What was Kevin Bacon’s line as recruit/pledge Chip Diller in the movie classic, “Animal House?”
“Remain calm! All is well!”
Well, maybe not all is well right now with these New England Patriots, at 1-2 on the young season and staring at a matchup with the ghost (or maybe GOATS) of Patriots Past next Sunday. But this is the message to get across today for the players…and probably for many fans, too.
You see, this Patriots’ edition is going through a phase of sorts not seen in these parts in more than twenty years.
You’ve heard of the term ‘growing pains?’ Yeah, they’re not pleasant. But it’s what happens when performance doesn’t meet expectation, even when those expectations are unreasonable or otherwise uneducated.
And the expectations for the 2021 New England Patriots really aren’t yet blown up by any stretch. Who could possibly know what to expect over a never-before-traversed 17-game regular season schedule?
But let’s just say this – these Patriots, after three weeks, have the appearance of a just-weaned, cute baby puppy…who just messed on your living room floor. We’ll rub their noses in it, make sure they understand their behavior, and move onto tomorrow’s new opportunity – hopefully next time in the backyard.
Now is not the time to panic. On the 53-man roster eligible to play Sunday, 37 players have three years – or less – experience in New England with this staff. This includes your rookie QB/savior-to-be. And on the staff, half of the coaches are in the same boat themselves with three years or less within their current Patriot responsibilities.
A little patience and a little compassion is probably required at this stage. As Bill Belichick is wont to say, ‘we need to play better, we need to coach better.’ He would be correct on both fronts.
We’ll see this team leave plenty of bombs on the Gillette Stadium carpet over the next few weeks. It’s inevitable.
Just get the pooper scooper ready. And remain calm.
No battle in the trenches
It isn’t going well on the front lines for those guys in the trenches. On the offensive side, who’d-a-thought missing Trent Brown would have caused the utter collapse of almost every other player on that front? But that’s what has transpired. Mac Jones was hit 11 more times against the Saints Sunday, and the running game?
Non-existent. Damien Harris missed a blocking assignment on the first play of the game, Jones took a sack, and Harris checked out. Rhamondre Stevenson is in the dog house until he better learns the ball is your friend, not your enemy. He was inactive. James White suffered an early, nasty hip injury. Brandon Bolden?
How’s that Sony Michel trade looking now?
Jones doesn’t have the physicality required for longevity in this game down, yet. He needs some help, and that includes help with the play-calling, too.
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Ep 150: Bucs/Bills, NFL Trade Deadline, Week 8 Preview
by Full Press Coverage on October 29, 2023 at 3:05 pm
“They were certainly the better team,” Belichick said in the aftermath of Sunday’s shellacking. “They just did a better job than we did in every area.” How many times over the past 21 years have we heard this line?
‘We need to play better, we need to coach better’ usually follows, however. Why didn’t he say that this week?
There was no point in it. It was all too obvious.
Is that all you got?
It’s almost criminal to nitpick on Jonnu Smith. But when you come into an organization desperate for your talent and ability, get paid a handsome sum (four years, $50 million) and drop passes (one led to a pick six for New Orleans) and miss blocks? Dude.
It’s not what anyone is looking for.
Hunter Henry, the other well-paid newcomer at his position (three years, $37.5 million) also had missed blocks and one really, really bad false start on a 4th-and-1 attempt with the Patriots trying to make a game of it late.
It shows…either your heads’ not in it, or you’re just not what was expected. Which is it?
Around FPC
NFL: Game Recap: Bengals Defeat Steelers 24-10
NFL: Patriots By The Numbers: Offense Sputters In Loss To Saints
NFL: Chicago Bears: Roquan Smith on His Way to Having All-Pro Season
NHL: New York Islanders Are Going All-In This Season
Wrestling: WWE Remains In Denial About AEW
PODCAST: Full Press NFL Podcast Ep 9: Can Tom Brady Play Until 50? Week 2 Picks and Preview
Take one, need two
Speaking of Brandon Bolden earlier, and let’s also include LB Dont’a Hightower in this mix…but it appears the “year off” from football has taken a toll on both players.
Hightower has already spoken of the difficulties he’s had in reacclimating himself (getting back to meetings has been the ‘hardest part’), which points out the mental acuity required to play this game remains at a high level.
Does either player have that any longer? It’s a fair question, based on the early returns. Bolden was put into a difficult spot trying to be Harris, or Stevenson, or Michel (oops, not here) with red zone runs that made zero sense. He blocked his man when he had to, but the Patriots needed way more than just that.
And the nitwits are…
- Those engaging in the “who is more responsible for the dynasty, Belichick or Brady?” debate. There’s no denying Tom Brady‘s greatness and what he has meant to this franchise, to this region and to pro football for two decades. But…“he looked at his options and made his decision. We weren’t as good an option as Tampa,” Belichick told WEEI Radio Monday. “You’d have to ask him about all of that. But it wasn’t a question of not wanting him, that’s for sure.” The coach runs the show. He always has.
- In the “You think you have it bad” department, consider the Colts, Lions and Steelers. Indy is 0-3, their QB has sprained BOTH ankles and your coach says that’s your BEST option to win? The Lions can’t get out of their own way, and just when it looked like they might break through lost on an NFL-record 66-yard field goal by Baltimore’s Justin Tucker. And the Steelers? 1-2, with little surrounding their aging QB.
- NOT NITWITS: Loved this stat, courtesy of nfl.com – with wins against the Ravens, Steelers and Dolphins, the Raiders have become the first team in NFL history to win each of their first three games in a season in which their first three opponents all had 10-plus wins the prior season.
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