Patriot Nation: Not Our Finest Moment

I don’t know if anyone caught on, but yesterday was more or less a day of silence here at the Boston Sports Blog. A protest, hometown sorrow, reluctance to think about the event that occurred Sunday…call it what you will, but it was in everyone’s best interest to just leave it out of the equation. After all, there really is nothing to say.

With a day gone by we’ve now had some time to reflect on the game, although it’ll definitely take a whole lot longer to get over it. Regardless, I’m not going to dive into the details of the game because we all know how it ended and no one wants to hear it. Instead, how about the aftermath? It hurts to lose to New York in any sport, whether a preseason game or spring training baseball game. What happened after the Pat’s loss Sunday, notice I’m calling it a Pat’s loss not a Giants’ victory, was very “unPatriot-like”. The two most obvious:

-Gronk and Co. getting Gronked (that’s an understatement) at a post game party

-Mrs. Tom Brady ripping on the receivers

A very New York-esque reaction to a loss if you ask me. We’re not used to seeing this in Boston, especially from a Belichick disciplined Patriot squad. It’s hard to hate on Gronk for doing his thing but it’s just not exactly the same a few hours post loss. Granted, Giselle isn’t a player and the rest of the team came to the receiver’s defense, here’s my question. Which incident was the worst to see as a Pats fan?

 

Patriots vs. Giants: Linebackers

Today we will take a look at the linebacker comparison between the Giants and the Patriots.

The Giants linebacker presence often times goes unnoticed. This isn’t because they aren’t good, or they don’t get their job done. It’s because of their QB hungry defensive line. Giants linebackers aren’t on the field to be pass rushers like many other teams use their linebackers. The linebacking crew consists of Michael Boley, Mathias Kiwanuka, Jacquian Williams, Greg Jones, and Chase Blackburn. Boley and Kiwanuka are both above average linebackers, with great speed. The others are mere average defenders.  Often times you will see Kiwanuka line up at the end position when they are in passing downs. Overall the linebacking group is average at best, and Perry Fewell does a great job making sure they don’t get exposed.

Overall Grade: C

Like the Giants, the Patriots have a seamlessly never ending linebacker rotation. Brandon Spikes coming back from injury was huge for their run defense, and it showed last week when the Pats basically shut down the most explosive part of the Ravens offense. Jerod Mayo is a top tier middle linebacker, and Rob Ninkovich has been improving all year and is showing he can be solid NFL talent and consistently put pressure on the opponent’s quarterback. Overall the Patriots linebacking crew is very solid when healthy, and that’s how it is right now.

Overall Grade: B

Edge: Patriots