It's been observed - often by the local pigskin pundits and bobbleheads guilty of the same sentiments - that only Patriots fans could find misery in an 8-0-0 record. Waiting for the Sunday night game and almost certain defeat at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens and their unicorn QB, Lamar Jackson, it just feels like a good time to try to cheer myself up.
Having spent most of the season in my pigskin psyche's basement, I really should spend a little time entertaining the ceiling for this 2019 New England Patriots. Perhaps it's wishful thinking on the part of national pigskin pundits and bobbleheads that New England's offense is broken beyond repair and their defense is bound to regress to the mean at some point (*cough* Week 14 *cough*). I get it. You're tired of the Patriots. Still, it may be worth considering how Bill Belichick's teams have consistently played their best football after Thanksgiving.
Here are my blue sky/best case plotlines for the Patriots as we head into the best part of the year.
Julian Edelman, Mohamed Sanu, PhilipDorsett, N'Keal Harry, Jakobi Meyers, and James White give Tom Brady the weapons in the passing game as the 42-year old QB makes a second half push for MVP...
Edelman and White are enough for Tom Brady to keep New England in any game; the addition of Sanu and Harry with the sneaky good Dorsett and the continued development of Meyers give Brady the chance to work matchups across the field. If the Pats can get anything at all from Ben Watson and the TE position, we can expect the New England offense to roll 30s and 40s consistently down the stretch.
Maybe this is anecdotal, maybe it's rationalization, but Brady has been intentionally throwing the ball away at an unusually high rate over the first half of the season, as might be expected. He's been working behind a leaky line with a constantly changing cast of wide receivers. There are lots of ways to win a football game and a stifling defense, a mistake-free offense, and cannon for a punter will get the job done. With a full strength cadre of pass catchers, I think we'll see fewer and fewer footballs hitting the turf.
Isaiah Wynn returns, the offensive line stabilizes, and Sony Michel reminds everyone of the running back who scored 6 TDs in the 2018 playoffs...
I know the statistics have been brutal but consider the context: No tight ends to speak of, no fullbacks at all, and just two starters on the offensive line from 2018 started the game last week against the Browns. That, as we say here in New England, is 40 miles of tough sledding. Even so, there have been plenty of moments where the line has given Michel just a sliver of daylight and he's broken off an 8-12 yard run. The problem isn't Michel. Get Wynn and Shaq Mason back on the field and the running game will be just fine. And play action will be devastating.
The Boogeymen continue to boogey-oogey-oogey…
The Patriots defense can't regress to the median because this is the median for them. It's Week 8 and they've scored as many touchdowns (4) as they've given up. Inconceivable! (And yes, I know what that word means.) Seriously, though, it doesn't seem possible New England could maintain this pace through November and December… Does it? No. It doesn't. But what if they do?
Belichick is Coach of the Year…
Okay. Belichick isn't going to win Coach of the Year for the 2019 season, despite leading a historically dominant defense in the Millennial Age of Offense, fielding an offense with replacement-level backups on the offensive line, and notching his 300th win as a Head Coach. This is partly because he's a victim of his own excellence, party because Tom Brady is his quarterback, and partly because the pigskin pundits and bobbleheads west of the Connecticut River hate him. I get that. I don't think you can be a beat reporter for any given team and not secretly be a fan and root for the guys you've gotten to know and like.
Also, Sean Payton won five games without Drew Brees. So yeah. There's that. I mean, yes, Teddy Bridgewater was a starting NFL QB once upon a time, but still. Coach of the Year. Book it. Unless the 49ers win that game in New Orleans. Then it will be Kyle Shanahan. Unless the Patriots go undefeated. Then it will be Frank Reich for the job he did in Indianapolis without Andrew Luck.
Bill don't care when he's holding the Lombardi…
Actually, what I meant to say was, Bill don't care.
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