Pigskin Perhaps and Mayhaps

Somehow, last place feels different today than it did last week.

Yes, I hear you. It was only the Lions. Yes, I know the Patriots two wins were against teams that went to bed last night (presumably without any supper) with 1-4-0 records. I don't care. I got my hands in the air and the kick is good. Somehow, a 29-0 win at home with Pat Patriot on the helmets and the 50 has me feeling pretty good.

Let's not forget the Lions were the top scoring offense in the NFL before Sunday's game. I think the 0 is going to hurt the average. (We do the math so you don't have to!) But this isn't about the Lions or the penthouse condo Bill Belichick owns in Jared Goff's head; this is all about the Patriots, and some…

Early Season Maybe's…

Maybe the Patriots Defense isn't going to miss J.C. Jackson as much as pigskin pundits and bobbleheads thought they would. Jack Jones now has two big play interceptions in the last two games, showing out with some impressive athleticism and ball skills. 

Maybe Rhamondre Stevenson should donate his ears to science. It seems like that guy has got a gyroscope in there. 

Maybe Matthew Judon is going to be even better in 2022. A tough ask given his 2021 season but Judon now has six sacks in five games and if the calculator can be trusted, that projects to 20.4 sacks over the full 17-game schedule.

Maybe I was right with the Troy Polamalu comp for Kyle Duggar.

Maybe Jakobi Meyers is better than you think. Meyers is currently 6th in receiving yards per game with 87.0. The names ahead of him? Justin Jefferson, Cooper Kupp, Tyreek Hill, Stefon Diggs, and A.J. Brown. Not a bad list to be on.

Maybe the Patriots will need to get better in the Red Zone on offense but until they do, it's good to have Nick Folk Hero kicking it.

Maybe it's okay to have a QB controversy. Mac Jones had to compete for the starting gig at Alabama and wound up leading the Crimson Tide to a national championship, so there's that. No, Bailey Zappe isn't the Second Coming of Tom Brady (pigskin blasphemy!) but at the very least he's already worth more than the 4th round pick used to select him in the 2022 draft. Don't forget that once upon a time the Patriots had Tom Brady, Jacoby Brissett, and Jimmy Garoppolo on their roster and all three of them started last Sunday. You can never be too rich, too thin, or have too many good quarterbacks on your roster. 

Maybe there's still a lot of football left to play. Or perhaps I should say, maybe there's enough football left to play for the 2-3-0 Patriots to get back into the playoff discussion.

Maybe Bill Belichick is still a defensive genius. 

Okay. 

Forget that maybe.

Maybe I'll go watch the highlights from this game one more time.

You can forget that maybe, too.

Go Pats!