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A "clean out the notebook" column from Curran, with some interesting bits.
His view on the Philly game:
Thoughts on LaFell:
View on the Miami game strategy:
Confirmation that Edelman and Amendola were far from 100%:
Muffed punts, mortar kicks and more Patriots leftovers
His view on the Philly game:
I understand the mortar kick is the rock upon which people would like to build their church of 2015 Patriots Failures, but Philly took over at the damn 41. Allowing them to convert on third-and-10 with a 20-yard pass to Jordan Matthews three plays after the mortar kick was a much bigger play in that game but raging through the offseason about that isn’t as easy as simply moaning “morrrtarrrr kick” for the next five months.
Thoughts on LaFell:
It will be interesting to see how things go with Brandon LaFell in 2016. The toe surgery he had in the offseason really impacted him in 2015. His explosiveness and ability to separate was simply gone and – as a downfield receiver – he just isn’t smooth. So, he played at about 40 percent of the effectiveness he showed in 2014. Nobody can say the offense didn’t work to involve LaFell though. They tried to appease his need for involvement despite drops. They tried to feature him against Kansas City despite minimal returns on plays designed for him. It didn’t work. After the Divisional Playoff game, LaFell stomped from his locker, refusing to talk by saying, “I have nothing good to say.” When I asked him the following Wednesday about his postgame demeanor, he said, “We won, why would I be frustrated?” The fact he played sparingly and didn’t even see a pass from Brady against Denver, however, was a flashing billboard that the Patriots third-best receiver is at a crossroads.
View on the Miami game strategy:
And that resignation probably can be traced somewhat back to the Dolphins game. Running the ball over and over wasn’t about preserving anyone, as I originally thought. It was about trying to build some confidence in the ability to run. Trying to get on track so that, when the playoffs started and somebody wanted to play with five or six defensive backs, the team would feel confident about its ability to run the football. Once it became clear they were swimming upstream that day and that they just weren’t an effective running team, they set about trying to do what they do and by then, Miami was fully engaged.
Confirmation that Edelman and Amendola were far from 100%:
And to see the way Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola (to name just two) were walking/hobbling in the locker room just 20 minutes after trying to sprint and wriggle themselves open was to gain a real appreciation for the punishment these guys take and the lengths they go to ignore the physical pain they are in.
Muffed punts, mortar kicks and more Patriots leftovers