looks like another WR bust

Adam Schefter
2 mins ·
Patriots announced they placed WR Aaron Dobson on IR.

tough game last week. On a positive note, the Patriots played pretty bad but still had a good chance to win. I 'd bet they play better if they meet again!

Patriots
What To Watch For: An Emotional Brady, A Historic Tight End Matchup And The Challenge Of Natural Grass
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
December 6, 2014 6:30 AM


BOSTON (CBS) — The AFC playoff race got a whole lot more interesting this past week.
Sure, the Patriots could sleepwalk their way to a playoff berth, but they’re obviously seeking much more. After getting burned by having to travel to Denver during last year’s postseason, the Patriots no doubt hope to secure home-field advantage throughout the playoffs this time around. And if they want to do that, they’re going to have be nearly perfect in this season’s final month.
Historically, Tom Brady’s team has been pretty close to perfect in December. The quarterback has won 45 of his 52 career starts in December, good for an .865 winning percentage, while the team overall has gone 55-11 in the months of December and January (regular season only) under head coach Bill Belichick. They’ve pulled off perfect final months six times since 2001, which should provide some encouragement that it can happen again.
And it’s no coincidence that Belichick’s teams find so much success in the season’s final month. The Patriots typically hold a distinct coaching advantage over their opponents just about every week, and at that point in the season, there is so much film on every team that Belichick is allowed to really put his expertise to work. Add in the way he gets his team prepared every week, and it’s easy to understand why the Patriots typically finish the regular season on a winning note.
But the Patriots can’t go 4-0 this month unless they start 1-0, and the endeavor begins this weekend in San Diego. Here’s a look at What To Watch For when the Patriots take on the Chargers under the bright lights of Sunday night.

Emotional Response

The last time we saw Tom Brady, he was screaming F-bombs at the top of his lungs on the sideline and then failing to find words to describe his disappointment at his press conference. The man wanted badly to win in Green Bay, and he was crushed to lose.
But it’s hard to keep Brady down, and the quarterback showed earlier this season just how much he can dominate a game if he enters at 100 mph.
That evidence came when the Patriots hosted the Bengals, also a Sunday night affair. That day, ESPN reported that Brady and the coaching staff were at odds with each other, and that a switch to Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback could come “sooner than later.” Brady no doubt caught wind of some of that talk, and after getting embarrassed on Monday night the week before, he was a man possessed when he took the field.
Brady went 2-for-2 for 50 yards while also calling his own number with QB sneaks three times in leading an 80-yard touchdown drive to start the game, and he went 3-for-4 for 48 yards on the next drive. The Patriots followed his lead, and they’d go on to win 43-17. After seeing Brady so upset last weekend, don’t be surprised to see him come out guns-a-blazing in San Diego.

Disappearing Dont’a?

In the absence of Jerod Mayo this season, Dont’a Hightower has stepped up in a big way in the middle of the Patriots defense. Yet the third-year pro suffered an injury late last week, and though he returned to the game, he was limited in his practice participation during the week.
If Hightower is unable to go vs. San Diego, it’ll have a ripple effect throughout the defense. For one, he’s the team’s second leading tackler (only Jamie Collins has more). Secondly, Hightower wears the green dot on his helmet, meaning he gets the play call from the sideline and passes it on to his teammates.
He’s tough to replace both in terms of his play and with regard to his duties as the quarterback of the defense. If Collins takes over green-dot duties, it will thrust a second-year player into a challenging role in a loud environment.

Talkin’ Tight Ends

With 96 touchdown catches and nearly 10,000 receiving yards, Antonio Gates is one of the best tight ends of all time. Though 25-year-old Rob Gronkowski has a long way to go in his young career, he’s well on his way to one day putting his name on that list as well.
So it’s interesting that as the two tight ends get set to share a field for the third time, they’re both on the cusp of reaching a major milestone. Of the two, whoever catches the next touchdown will become the first tight end to haul in double-digit touchdown receptions in four separate seasons. Considering Gronkowski can do it in just the fifth year of his career, it’s awfully impressive. But Gates, playing in Year 12, spent the early part of his career in an NFL that was not quite as pass-happy. So it would still be quite the feat for the 34-year-old.
Gronkowski said this week that when he was in high school, he looked up to Gates. The first time they played against each other came in October of 2010, when the rookie Gronk entered with just seven career receptions. He ended up with two catches for just 10 yards, but he did score his third career touchdown that day as his Patriots beat the Chargers 23-20. Gates caught four passes for 50 yards and a touchdown that day.
Their next meeting came the following season. Gronkowski caught four balls for 86 yards and two touchdowns, while Gates was held without a catch for the first time in 34 games. The Patriots won 35-21.
This may be the final time Gronkowski meets one of his high school heroes. Will he beat him to that never-before-achieved milestone?

Grass Stains

Maybe it’s random, maybe it’s not, but whatever it is, the Patriots have had some trouble when it comes to winning on grass fields.
This year, the Patriots are 0-3 on natural grass, losing in Miami, Kansas City and Green Bay. They got out to a 20-10 halftime lead in Miami but got outscored 23-0 in the second half. They fell behind 27-0 in K.C., and they trailed 13-0 after the first quarter in Green Bay.
It’s a problem that goes back to last year, too, as the Patriots went 1-3 on natural grass, with their season coming to an end on Denver’s grass surface in January. The Patriots’ only win on grass last year came against the 2-14 Texans, and even that was just a 34-31 nail-biter.
So what’s the problem? Well, playing on the road is likely the biggest factor, but it’s a trend that can’t be ignored. They’ll have to prove they can win on grass in what should be a raucous environment if they want to help guarantee that they won’t have to see the stuff again until the Super Bowl, if they are fortunate enough to get there.
Read more from Michael Hurley by clicking here, or find him on Twitter @michaelfhurley.

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