Can't Wait For Next Year

You would’ve needed a stop watch to time just how fast the New England Patriots went from plucky overachievers to disappointing losers. Hard to call it shocking as the recriminations and obituaries seemed so predictable. Somehow an eighth AFC Championship in twelve years despite all the adversity wasn’t something to celebrate, it was just another post-Spygate failure, a reminder that Tom Brady isn’t getting any younger, a moment in the arc of time that is much closer to the end than the beginning. Well I say...

Fuck that noise. Super Bowl XLIX baby!

First of all, let’s not forget what a great ride the 2013 season was for Patriots’ fans. Yes, all NFL teams suffer injuries over the course of a season but what happened to New England’s roster was well outside statistical norms (meaning I hope we don’t see the same in 2014). Easy to forget now that it wasn’t Danny Amendola who was going to pick up the catches Wes Welker took with him to Denver but Aaron Hernandez, currently wearing an orange onesie and playing for the state penal system. Yeah, the Pats missed Danny Woodhead – while Shane Vereen was on short-term IR. They say everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face but it seemed like the Patriots were getting their nose busted every week. They rebuilt the team on the fly – they were the second youngest team in the NFL in 2013 – and still made it to the playoffs.

They failed to win the Super Bowl, though, and as long as Belichick and Brady are cashing Robert Kraft’s checks, that will be the measure of those two men and the franchise they lead.

Like most New England off-seasons of recent vintage, the major narrative this year is “More Weapons for Brady.” The chattering class on message boards and sports radio call-in lines cries out for the next Randy Moss, conveniently forgetting the Patriots could not bring home a championship with Moss at the X.

You think the Patriots would’ve beaten the Broncos if they had Calvin Johnson at wide receiver?

Why don’t you ask a Detroit Lions’ fan how that worked out for them?

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting the Patriots should be looking for the next David Patten. I’d love to see Calvin Johnson catching passes from Tom Brady, but that’s not happening. Aaron Dobson and Kenbrell Thompkins and Josh Boyce will be happening instead. And I think that’s not so bad.

Both Dobson and Thompkins averaged 14+ yards per catch, caught 4 TDs and had 20+ first downs. They both need to stay on the field, as does Boyce. They need to improve their consistency catching the ball, too, but the three of them showed promise in 2013 and we should be looking for them to make the second year leap in 2014. Despite the drops and downtime, Dobson had one of the best rookie WR seasons ever with Tom Brady (eclipsing Deion Branch for yards and TDs in one less game played than Branch), Thompkins showed a flare for the dramatic and with his speed, Boyce might still be the best of the three when it’s all said and done. Let’s hope we hear they’re all out in Cali with Tom later this summer.

Then there are the two red-shirt freshmen, Mark Harrison, a big strapping lad from (wait for it) Rutgers and T.J. Moe, who was hoping to become an apprentice to Julian Edelman just as Edelman was an apprentice to Wes Welker before his rookie season never happened. That can still happen if they re-sign Edelman, of course. The Patriots will have Amendola in any case. I don’t see them cutting him after he played through the groin injury, despite all the rumors of trust issues with Brady. Amendola wasn’t the only guy who had a bad game in the AFC Championship and unlike Edelman, he’s under contract.

Assuming New England retains Edelman, they will be well stocked at the receiver position. I still expect they will look at the free agents available but I’d be surprised if they use a draft pick for a pass catcher. I keep hearing Hakeem Nicks’ name mentioned but a friend of mine who’s a Giants’ fan says he’d be happy to buy Nicks a one-way plane ticket, departing from Newark, destination anywhere else. If the Pats sign Nicks, I’ll go with that old “change of scenery” scenario and hope for the best. I’d rather see them try to develop Harrison than sign Nicks or any of the other free agents they can afford but for some reason Bill Belichick is not seeking out my opinion.

From the early pre-draft buzz I’d say the Patriots will draft a TE. Maybe two. It’s not like they haven’t done it before. I expect Gronk will be back and even if it’s just 80% of the 2011 Gronk that will be just fine. It just seems the Patriots’ offense is so much better with Gronk than without him that New England would be advised to have something better than Hooman & Mulligan as Plan B (though I think Hooman is a bit – just a bit – underrated as a receiver). Rob Gronkowski may be sui generis but the Patriots need to find a reasonable facsimile for his seemingly inevitable down time. The Patriots’ offense clearly works best when they have a tight end that can threaten the defense deep up the seam.

I’d also happily settle for a 16-game season for Gronk, of course. I never thought Edelman would do it, and Gronk did play all 16 his first two years so, it could happen (again).

I’d also be happy with 12 regular season games played and a healthy Gronk for the playoffs.

As for the running back position, it would be nice to see LeGarrette Blount re-up with the Pats. It would be even nicer if Stevan Ridley takes the necessary treatments in the off-season for his relapsing recurring fumbleitis. Having Shane Vereen for 16 games would be the nicest of all. The continued success of the running game probably hinges more on upgrading the center/right guard positions than re-signing Blount but seeing him line up at tailback with James Develin at fullback to open the 2014 season would certainly be reassuring.

Enough weapons for Tom? Enough weapons for Tom.