For Once, The Patriots Decide To Spend Like Crazy On The First Day Of Legal Tampering In The NFL

 

    For the first time in over a year, it was fun again to be a Patriots fan today as the legal tampering period began this afternoon in the NFL and the team spent like drunken sailors. All told, their aggressiveness paid off as they signed seven free agents headlined by tight end Jonnu Smith (4 years, $50 million) and linebacker Matthew Judon (4 years, $56 million) along with two wide receivers, two defensive linemen and a cornerback. What's even more exciting is that they are supposedly not done yet either as GM/head coach Bill Belichick is expected to add other new players to a roster that desperately needed some major upgrades. 

    This went against what we usually see from New England when free agency starts: no huge deals and tons of patience as they wait to sign their preferred types of players to team friendly contracts. The odds are that at least a few of those six guys won't ever do much for the Pats but regardless, it's nice to see some urgency in the club once again after such an awful 2020-a 7-9 record and no playoffs for the first time since 2008 had to leave a mark. No matter if Cam Newton is still the quarterback this season (shudders) or someone else, they had to have some better weapons to throw to and Smith was one of the best tight ends on the market while wide receivers Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne are not flashy names but they've been productive players in the league on other teams. 

    Judon is super talented and he fits the profile of great Patriots defensive players of the past: he's big, tall with long arms and very versatile. Jalen Mills is coming off a rough season with the Eagles but he can play cornerback and safety which you know Belichick must love. They also signed former Jets defensive lineman Henry Anderson to a two-year deal. I'm not going to pretend to know anything about Davon Godchaux-a former Dolphin-but he's a big fat guy that they can plug in the middle of their awful run defense and he should help there immediately. The team also re-signed defensive lineman Deatrich Wise Jr. but I'd rather not talk about that since he frankly stinks.

    Former Patriots guard Joe Thuney signed a massive deal (5 years, $80 million) with the Chiefs and last night, New England flipped right tackle Marcus Cannon (who opted out of last season) to Houston and the teams are trading fourth, fifth and sixth-round draft choices. It'll be interesting to see where else Bill tries to upgrade before the NFL Draft next month. We've been waiting for the team to show any sign of a pulse after the debacle that was last season coupled with Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski winning the Super Bowl in their first year with the Buccaneers. Today was a positive start as the Pats fight to get back to relevance both on and off the field once more.

Down 27-17 After 3 Quarters, The Pats Squeaked One Out Against the Soon-To-Be 0-16 Jets, 30-27

 

    I have to admit, for a game that pitted two mostly wretched teams who entered with a combined record of 2-13, tonight's special edition of Dollar Store Monday Night Football was way more entertaining than it should have been. In the end, there was actually a winner (no overtime needed!) when Nick Folk hit a 51-yard field goal as time expired for a dare I say ironically thrilling 30-27 win by the Patriots (3-5 overall, 1-3 away) vs. the Tank for Trevor Lawrence Jets (0-9 overall, 0-5 home). For Pats fans, it served as a painful exercise that showed just how hard it is to win a single game in the NFL, even against the league's worst team. This snapped a four-game losing streak for New England while also extending their win streak vs. New York to nine games. It is the first time in Jets franchise history that they have started a campaign 0-9 and they now have a bye week before their last seven games. PS Week 17 is at Gillette Stadium vs. the Pats. Haha imagine the possibilities for that must-see turd sandwich!

    After failing in all three previous chances this season (at Seattle, vs. Denver and last week in Buffalo) to put together a game-winning drive, Patriots quarterback Cam Newton (27-of-35 for 274 yards; 2 rushing TDs) was finally able to make it happen. Any other opponent would have put this to bed since the Jets led by 10 points not only at halftime (20-10) but also after three quarters (27-17). Luckily for Pats head coach Bill Belichick, Adam Gase somehow is still the Jets head coach and his truly miserable team managed to run four total plays in the final 15 minutes, good for three yards and 1:24 on the clock. Did I mention that Sam Darnold was out with a shoulder injury so former Ravens great and Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco (18-of-25 for 262 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT) was left to shred the Pats secondary for most of the night?

    2020 continues to be the scariest and strangest year of our collective lives so naturally we are all here to witness Jakobi Meyers (12 catches, 169 yards on 14 targets) become the promising young wide receiver that New England has lacked for years. On his 24th birthday no less, the former NC State quarterback had his third solid outing in a row culminating in the best performance of his brief NFL career. Damiere Byrd (5 catches, 65 yards on 9 targets) also made some plays in the passing game including a clutch 31-yard catch-and-run which led to Newton's one-yard touchdown run that coupled with Folk's PAT tied it at 27 with 1:57 left in regulation.

    The Patriots' running game was a positive as well with Damien Harris (14 carries, 71 yards) showing some more nice burst before he left late with a chest injury after absorbing a big hit. Rex Burkhead (12 carries, 56 yards, TD) kept finding holes as well when he got the ball. Another former Raven-wide receiver Breshad Perriman (5 catches, 101 yards, 2 TDs on 7 targets)-toyed with J.C. Jackson for much of the evening but thankfully, the Pats cornerback had the last laugh as he picked off Flacco's stupid deep ball that led to Newton's tying touchdown run. He now leads the NFL with five interceptions and in the process, he set a Patriots record by notching a pick in four straight contests. For the first time as a Patriot, Newton was not sacked and Deatrich Wise Jr. (4 tackles, 2 assists) had New England's lone sack which was very timely: on the second play of New York's last drive that turned out to be a 3-and-out which stupidly stopped the clock and saved a timeout for the Pats. 

    Not surprisingly given the halftime score, the Jets led for most of the game before the fourth quarter. Sergio Castillo hit a 35-yard field goal in the first quarter to open the scoring before Newton had a five-yard touchdown run later in the frame. Believe it or not, that was the first touchdown for the Patriots in any first quarter this season. Oof. The second quarter was much more of a Jets affair as Perriman caught a 50-yard bomb against Jackson for a 10-7 lead. Castillo added a 50-yard field goal, answered by Folk's 45-yard kick with 1:03 left in the first half. Going into the break down 13-10 wouldn't have been that awful all things considered (shoutout to NPR) but that wasn't enough of a deficit for the Pats. Nope, instead they allowed a touchdown drive that went 77 yards in two plays. Flacco hit rookie Denzel Mims (4 catches, 62 yards on 8 targets) with a 15-yard pass before Jason McCourty was called for pass interference on Perriman that went for 42 yards. On the next play, Flacco threw his best pass in years as Jamison Crowder used great footwork to drag both feet in the end zone before his momentum took him out of bounds. Initially it was called incomplete but then it was rightfully overturned on replay for a 20-yard touchdown with 25 seconds left in the half. 

    New England got the ball to start the third quarter and they had an awesome drive that took more than half (7:33) of the frame. They went 78 yards in 13 plays culminating in a one-yard touchdown plunge by Burkhead. Unfortunately, New York wasn't fazed by it as they responded with a nearly identical drive of their own (11 plays for 75 yards in 6:57). Their touchdown came on a 15-yard catch by Perriman after Jackson had slipped And-1 Mixtape style (remember those?!). With any sliver of hope for a playoff spot fading away in Tony Soprano Land aka North Jersey, the Patriots finally woke up and outscored the Jets 13-0 in the fourth quarter. All of their points actually came in the final 6:04 of regulation: Folk hit a 29-yard field goal, Newton powered his way in for the one-yard score and then Folk crushed his most important kick in years. 

    Nothing about this victory for New England was easy but needless to say, they will have to play infinitely better on Sunday night (8:20, NBC) to have any chance to begin their first win streak of the season as they host superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson and the Ravens (6-2 overall, 4-0 away) at Gillette Stadium. Miami (5-3) looks like a playoff team and they are two games ahead of the Patriots in the AFC East while the Bills (7-2) are setting the pace with their best start since 1993. I despise cliches but it really is a game-by-game type of focus for the Pats who aren't nearly talented enough to assume anything (for example: witness tonight where they came in as a 9.5-point favorite). Losing always sucks and multiply that during a pandemic where every low seems like it'll never end. Not to get too cheesy but it was refreshing to see the players and coaches on New England look genuinely happy and excited after this win. We all have been dealing with plenty of serious issues more important than football since mid-March but imagine on top of that, everyone in the region and around the country was also dumping on you non-stop for failing at your job. Good times!

Pats Barely Needed Cam Newton As They Blew Out The Raiders 36-20 Behind Rex Burkhead's 3 TDs

 

    I'm not going out on a limb here when I say that the 2020 Patriots (2-1) are not going to win many beauty pageants: there most likely will be many games this season that are clunky and frustrating at times but I'm also willing to bet that they still find different and interesting ways to win more than their fair share of those. This afternoon at Gillette Stadium, they got off to a bumpy start as they were blanked in the first quarter but they steadied themselves enough to take a 13-10 halftime lead before absolutely running over Las Vegas (2-1) in the second half on their way to an impressive 36-20 victory. We all know that the Raiders were a fraud 2-0 team but needless to say, the Patriots have to play much better next Sunday afternoon (4:25, CBS) to have even a slim chance to beat the defending champion Chiefs (2-0 going into tomorrow's Monday Night Football showdown in Baltimore).  

    For the first time in his brief New England tenure, Cam Newton (17-of-28 for 162 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 27 yards rushing) was mediocre but that didn't matter since Rex Burkhead (6 carries, 49 yards, 2 TDs; 7 catches, 49 yards, TD) had the game of his NFL life. It was his first career three touchdown performance as a pro and the Patriots used a punishing ground attack (250 total yards rushing!) to wear down Vegas who played last Monday then had to travel across the country during a pandemic. Fun! Patriots running back James White remains out as he deals with the loss of his father but surprisingly, New England more than made up for his absence thanks to Sony Michel (9 carries, 117 yards-5th career 100+ yard game; 2 catches, 23 yards) showing he deserves to still have a decent role on this team. Undrafted rookie running back J.J. Taylor also got 11 carries and ran for 43 yards because Bill Belichick doesn't give a shit about your silly fantasy football team. 

    When you look at Derek Carr's numbers (24-of-32 for 261 yards, 2 TDs) from this afternoon, you might be fooled into thinking that he had a pretty decent outing. Not quite, he lost two fumbles and he piled up much of those stats in garbage time when the Pats were up 36-13 with less than five minutes left in the fourth quarter and they no doubt were starting to look ahead to their matchup with Kansas City. Tight end Darren Waller (2 catches, 9 yards on 4 targets) and running back Josh Jacobs (16 carries, 71 yards, fumble lost; 3 catches, 12 yards) are two bright young stars in the league but the Patriots did a great job of shutting both of those guys down. The only Raiders offensive player who was that consistently effective was their slot receiver Hunter Renfrow (6 catches, 84 yards, TD) who at some point in his life is guaranteed to be a Patriot. 

    The first quarter was straight out of a high school JV football game as the first three possessions resulted in punts then the Raiders drove to the red zone only to see Jacobs fumble at the 12-yard line (caused by former Raider Shilique Calhoun and recovered by J.C. Jackson). Cam returned the favor on the ensuing drive by throwing an awful interception right to Johnathan Abram. Las Vegas couldn't really take advantage of the great field position though as they settled for a 29-yard field goal by Daniel Carlson. 

    With a drive (9 plays, 60 yards, 2:46) that started in the first quarter and extended into the second quarter, New England finally started to find its footing. They also stalled out in the red zone-something that figures to be a major issue all season with no legitimate tight end and no dependable wide receiver outside of Julian Edelman (2 catches, 23 yards on 6 targets) who was invisible after his incredible game vs. Seattle last Sunday night. Nick Folk got them on the scoreboard with a 33-yard field goal then struck for another from 23 yards shortly after that as Chase Winovich caused a Carr fumble and Lawrence Guy recovered it. The Pats put together their best drive (12 plays, 86 yards, 5:04) of the day late in the second quarter that culminated with a screen pass to Burkhead where he juked, spun and crashed his way into an 11-yard touchdown. The Pats defense fell asleep at that point as the Raiders answered with a touchdown of their own in 28 seconds. Stephon Gilmore had a brutal pass interference penalty and two catches by Renfrow got them down to the 1-yard line where Carr threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to backup tight end Foster Moreau. 13-3 Patriots at halftime would have been nice but 13-10 was much harder to swallow. 

    Proving that they are listening to their legendary head coach, New England made some adjustments and played lights out in the second half. Burkhead added a five-yard touchdown run and Folk had a 32-yard field goal in the third quarter as the Pats extended the lead to 23-10. Vegas' red zone failures continued to plague them as Carlson kicked a 25-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to cut it to 23-13. Burkhead put it to bed with a two-yard touchdown run (Folk missed the PAT) then on the next play, Carr fumbled in the end zone and Deatrich Wise Jr. recovered the football for the biggest play of his forgettable Patriots existence. 

    For New England to have any chance to upset the Chiefs, Newton will have to go crazy similar to the way that he did against the Seahawks. Likewise, Edelman will need to ball out along with some big plays by the defense and maybe an unlikely other source or two. Fall is officially here though: the Red Sox' miserable 60-game horrorshow mercifully ended today and the Celtics bricked their way to another Eastern Conference Finals loss (more on that later!) so if you want to watch a local team for the rest of 2020 this is your squad. Sorry Revs, you couldn't matter less to anyone besides the players, the coaches and their families. You can already tell that it's going to be a two team race in the AFC East this season: Buffalo (3-0) stayed perfect with a referee assisted 35-32 win over the Rams (2-1) while the Dolphins (1-2) picked up their first win of the season on Thursday 31-13 at Jacksonville (1-2) and the Jets (0-3) got curb-stomped by the Colts (2-1) 36-7 this afternoon. The Bills are legit, the Pats are good, the Dolphins are going nowhere as always and the Jets might be the worst team in the NFL.