Coming Soon to a Football Field Near You

Being a football fan is a curious thing. Unlike most people, we can hardly wait for summer to be over. We look forward to the dog days of August. We long for a crisp, cool autumn day. As offseasons go, this one hasn't been too bad. I've spent a lot of my spring and early summer indulging in Patriots porn. I've re-watched SB51 in some form - full game with half-time I recorded on my DVR, 3 Games to Glory V, one-hour synopsis versions on NFL network, various videos of Brady's 466 yards passing, 4th quarter and OT highlights - maybe a dozen times, not to mention a variety of Tom Brady-themed videos on YouTube.

But Patriots porn, like actual pornography, just isn't the same as the real thing.

I mean, that's what I heard...

The New American President

Hearing the news that the President's legal team is exploring the unprecedented possibility of a President pardoning himself, combined with a claim by Trump attorney John Dowd that the President can't be prosecuted because whatever allegedly happened has passed it's best if prosecuted by date begs the question…

What crimes has the President committed?

We The People

As we celebrate the birthday of the United States of America, I can't help but think of the gulf that seems to grow wider and deeper every day between the country I learned about in middle school and the nation we have become.

Where to begin? Anywhere, I guess...

Positivity

Things have been going so well for Patriots fans it's hard not to wonder if we're being set up. By fate or karma or whatever you call it. Maybe that's just me. As I grow older I feel increasingly uncomfortable speaking for anyone but myself. So, let me stick to me and my feelings.

I feel like the rest of the pigskin world has been working a super massive reverse jinx on the New England Patriots.

Rooting for Frankenstein's Monster

I remember Steve Grogan and the lovable losers I rooted for back in the day. I remember the plucky underdogs that had no right being in the Super Bowl, let alone taking down the Greatest Show on Turf. Today, I feel more like Gene Wilder in "Young Frankenstein" insisting this is a good boy while the mob gathers at the front gate, pitchforks sharpened, torches ablaze shouting "Kill the monster! Kill the monster!"

It is what it is.

How Things Work

Every player taken in the NFL is a projection, even #1 pick Myles Garrett. Perhaps he'll be great, perhaps he'll be a transcendent, generational talent who draws comparisons to the Hall of Famers he will one day join in Canton. Or maybe he'll fail to live up to his draft status; maybe he'll be an outright bust. Unlikely? Sure, but not unprecedented.

This was an unusual draft for the New England Patriots and it's hard to take a single data point and discern a pattern but Bill Belichick provided an interesting business case for managing draft picks as assets. He's always moved around the board. He's always like to convert 5th round picks into blue collar veterans as depth pieces. He's always called the draft just one part of the overall team-building process. But I can't remember a draft where so many picks were converted from risky, unproven assets into known commodities.

It's not like anything Bill Belichick did with New England's 2017 draft picks is against the rules; once again, he's just reading between the lines.

The Triumph of Hope Over Draft Profile

Loved it when Bill Belichick reminded the pigskin pundits and bobbleheads in his post-Day 2 stand up the Patriots had already banked WR Brandin Cooks (and his 5th year option), DE Kony Ealy, TE Dwayne Allen and RB Mike Gillislee before Day 1 of the draft.

He didn't mention keeping QB Jimmy Garoppolo or CB Malcolm Butler; I know they were on the roster all along but somehow it seems like the Patriots acquired them from Cleveland and New Orleans, respectively, doesn't it?

Also loving the reaction to the Patriots 3rd round picks but I have to admit I'm caught off guard by a New England draft that doesn't get a C+ "Failed to work up to expectations" kind of grade.

Perhaps an even bigger surprise? Belichick didn't take a safety nobody ever heard of in the 3rd round this year.