The New England Patriots: The Masters Era (M15)

[mattymatt1283]

Preface

This series will be following Coach Chad Masters and the New England Patriots as they try to capture their fourth Lombardi Trophy and beyond. This isn't meant to be a rebuilding project, obviously. It is simply me playing as my favorite team and sharing it with you guys.

I hope I enjoy doing this and continue this New England series until the end of M15. I plan to do a rebuilding project for M16 if I am still interested in this. I thought it was a good idea to use the Pats for my first since I am very comfortable with them, and it will be enjoyable for me.

This is going to be a SIM franchise, and I expect it to be a challenge to go deep into the playoffs. I have a really good set of all-madden sliders that work well for me, and I could share them if you guys would like that.

On a last note, I am a 16 year-old high school student with an immense passion for writing and football (especially NFL and Pats football). I hope to one day be successful in the career of sports journalism. Throughout the series, feel free to give me feedback on both the action and my writing. I will be writing from the point of view of a Patriots writer (limited).

I hope you enjoy the series!

-Matt (When this is attached at the end of the post it is coming from me personally, not the Pats writer)

Note: I will probably be posting on this thread a lot tonight

[mattymatt1283]

The Patriots fall to the Broncos in the 2013 AFC Championship

2014 Offseason Recap

The 2013 season for the New England Patriots was full of triumphant comebacks, tough losses (sometimes controversial), offensive struggles, and heartbreaking injuries. It was a fun season, with the Saints, Broncos (week 12), Ravens, and the Colts games being the highlights. The Jets (week 7), Panthers, and the Broncos (Conference Championship) games being the disappointments. Key players like Jerod Mayo, Vince Wilfork, and Rob Gronkowski suffered season ending injuries. The offense had a very tough year. The defense stayed scrappy, but at times would look helpless, especially with the pass rush. The AFC Championship game was tough to bear, as it was basically slow death for the Patriots.

To improve for the 2014 season, the Patriots knew they had to make some significant defensive upgrades and draft well.

Here is the 2014 Offseason Recap for the Patriots:

Bill Belichick Retires

The retirement of Bill Belichick surprised many fans and people within the organization. He is the greatest Patriots coach of all time and possibly the greatest coach of all time. In 14 seasons with the Patriots he had an incredible record of 163-61 in the regular season and one of 18-8 in the playoffs. He won 11 AFC East titles, 5 AFC titles, and 3 Super Bowls. His presence will sorely be missed.

Chad Masters Hired as Patriots Head Coach

Former Denver Broncos Offensive Coordinator Chad Masters was hired as the Head Coach of the New England Patriots. Masters has held this position for the past three seasons. His offenses have flourished, putting up big points and yards. Statistically, he commanded the greatest offense in NFL history last season. He has been around the NFL since a young age and claims to have great knowledge in team-building and playing the salary cap. His expectations are high, as he will have a Super-Bowl ready team in year 1.

Key Losses

-RB LeGarrette Blount (Steelers)
-CB Aqib Talib (Broncos)
-LB Brandon Spikes (Bills)

Key Additions

-WR Brandon LaFell (Panthers)
-CB Darrelle Revis (Buccaneers)
-CB Brandon Browner (Seahawks)
-S Patrick Chung (Eagles)

Patriots 2014 Draft Class

2014 New England Patriots Draft Class
Pick	Player	College	Pos	Ht	Wt
29 (1st)	Dominique Easley	Florida	DL	6'2"	288
62 (2nd)	Jimmy Garoppolo	Eastern Illinois	QB	6'2"	226
105 (4th)	Bryan Stork	Florida St.	C	6'4"	300
130 (4th)	James White	Wisconsin	RB	5'10"	195
140 (4th)	Cameron Fleming	Stanford	OT	6'6"	318
179 (6th)	Jon Halapio	Florida	OG	6'3"	320
198 (6th)	Zach Moore	Concordia	DL	6'6"	285
206 (6th)	Jemea Thomas	Georgia Tech	S	5'10"	195
244 (7th)	Jeremy Gallon	Michigan	WR	5'8"	184

So that will do it for this recap. The Patriots look to have one of their better rosters this season. As long as they find offensive consistency and keep the injury count low, they should be able to make a run for that fourth ring.

Note: Obviously the Chad Masters storyline is made up lol

[mattymatt1283]

2014 Patriots Full 75-man Preseason Roster

2014 New England Patriots Full 75-man Roster
#	OFFENSE	POS	AGE	HT	WT	COLLEGE
12	Tom Brady (95 OVR)	QB	37	6'4"	225	Michigan
87	Rob Gronkowksi (91)	TE	25	6'6"	265	Arizona
77	Nate Solder (88)	OT	26	6'8"	320	Colorado
76	Sebastian Vollmer (86)	OT	29	6'8"	320	Houston
46	James Develin (84)	FB	26	6'3"	255	Brown
11	Julian Edelman (83)	WR	28	5'10"	198	Kent St.
19	Brandon LaFell (81)	WR	27	6'2"	210	LSU
22	Stevan Ridley (81)	RB	25	5'11"	220	LSU
34	Shane Vereen (81)	RB	25	5'10"	205	California
70	Logan Mankins (80)	OG	32	6'4"	308	Fresno St.
17	Aaron Dobson (75)	WR	23	6'3"	200	Marshall
63	Dan Connolly (73)	OG	31	6'4"	305	Southeastern Missouri St.
35	Jonas Gray (73)	RB	24	5'10"	230	Notre Dame
61	Marcus Cannon (72)	OT	26	6'5"	335	TCU
15	Ryan Mallett (72)	QB	26	6'6"	245	Arkansas
80	Danny Amendola (71)	WR	28	5'11"	195	Texas Tech
85	Kenbrell Thompkins (71)	WR	26	6'1"	195	Cincinnati
62	Ryan Wendell (71)	OG	28	6'2"	300	Fresno St.
38	Brandon Bolden (70)	RB	24	5'11"	220	Ole Miss
84	Brian Tyms (70)	WR	25	6'3"	210	Florida A&M
28	James White (70)	RB	22	5'10"	195	Wisconsin
82	Josh Boyce (69)	WR	22	5'11"	205	TCU
18	Matthew Slater (69)	WR	28	6'0"	210	UCLA
47	Michael Hoomanawanui (68)	TE	26	6'4"	260	Illinois
31	Tyler Gaffney (67)	RB	23	6'0"	220	Stanford
10	Jimmy Garoppolo (67)	QB	22	6'2"	226	Eastern Illinois
66	Bryan Stork (66)	C	23	6'4"	300	Florida St.
45	DJ Williams (66)	TE	25	6'2"	245	Arkansas
71	Cameron Fleming (64)	OT	21	6'6"	318	Stanford
88	Justin Jones (63)	TE	23	6'8"	275	East Carolina
64	Chris Barker (61)	C	24	6'2"	310	Nevada
65	Jordan Devey (61)	OT	26	6'6"	315	Memphis
68	Braxston Cave (60)	C	25	6'3"	305	Notre Dame
83	Jeremy Gallon (58)	WR	24	5'8"	184	Michigan
67	Josh Kline (57)	OG	24	6'3"	295	Kent St.
69	Jon Halapio (56)	OG	23	6'3"	320	Florida
48	Danny Aiken (44)	TE	26	6'4"	255	Virginia
#	DEFENSE	POS	AGE	HT	WT	COLLEGE
24	Darrelle Revis (96 OVR)	CB	29	5'11"	198	Pittsburgh
32	Devin McCourty (95)	S	27	5'10"	195	Rutgers
51	Jerod Mayo (89)	LB	28	6'1"	250	Tennessee
54	Dont'a Hightower (87)	LB	24	6'3"	270	Alabama
75	Vince Wilfork (87)	DL	32	6'2"	325	Miami
39	Brandon Browner (83)	CB	30	6'4"	221	Oregon St.
91	Jamie Collins (83)	LB	24	6'3"	250	Southern Mississippi
95	Chandler Jones (82)	DL	24	6'5"	265	Syracuse
26	Logan Ryan (82)	CB	23	5'11"	195	Rutgers
23	Patrick Chung (77)	S	27	5'11"	210	Oregon
30	Duron Harmon (77)	S	23	6'1"	205	Rutgers
50	Rob Ninkovich (77)	DL	30	6'2"	260	Purdue
25	Kyle Arrington (76)	CB	28	5'10"	190	Hofstra
37	Alfonzo Dennard (76)	CB	24	5'10"	200	Nebraska
93	Tommy Kelly (76)	DL	33	6'6"	310	Mississippi St.
74	Dominique Easley (73)	DL	22	6'2"	288	Florida
90	Zach Moore (73)	DL	23	6'6"	285	Concordia
56	James Anderson (71)	LB	30	6'2"	235	Virginia Tech
27	Tavon Wilson (71)	S	24	6'0"	215	Illinois
59	Chris White (69)	LB	25	6'3"	240	Mississippi St.
21	Malcolm Butler (68)	CB	24	5'11"	190	West Alabama
58	Steve Beauharnais (66)	LB	24	6'2"	230	Rutgers
92	Jake Bequette (66)	DL	25	6'5"	265	Arkansas
43	Nate Ebner (66)	S	25	6'0"	210	Ohio St.
96	Sealver Siligia (66)	DL	24	6'2"	325	Utah
53	Ja'Gared Davis (65)	LB	23	6'0"	245	Southern Mississippi
33	Jemea Thomas (65)	S	24	5'10"	195	Georgia Tech
44	Darius Fleming (64)	LB	25	6'2"	255	Notre Dame
55	Deontae Skinner (64)	LB	24	6'2"	250	Mississippi St.
72	Joe Vellano (64)	DL	25	6'2"	300	Maryland
99	Michael Buchanan (63)	DL	23	6'6"	255	Illinois
42	Shamiel Gary (61)	S	24	6'0"	210	Oklahoma St.
94	Chris Jones (61)	DL	24	6'1"	309	Bowling Green St.
41	Justin Green (59)	CB	23	5'11"	195	Illinois
36	Kanorris Davis (56)	S	24	5'10"	207	Troy
98	Marcus Forston (54)	DL	24	6'3"	305	Miami
#	SPECIAL TEAMS	POS	AGE	HT	WT	COLLEGE
3	Stephen Gostkowski (92 OVR)	K	92	6'1"	215	Memphis
6	Ryan Allen (70)	P	70	6'2"	215	Louisiana Tech

Analysis

Overall, this is a very strong roster. The offense is filled with great players and lots of depth. The defense is also filled with great players across the board and a deep secondary group (maybe the deepest in the league). The depth on the front seven is the main concern. If the Patriots suffer injuries in the front seven like last year, it might not be pretty.

Note: The roster I'm using is an adjusted roster with full preseason 75-man rosters for each team. I found it on PS4. I think the roster is called "Newcfm", it has like 3,000 downloads.

[thesportsguru11]

Hope I'm clear to post, you didn't indicate that but I assumed it's safe.. so yeah.

Anywho.. I see this is your first thread in this section. I follow just about every thread here, sometimes I post a lot, sometimes I'm silent. I intend to follow this one as well even if I don't post here a lot, as I'm a huge Pats fan too. Anyone who takes on my team has my full support.

Looking forward to see what you do. Good luck bud!!

[patriot1136]

Following. I'm a huge Pats fan. Looking forward to it. Looks good so far too

[mattymatt1283]

Quote: Originally Posted by thesportsguru11

Hope I'm clear to post, you didn't indicate that but I assumed it's safe.. so yeah. Anywho.. I see this is your first thread in this section. I follow just about every thread here, sometimes I post a lot, sometimes I'm silent. I intend to follow this one as well even if I don't post here a lot, as I'm a huge Pats fan too. Anyone who takes on my team has my full support. Looking forward to see what you do. Good luck bud!!

Thanks for the support man! I should start getting preseason games out later today.

EDIT: BTW posting is fine.

[mattymatt1283]

2014 Preseason Schedule

New England Patriots Preseason 2014 Schedule
DATE	OPPONENT	RESULT
Aug 7	at Washington Redskins
Aug 15	vs Philadelphia Eagles
Aug 22	vs Carolina Panthers
Aug 28	at New York Giants

Analysis

This is a rather tough preseason schedule with three NFC East teams and last years NFC South Champion, the Carolina Panthers. The NFC East teams are the champion Philadelphia Eagles, the 3rd place Patriots-Killers (NYG), and the last place Washington Redskins. I predict a 3-1 preseason for the Pats with their loss being in Week 4 vs. the Giants.

[mattymatt1283]

Brandon LaFell Catches his first TD from Tom Brady

Patriots Win Close Game in the Rain

Finally, Patriot football is upon us. It was a very rainy day in Landover, Maryland, as the Washington Redskins hosted the New England Patriots.

The game started fast for the Redskins as they quickly took the first possession down to the NE 36 before being stalled by this revamped Patriots defense. On their long field goal attempt they committed a false start penalty to move them out of field-goal range. Tom Brady would go to work, dominating the rest of the quarter with a pair of 14 yard touchdown passes to Brandon LaFell and Rob Gronkowski (welcome back man).

The second quarter saw the backups transition into the game. Not much happened offensively until with around five minutes to go when Roy Helu Jr. broke free for a 23 yard touchdown run. Ryan Mallett and the offense had a nice two-minute drill going until rookie running-back James White fumbled, giving the ball back to the Redskins. Washington wouldn't make anything of it, and the Pats got the ball back with 0:47 left to go. Mallett, with the help of a few nice catches, would move the Pats into field-goal range so Gostkowski could make the 39-yarder.

Jimmy Garoppolo would enter as the Patriots QB in the third quarter. The third quarter was mostly just failed offensive drives. Jimmy Garoppolo would overthrow a wide open Aaron Dobson for what would have been an easy touchdown. The only score of the quarter was Kai Forbath's 37 yard field-goal for Washington.

The Patriots began driving the ball to start the fourth, but a goal-line stand by the Redskins would force them to take a 23-yard field goal. On the first play of Washington's next drive, Colt McCoy would take a shot deep only to have safety Shamiel Gary make the interception. The Redskins got the ball back quickly and then would score quickly, as Roy Helu Jr. ran a 1 yard touchdown to tighten the game 20-17. Jimmy Garoppolo would then lead a long drive that ended in a 15 yard pass to Brian Tyms to give the Pats a ten point lead with just over three minutes to go. On the Redskins' next drive, Colt McCoy would find Aldrick Robinson down the seam for a 39-yard touchdown with around a minute and a half to go, making it a three point game. The onside kick attempt was a fail, as Jeremy Gallon makes the play to end the game.

New England Patriots at Washington Redskins
Aug 7, 2014	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
New England Patriots (0-0)	14	3	0	10	27
Washington Redskins (0-0)	0	7	3	14	24

Team Stats Comparison
	NWE	WAS
Total Offense	441	350
Rushing Yards	150	127
Passing Yards	291	223
First Downs	28	12
Punt Return Yards	31	22
Kick Return Yards	86	123
Total Yards	558	495
Turnovers	1	1
3rd Down Converstion	10/17	5/11
4th Down Conversion	0/0	0/0
2-Point Conversion	0/0	0/0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	3/1	1/0
Penalties
Posession Time	36:08	23:52

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		NWE	WAS
9:40	(NWE) B. LaFell 14 Yd Pass from T. Brady	7	0
0:03	(NWE) R. Gronkowski 14 Yd Pass from T. Brady	14	0
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		NWE	WAS
5:05	(WAS) R. Helu Jr. 23 Yd Run	14	7
0:04	(NWE) S. Gostkowski 39 Yd FG	17	7
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		NWE	WAS
10:36	(WAS) K. Forbath 37 Yd FG	17	10
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		NWE	WAS
12:26	(NWE) S. Gostkowski 23 Yd FG	20	10
10:02	(WAS) R. Helu Jr. 1 Yd Run	20	17
3:08	(NWE) B. Tyms 15 Yd Pass from J. Garoppolo	27	17
1:26	(WAS) A. Robinson 39 Yd Pass from C. McCoy	27	24

New England Patriots PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Jimmy Garoppolo 10/18 118 1 0 Tom Brady 10/12 103 2 0 Ryan Mallett 9/15 83 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Stevan Ridley 6 51 8.5 0 Tyler Gaffney 11 39 3.5 0 Jonas Gray 6 35 5.8 0 Brandon Bolden 4 17 4.2 0 James White 3 11 3.6 0 Shane Vereen 1 3 3.0 0 Jimmy Garoppolo 3 -6 -3.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Aaron Dobson 4 40 10.0 0 Rob Gronkowski 3 36 12.0 1 Kenbrell Thompkins 3 35 11.6 0 Josh Boyce 3 32 10.6 0 Brian Tyms 2 29 14.5 1 Danny Amendola 2 27 13.5 0 Matthew Slater 3 26 8.6 0 Julian Edelman 2 24 12.0 0 DJ Williams 1 17 17.0 0 Brandon LaFell 1 14 14.0 1 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Nate Solder 1 0 Josh Kline 0 1 Chris Barker 0 1 Braxston Cave 0 1 Ryan Wendell 1 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Steve Beauharnais 7 0 0 0 Kyle Arrington 6 0 0 0 Chris White 4 0 0 0 Dominique Easley 3 0 0 0 Dont'a Hightower 3 0 0 0 Darius Fleming 3 0 0 0 Tavon Wilson 3 0 0 0 Malcolm Butler 2 0 0 0 Patrick Chung 2 0 0 0 Justin Green 2 0 0 0 Vince Wilfork 1 1 0 0 Logan Ryan 1 0 0 0 Jemea Thomas 1 0 0 0 Brandon Browner 1 0 0 0 Shamiel Gary 0 0 1 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Stephen Gostkowski 2/2 3/3 9 40 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Ryan Allen 4 187 46.7 1 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Brandon Bolden 1 27 27.0 0 Matthew Slater 1 22 22.0 0 Shane Vereen 1 18 18.0 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Jeremy Gallon 1 13 13.0 0 Danny Amendola 1 10 10.0 0 Matthew Slater 1 8 8.0 0

Washington Redskins PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Colt McCoy 16/23 210 1 1 Robert Griffin III 2/5 19 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Roy Helu Jr. 14 62 4.4 2 Alfred Morris 4 47 11.7 0 Colt McCoy 3 18 6.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Niles Paul 2 66 33.0 0 Roy Helu Jr. 7 49 7.0 0 Ryan Grant 3 43 14.3 0 Aldrick Robinson 1 39 39.0 1 Jordan Reed 3 18 6.0 0 Leonard Hankerson 2 14 7.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Shawn Lauvao 1 0 Chris Chester 0 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD David Amerson 8 0 0 0 Perry Riley Jr. 7 0 0 0 Adam Hayward 7 0 0 0 Brandon Meriweather 6 0 0 0 Trent Murphy 5 0 0 0 Ryan Clark 5 0 0 0 Keenan Robinson 3 0 0 0 Akeem Jordan 2 0 0 0 Ryan Kerrigan 2 0 0 0 Jarvis Jenkins 2 1 0 0 Chris Neild 2 2 0 0 Trenton Robinson 2 0 0 0 Richard Crawford 2 0 0 0 DeAngelo Hall 2 0 0 0 Brian Orakpo 2 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Kai Forbath 1/1 3/3 6 37 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Robert Malone 5 241 48.2 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Aldrick Robinson 5 113 22.6 0 Jordan Reed 1 10 10.0 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Rashad Ross 2 22 11.0 0

Note: Not all stats were able to be recorded