GronkNation

09.21.18

Patriots vs Lions Preview: From the Reunion With Matt Patricia to the Arrival of Josh Gordon

Posted by: Gronkowski

For once, the players aren’t the main talking point as the Patriots head to Detroit to play the Lions Sunday night.

All eyes will be on the dynamic between Bill Belichick and former defensive coordinator Matt Patricia as they face each other on opposite sides of the field for the first time since Bill’s former mentee took the job as Lions’ head coach. 

Patricia was a bright-eyed and bushy-bearded 30 year old when he first joined the Pats under Belichick’s wing, where he rose through the coaching ranks until he was officially pounced on by the Lions the day after Super Bowl LII. 

While the Patriots are coming off a disappointing loss in hot and humid Jacksonville, Patricia is a winless 0-2 as his old team comes to town. But as many sports pundits have pointed out – it’s not Bill that Patricia should be worried about seeing, it’s his former sibling rival Josh McDaniels.

Instead of teacher vs. pupil, “This will be more like Cain and Abel. The brother who stayed and the brother who strayed,” Boston.com predicted.

And don’t get worried about the hot minute that Gronk was on the IR with an ankle injury either, he’ll be good for Sunday night at Ford Field despite a slight panic among fans earlier in the week. That’s good news for us - and very bad news for Lions defenders.

Of course, the player everyone has been talking about over the past few days in a “did they, didn’t they?” sign him manner is newly-acquired WR Josh Gordon.

Over three practices this week, Brady said his new receiver from the Browns was “really eager to get in there and learn everything.

"Look, he's been here for a few days, so we're working at it every day, and every day you try to make improvements," Brady told the media on Friday, according to ESPN. 

While No. 10 is still questionable and it’s 50-50 as to whether he will even play, the G.O.A.T. hinted that if he does, Gordon may have a large role.

“It's up to the coaches to decide those things," Brady said. "You could limit the number of plays and try to do that, and I think we've done that plenty of times. That's any time you get new players, that's what you try to do."

As for whether being locker neighbors at Gillette was aimed to increase chemistry with the former troubled Brown, our QB diplomatically said: "Coach decides a lot of those things. We just kind of show up and a lot of tose things happen. 

“Even if you're next to me, or across, or down, or defense, I think it's just important to try to get to know everybody in whatever way you possibly can because we're all here to try to do the same thing ... we're just trying to get on the same page."

Earlier this week, Gronk had high praise for his new teammate: “He’s a really good player and it’s good to have him here. I know that he’s a good player, but I can’t really get into details. I’ve never really practiced with him like that before seeing him in person play,” he said in Wednesday’s press conference. “But, what I’ve seen before, he’s a great player and just definitely glad to have him here … definitely his size with his speed is great. You don’t really see that often.”

According to the Football Database, New England and Detroit have met each other 11 times, with the Patriots boasting a 7-4 winning record. The last time was in Foxboro, when the Patriots walloped them 34-9 in November 2014.

In addition, Tom Brady is 12-0 against teams with 0-2 records like the Lions currently have. Which is probably why Odds Shark have them as 6.5 point favorites as we close out the week.

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