After 24 Seasons As The Patriots' Head Coach, Bill Belichick Is Finally Done & Jerod Mayo Takes Over

 

    It has been quite a whirlwind week for the New England Patriots. After finishing up 4-13-their worst season since 1992 (!)-on Sunday, we waited around until Thursday morning when reports finally surfaced that arguably the greatest head coach in NFL history (Bill Belichick) was out as the Pats head coach. A few hours later that morning, New England owner Robert Kraft and Belichick had a brief but cordial press conference where they took no questions. They "mutually agreed to part ways" and a few hours after that, Kraft returned for a solo press conference where he talked a little more in depth and actually answered a few questions from the media. Fast forward to yesterday morning when linebackers coach Jerod Mayo was hastily named the new head coach of the Patriots. 

    Just like when Tom Brady left the Pats-albeit in much different circumstances-no matter who replaces Belichick has impossible shoes to fill. In case you forgot, under Bill's watch (and Brady's unparrelled success), New England went to nine Super Bowls and won six of them. I am confident that we will never see a run like that with any other NFL team for the rest of our lives, no matter how long that we live. With that said, at 71 years old and with no playoff wins since Brady left, it was clear that the Patriots needed a new voice in charge. There is no question that he can still coach at a high level but he had been an awful GM thus undercutting his ability to win on the field. Furthermore, surrounding himself with his kids, friends, friends' kids and other assistant coaches that had been with him forever, it was obvious that Bill did not have to answer to anybody besides Kraft once in a while which is not a good thing. He made it clear at the final press conference that he still wants to coach-it is not like he has any other hobbies or interests in his life-and depending on where he ends up next, he could certainly do well. Granted, he probably won't win a Super Bowl like Brady in his first season post-Patriots. 

    On the surface, there is plenty to like about Mayo (37) who is now the youngest head coach in the NFL. He is also the first black head coach in franchise history, he won a Super Bowl with the Pats and was a captain for seven of his eight years as a middle linebacker on the Patriots-the only NFL team that he ever played or coached for. The scary parts are that he has never been a head coach at any level, how much does he know or care about offense while he automatically got this promotion written into his contract last season. With huge names like Mike Vrabel, Pete Carroll, Jim Harbaugh and Nick Saban all surprisingly available, Kraft didn't have any second thoughts of opening up the process a little bit more? Things change quickly in life, why were they so anchored to Mayo? 

    Belichick's greatest gift that he left to the Patriots is the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Like he said in his final words at Gillette Stadium, the NFL is all about players and as their record indicated, the Patriots currently have a million holes to fill on both sides of the ball. However, if they can draft well and spend money in free agency, there is no reason why the team cannot be a fringe playoff contender as soon as next season if many things go right. Still, Buffalo and Miami are not going anywhere anytime soon and even the lowly Jets finished with three more wins than the Patriots this season so it will be an uphill climb to relevance let alone contention for the once model club in football. 

    This entire miserable season and basically the four years since Brady left has been a daily reminder that as Patriots fans, we had it so good for so long. Tom having success right away with the Bucs-one of the great loser franchises in sports before then-coupled with Belichick running the Pats into the ground had put an end to any question as to who was more important to the dynasty-Brady or Belchick. It has been easy to kick Bill when he has been down these last few crappy seasons but make no mistake, at his peak he was right there with any other head coach in American sports history. He was the perfect leader for Brady and the Patriots for all those years, until he was not anymore and no doubt it was harder and harder to relate to new generations of players that were so much younger than him. Regardless, we must thank Bill for all the wonderful moments in the past 24 years. There will never be another extended period of dominance like that in any of the major professional sports in the U.S. 

Injury-Ravaged Titans Hung With The Pats Then New England Rolled To Their Sixth Straight Win

 

    Is there anybody left that actually doubts the Patriots (8-4 overall, 3-4 home) this season after they dropped the top-seeded Titans (8-4 overall, 4-2 away) 36-13 this afternoon at Gillette Stadium? New England's sixth victory in a row comes with a rather large asterisk since Tennessee was missing its top three offensive players (running back Derrick Henry along with wide receivers Julio Jones and A.J. Brown) but that hardly matters at the moment when you consider that the Pats were 2-4 earlier in this campaign. Patriots rookie quarterback Mac Jones (23-of-32 for career-high 310 yards, 2 TDs) was really good and New England's defense pitched a shutout in the second half after head coach Mike Vrabel's Titans were quite frisky in the first half and only trailed by three points (16-13) at halftime.

    New England's red zone issues are still a thing since kicker Nick Folk attempted a whopping six field goals (and thankfully made five of them) but other than that, it is hard to find anything else to legitimately complain about. 

    Wide receiver Kendrick Bourne (5 catches, 61 yards) has surprisingly morphed into the best offensive playmaker on the Pats and he added two more touchdowns. Jones hit him with a four-yard fade pass in the corner of the end zone which coupled with Folk's PAT were the only points of the first quarter. Tennessee's quarterback Ryan Tannehill (11-of-21 for 93 yards, TD, INT; 24 yards rushing) has become a solid player with the Titans but it's hard to blame him for his struggles today with such a lack of weapons. Tannehill threw a one-yard touchdown pass to receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine early in the second quarter but Tennessee's kicker Randy Bullock missed the point after. It was a chilly day in Foxborough so they kept Folk busy with three field goals in the second quarter (from 22, 37 and 44 yards). New England's run defense was terrible to start the year, however they had really tightened things up lately, that is until journeyman Dontrell Hillard (12 carries, 131 yards) scampered 68 yards for a score with 37 seconds left in the half. Bullock made that extra point (but he later clanked a field goal attempt), regardless the Pats had to be frustrated going into the break.

    After losing to Vrabel in their first two career meetings as coaches, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick got to exact a little revenge as his club methodically worked over the Titans. Folk had to settle for another short kick (28 yards) early in the third quarter but Bourne submitted the highlight of the day for the home team as he took a seemingly innocent pass from Jones and weaved 41 yards for the backbreaking score. Folk's extra point gave New England double the points of Tennessee (26-13) and with such a limited offense, you knew that spelled trouble for the visitors. Folk's only miss was a 53-yard field goal attempt late in the first half but he atoned for that by crushing a 52-yard kick in the fourth quarter. He is once again having a fantastic Pro Bowl caliber season and the only thing that makes you worry about him is the thought of having to attempt a long kick like that in a close playoff game. Running back Damien Harris notched a 14-yard touchdown run in pseudo garbage time and with Folk's PAT, the rout was finally on at 36-13 late in the fourth quarter. 

    New England's defense recovered three fumbles (by cornerback Jalen Mills, some linebacker named Jahlani Tevani and safety Kyle Dugger), sacked Tannehill twice (by linebackers Ja'Whaun Bentley and Matthew Judon) and cornerback J.C. Jackson recorded yet another interception while wide receiver Jakobi Meyers (5 catches, 98 yards) nearly had 100 receiving yards. With the win, the Patriots maintained their spot in first place in the AFC East. Their biggest game of the season-at least so far-comes next Monday night (8:15, ESPN) in Orchard Park, NY as they meet the Bills (7-4 overall, 3-2 home) for the first time in 2021. The Patriots and Buffalo play twice in the next four weeks (including a bye for the Pats) so those two matchups should go a long way in deciding who wins the division and also vies for that lone home bye given to the AFC's No. 1 seed. With so few certainties in the NFL this season, the Patriots have suddenly morphed into one of the only teams that you can rationally trust to play well and usually find a way to win. 

Rob Ninkovich Gets Rewarded With 2-Year Extension

Rob Ninkovich is basically Mike Vrabel 2.0.

He wears the same number (50) as the former Patriots great, he has the same type of versatility (playing outside linebacker in the 4-3 and also defensive end in some packages), he was similarly picked up off the scrape heap and he went to a Big Ten school (in his case Purdue and not Ohio State like Vrabel).

It goes without saying that Ninkovich still has a ways to go to reach anything close to what Vrabel did in his Pats career but so far, he's had a nice two seasons for a guy that was signed in August 2009 as an anonymous free agent that figured to be cut when the preseason ended.

As such, the 27-year-old Ninkovich was rewarded recently with a two-year extension on his deal through 2013; terms were not disclosed. His current contract ran out after this season so it gives the journeyman (3 teams in his NFL career) some peace of mind.

After showing not much in 2009 with 23 total tackles and one sack in 15 games, he exploded for a monster-year (by his standards) in 2010. He had 45 solo tackles and 17 assists, four sacks, three fumble recoveries and two interceptions. New England's defense has struggled in recent years to get big plays and Ninkovich has shown some glimpses of that type of ability when it counted.

In 2011, look for him to build on last season and have a similar if not even better year assuming he stays healthy. Also, keep in mind that Ninkovich fills one of Patriots head coach Bill Belichick's favorite roles: the undrafted underdog. It's a good tactic to always have a few under appreciated guys around that will be more than happy to be playing in the NFL. A team of high draft picks will never get it done without a mix of more hard-working type players that can push the superstars.

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Mike Vrabel Retires, Joins Ohio State Coaching Staff

There are many players from the Patriots' Super Bowl run that were absolutely vital to their success. The names read like a who's who: Brady, Law, Seymour, Bruschi, Harrison, Faulk, Brown. The list goes on and on.

But there was one man who set the tone for those teams, using his leadership and high football IQ to become a fan favorite, making big play after big play. That man is Mike Vrabel, who announced his retirement this morning. Rumors swirled over the weekend that Mikey was hanging it up, and being a Buckeyes fan, I am ecstatic that he is joining the Ohio State coaching staff as linebackers coach, hopefully bringing some respectability back to a troubled program.

Mike Vrabel had always been my favorite Patriot. The toughness, intelligence, and love for the game was part of what made the Super Bowl teams great. He may not have always had the name recognition of a Law, Bruschi, or Harrison, but Mikey always gave maximum effort every Sunday and in doing so, helped forge the identity of what would soon become the class of the NFL.

Much has been made of "The Patriot Way", and it was guy like Vrabel who helped build and maintain that level of excellence, hard work, and professionalism. I met Ted Johnson at a Bruins game in 2008 and he told me that Vrabel was the smartest player he had ever played with. He wasn't as beloved as Brady or Brown but he made history throughout his career.

Everyone remembers Ty Law's pick six in Super Bowl XXXVI but it was Vrabel who pressured Kurt Warner into floating that duck right to Law's hands, changing the game and essentially changing NFL history. He only made one Pro Bowl (2007, but was the anchor of the Patriots Defense for years. He also was a threat in the red area, catching 10 career passes, ALL FOR TOUCHDOWNS. That will never happen again. I still have the picture of Vrabel flapping his wings in the end zone in Super Bowl XXXIX in my room. Just such a special player.

He was signed as a free agent after a few years in Pittsburgh and was dealt to the Chiefs in 2009 but he will always be a Patriot and my favorite one. Thank you and best of luck with the Buckeyes.

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Bring on the Colts

The 2007 Patriots cease to amaze even the biggest homer fan. They're not only beating teams, they're embarrassing them. Have you ever heard an opposing team whine in the NFL that the other team was running up the score? The Redskins were saying such things after being run out of town, 52-7 yesterday at Gillette. They were supposed to be a test (4-2 coming in) since they had a great defense but they looked awful. The Colts took care of the Panthers, setting up one of the biggest regular season games in NFL history: Pats at Colts next Sunday.

Nobody has even come close to slowing down the Patriots offense. And the thing that separates them from almost every other great team in history is that they have a defense that is pretty solid as well. Brady ran for two touchdowns and threw for three more. Mike Vrabel looked like an albino Lawrence Taylor. He had 13 tackles, 3 sacks, 3 caused fumbles and he caught a touchdown on the goal-line. Apparently, Washington never watched film leading up to this game as anyone in New England (including my Golden Retriever) could have told you that when Vrabel is on on the two tight end, goal-line formation, he's going to have a ball thrown his way. Colvin recovered one of Vrabel's strip-sacks and returned it 11-yards for a touchdown. Ty Warren scooped up the other two fumbles.

The Redskins didn't have a chance. Jason Campbell, who is supposed to be an up-and-coming quarterback looked completely confused. He threw a pick to Asante Samuel on a long pass that didn't have a prayer. It was a Bledsoe special, just throwing it downfield to a covered receiver. One of the most promising signs for the Patriots was Lawrence Maroney, who had 14 carries for 75 yards and caught two passes for 37 yards. It got so bad for the Skins that Matt Cassell scrambled for a 15-yard TD late in the fourth.Were the Pats running it up? Yeah and what's the big deal with that? This isn't Pop Warner, it's not high school and it's not some I-AA school bending over to a top-25 team in College Football. This was supposedly two good teams. They're both getting paid so why shouldn't the Pats run the plays to the best of their abilities. More and more people nationally are starting to hate the Patriots which will only fuel them. The only thing that isn't good about scoring 'til you drop is that you don't want to leave the franchise (Brady) in there when they're comfortably up 35+ in the fourth quarter. Some overzealous goon will take a cheap-shot at him if they're not careful.

Almost forgot to mention that Moss had a sick TD. They did the fake spike again near the goal-line which would have worked last week but Brady misfired. This time, it was a charm. Moss is truly a freak. Welker continued to go to work, 9 catches for 89 yards and a score. Seymour came back but didn't get out there for many plays. He seemed rusty but he'll have another week of practice to get up to speed for Indy. That game should be phenomenal. The Colts and Pats are on completely different planets from all the other NFL teams. Indy is the defending champs and they've beat the Patriots three times in a row. Oh and the Pats choked in the AFC Championship last year to them. Think revenge will be on the menu Sunday in Indy? You can book that.