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Patriots Report Card at the Halfway Point of the Season

Steve Balestrieri
Steve Balestrieri on Twitter
November 9, 2015 at 12:00 pm ET

Patriots Report Card at the Halfway Point of the Season
(PHOTO: Matthew Emmons - USA TODAY Sports)
🕑 Read Time: 7 minutes

SPECIAL TEAMS SPECIALISTS:

K Stephen Gostkowski

P Ryan Allen

LS Joe Cardona

Matthew Slater (WR)

Brandon King (LB)

Dewey McDonald (S)

Grade and outlook: A unit that has the most reliable kicker in the league (Gostkowski) a perpetual Pro-Bowl gunner (Slater) and a worthy Pro Bowl punter in Allen gets high marks. King is an intriguing player, he got a ton of one-on-one instruction at training camp from STs coach Joe Judge. McDonald was just signed.

The coverage units have been very solid this season, if there is one area that could use a boost in the second half of the year is the kick  and punt return game. Grade A-

The Patriots get high marks, as they should for getting to the halfway point of the season and being 8-0. The only game that they were seriously challenged was the Jets game. The rest they’ve pretty much dominated and had them won fairly convincingly. Bill Belichick and his coaching staff have done a fantastic job thus far. But the hallmark of Patriots teams with Belichick has been their play after Thanksgiving, when they feel they should peak as a team.

If this team follows that tradition, then the second half of 2015 is shaping up to be quite a ride. Overall team grade A 

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About Steve Balestrieri

A former US Army Special Forces NCO and Officer, Steve has been following the Patriots since their days at Fenway Park. Steve has worked in the film industry and wrote as an Military Editor at SpecialOperations.com, 1945.com as a reporter for the Millbury Daily Voice, Millbury-Sutton Chronicle, and the Grafton News. He's also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA)


Tags: 2015 NFL Season Bill Belichick Brandon LaFell Bryan Stork Buffalo Bills Chandler Jones Danny Amendola Dion Lewis Foxboro Stadium Geneo Grissom Indianapolis Colts Injuries Jabaal Sheard Jimmy Garoppolo Julian Edelman LaGarrette Blount Malcolm Butler Miami Dolphins Nate Solder New England Patriots New York Jets Patriots Patriots edge rushers Patriots Training Camp Photos Pats picks Pittsburgh Steelers Rex Ryan Rob Gronkowski Rob Ninkovich Sebastian Vollmer Shaq Mason Social Media Tom Brady Tre' Jackson Trey Flowers

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