It's been said that nobody wins the Super Bowl in April. Or May. Or any month other than February. But apparently, you can lose the Super Bowl in April. Or May. And, well, February, too.
At least the Patriots will be able to play that Nobody Believed In Us card in 2022.
Based on the consensus among gridiron cognoscenti, the 2022 New England Patriots will not be winning the Super Bowl. Or a playoff game. Hard to do that from 4th place in the AFC East. Which appears to be where some pigskin pundits and bobbleheads think the Patriots will finish, what with the New York Jets having just drafted 7 future Hall of Famers.
Well that's what I heard!
Okay, maybe it was only 3 future Hall of Famers that were drafted by the Jets.
Perhaps all this negativity is just the wishful thinking of the trolls and haters. The Patriots weren’t supposed to be back in the playoffs one year after Tom Brady left. They were supposed to suck for at least a decade, if not forever,
Maybe it’s scare tactics. Few things are as horrifying for a Patriots fan as the thought that the Jets might actually be - I'm not sure I can say it out loud - good.
Excuse me, I just need to lie down for a few minutes.
*****
Okay. I’m back.
I'm over it. I've moved on to rationalizations. More importantly, I'm looking forward to this movie; 2022 New England Patriots: Maximum Jones!
Top 5 "The 2022 Patriots Will Be Just Fine" Rationalizations
#5 - You don't need linebackers when you can put 4 safeties on the field on 3rd Down
Linebacker is a perceived area of need for the Patriots, but they didn't make a selection at that position in the draft. The thinking being that guys already on the roster - Cameron McGrone, Ronnie Perkins, Josh Uche, Raekwon McMillan, and Mack Wilson - will provide the much needed shot of speed and athleticism at the second level in the Patriots defense. I'm optimistic, as far as that goes, but I can also see Devin McCourty, Kyle Duggar, Adrian Phillips, and Jabrill Peppers taking care of business on obvious passing downs.
McCourty can still fly, Duggar looks like a breakout star in 2022, Phillips is a stud, and Peppers just feels like Rodney Harrison 2.0, doesn't he? Another successful Bill Belichick reclamation project.
Quick Aside: The Pats will figure things out at cornerback. Obviously, the return of Malcolm Butler potentially makes for a great story. Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing Jonathan, Jack, and Marcus Jones all on the field at the same time. If only they had a cornerback named Smith.
#4 - Offensive Guards are people, too
I'm already seeing those Sensor Reheat takes on Cole Strange; that he would've been a slam dunk first round pick and the first guard drafted if he'd played his college ball at a Power 5 school. While I'm still a bit anxious about the ability of Isaiah Wynn and Trent Brown to survive a 17-game schedule, the Patriots added a couple of picks on the OL (G Chasen Hines, T Andrew Stueber) to the depth chart. (I hear you. It's Justin Herron, Yodny Cajuste, and Yasir Durant but come on, people. Your swing tackle is never going to be Anthony Munoz!)
I'm feeling pretty good about Strange, David Andrews, and Mike Onwenu on the interior and I'm not going to let your negative thoughts about offensive tackle harsh my buzz.
#3 - All those guys we've already forgotten were on the roster
Can S Joshuah Bledsoe play? What about CB Shawn Wade? Can WR Kristian Wilkerson make the roster? Why did I forget Anfernee Jennings in my list of linebackers who might actually be able to make up for the lack of draft selections at that position? I could go on, but suffice to say, there are some good football players already on the roster.
By the way, who the hell is Arlington Hambright and how is someone with that name not working on Wall Street?
#2 -That Second Year Leap Thing
DL Christian Barmore. RB Rhamondre Stevenson. QB Mac Jones. All three had pretty good to very good rookie seasons. Add "second year in the system" guys like TE Jonnu Smith, WR Nelson Agholor and S Adrian Phillips (who was pretty good in his first year in Foxborough), and you have six very good reasons to be optimistic about 2022.
#1 - Letting Mac Jones be Max Jones
McCorkle was a bomb thrower in college and now, with rookie WR Tyquan Thornton, he has a jet on the tarmac, ready for takeoff. Thornton's presence on the roster should push and elevate Nelson Agholor's game, too. Thornton and Agholor outside the numbers, when they aren't catching dimes, should free up Kendrick Bourne and Jakobi Meyers on shallow crossers with Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith up the seam.
And did I mention DaVante Parker?
I didn't, did I?
Maybe the Patriots don't have a true WR1 on the roster but they have enough talent at the position to consistently create mismatches at WR2 and WR3, and a quarterback who will find them.
Go Pats!
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