to the better team. The thinking is that if the lesser team is down seven players with injuries and the better team could add seven active players, the game would end up being a blowout.

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Will Julian Edelman be instant difference maker for Patriots tonight?

Thursday Night Football

Indianapolis at New England

Spread: Patriots -11

When New England Has The Ball:

Rob Gronkowski may or may not suit up on Thursday Night and the Colts have allowed a lot of production to opposing tight ends. He has been getting an obscene amount of attention from opposing coverage schemes, but that might be ready to change to some degree. Julian Edelman returns and he was greatly missed, but he hasn’t played football since the Patriots’ Super Bowl victory over Atlanta. That is a long hiatus.

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