BSJ Daily Briefing 12.01.17: Celtics get back at it with new look

Good morning!

A few random thoughts while I wait to watch Lincoln-Sudbury regain its rightful throne on top of Division 2 high school football by beating the fighting Scott Zolaks from King Phillip tonight at Gillette:

• Tommy Point for Brian Robb, who did a deep dive for a couple days on why the Celtics were skidding a little bit. He came away thinking that the Celtics needed to insert more defense into their lineup and, low and behold, Brad Stevens did just that against the 76ers. The lesson here is: stick to the film and you'll see everything you need to know.


• But, sometimes you miss the obvious. Kicking myself for not checking back on my film notes from Dolphins-Patriots, which had this notation:

• And then the play was featured on NFL Turning Point (45 seconds in):

• The lesson here, as always, is I'm an idiot.


• Anyways, about that play: when players are asked to block on the move, they are often told to block the "first color" they see. But in some cases, like this one with Dwayne Allen, it makes no sense to block the first opponent because they're out of the play. But that's a tough decision to make on the fly. Allen did a great job letting Andre Branch take himself out of the play, and then putting a hat on Reshad Jones, one of the best safeties in the league. Turned a 4-yard gain in 22 yards.


• Kyrie Irving's been so good that his 36 points last night was almost boring.


• Not such an easy time when you have Al Horford in your face, huh Ben Simmons?


• The first round of Tiger Woods' comeback went well, with a 3-under par 69 at the Hero World Challenge. I'll wait to see how this plays out over four days. I'm really surprised at how Woods is still sporting a bulky frame. Figured he would have slimmed down a bit to keep the pressure off his back, but guess not.

• Every Friday, Dr. Jessica Flynn will answer your injury questions about all four teams, or any other injury questions you have. You can submit those questions at any time via email (docflynn@bostonsportsjournal.com), or you can Tweet them to her here.


• Mr. PatsCap himself, Miguel Benzan, does a weekly mailbag with all your funky cap-related inquiries. Hit him up via email or Twitter.


• We just added a ton of content to the Free Preview section, so if you have any friends that are holding out, send them here to take a look. Included are a couple of my Patriots’ breakdowns. Make sure you tell them we don’t talk about #BSJFightClub.


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