Worst Pats Season In 20 Years Fittingly Ends On A Bad Note As Their Top Draft Pick Drops To No. 15

 

    So this is what it's like to cheer for most other teams in the NFL? The last day of the regular season rolled around today and after the Patriots (7-9 overall, 5-3 home) stupidly beat the hapless Jets (2-14 overall, 1-7 away) 28-14 at snowy Gillette Stadium, we have nothing else to look forward to now-at least when it comes to our favorite football team-but the draft and free agency which are both months away. Woof. In what was hopefully his last game for New England, quarterback Cam Newton (21-of-30 for 242 yards, 3 TDs; 79 yards rushing; 19-yd TD catch) had perhaps his best performance in an otherwise terrible season (for him and the team). New York was already locked into the No. 2 pick (Ohio State QB Justin Fields?) and shortly after this most meaningless of affairs was over, they fired their woefully-overmatched head coach Adam Gase (he was 9-23 in 2 seasons in charge). 

    With a loss and some help from other teams with similar records, New England could have reached as high as the No. 10 pick in the first round (when's the last time they were up that high?) but they couldn't even do that right as the victory gave them their worst possible scenario-the 15th pick on April 29. As you would expect, there really was no new information to glean from this glorified fourth preseason game other than the fact that the Patriots should avoid Jets quarterback Sam Darnold (23-of-34 for 266 yards, TD, 2 INTs) at all costs if he becomes available because he stinks. Oh and Jarrett Stidham never saw the field this afternoon which tells you everything about what Pats head coach Bill Belichick thinks of him at this point. 

    If you were hoping for a Patriots loss like I was (along with any other halfwit Pats fan), the first half and much of the third quarter were promising. You knew right off the jump that it would be a weird one as running back James White caught a seven-yard touchdown from Cam on the first drive of the contest but Jets tight end Chris Herndon snagged a 21-yard touchdown from Darnold in the second quarter to make it 7-7 at halftime. NFL Films no doubt will fast-track the highlights of this instant classic to make some big money. New York scored on the first drive of the second half as running back Josh Adams found the end zone on a one-yard run. New York led 14-7 for most of the frame until New England's offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels went into his bag of tricks (polishing his resume and LinkedIn page before he finally leaves here again for another head coaching job?) and called for wide receiver Jakobi Meyers (6 catches for 68 yards on 7 targets) to toss a 19-yard touchdown to Newton. Did you know that Meyers played quarterback at NC State? Me neither, I just found that out today (JK!). 

    Things really started to go off the rails in the fourth quarter as you could hear the Jets' team bus starting up in the background. Rookie tight end Devin Asiasi picked a fine time to make the first two catches of his NFL career including a 26-yard TD from Cam. Would you believe that was the first touchdown catch of the season for any Patriots tight end? You couldn't even make up that horrifying stat if you tried. Running back Sony Michel (76 yards rushing; 60 yards receiving) similarly chose to show off and in the process, to do something that he'd never done in three years in the NFL (!): he caught a pass and went 31 yards for his first TD catch. Three Patriots defensive players were able to pad their stats as well with cornerbacks J.C. Jackson (his 9th of the season, tied with Ty Law in 1998 for 2nd most in team history) and Jonathan Jones each notching an interception and defensive end Chase Winovich (6 tackles, 4 solo, 2 sacks, pass deflected, 3 QB hits) had his best game of this fruitless season.

    The scariest part about this rebuild for the Patriots is that it feels like they are miles away from winning the AFC East anytime soon let alone compete for a Super Bowl title (which used to be the main focus in these parts) since the Bills (13-3) and Dolphins (10-6) are way more talented and just getting started after years of laying down to New England year after year. Belichick is still one of the better head coaches in the league-not that he really showed it in 2020-but his constant failures as a GM have really come back to bite him and the franchise lately. Also, do you believe at this point in his Hall of Fame career that he will allow any other prominent voices in the room that heaven forbid might have a slightly different opinion on something than him? Probably not since both of his sons are assistant coaches along with one of his favorite ex-players (Jerod Mayo) that he coached here. 

    For weeks, we've been told over and over how much cap space the Pats have available going into next season but honestly, when is the last time they aggressively went out in free agency and spent top dollar to get one of the best players (a crazy concept, I know)? The unfortunate reality is that having Tom Brady for so long was a smokescreen for so many other flaws on the roster and in terms of Belichick's stubborn style of coaching that feels very outdated for the millennials in 2021. The only way any of this will change in the near future is if they get a legitimate quarterback and we saw how badly they whiffed this year with Newton and Stidham. Does that give you any hope that they'll strike gold next time? Getting Brady in the sixth round is like winning Powerball, the odds of anything like that ever happening again to you are basically impossible. 

The Inevitable Is Now Official: For The First Time Since 2008, The Pats Will Not Reach The Playoffs

 

    If you've spent any of your plentiful pandemic spare time watching this sad-sack version of the Patriots (6-8 overall, 2-6 away), you knew that at some point soon this day was coming. At no point in this waste of a season (for them at least), have they consistently looked like a playoff team. Sure, they've had a few nice moments and unexpected wins along the way but as a wise man-Bill Parcells-once said, "you are what your record says you are." Indeed, that's a bit of a dated reference but probably fitting as this afternoon New England lost 22-12 to the Dolphins (9-5 overall, 5-3 home) at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium. For the second straight game, the Pats failed to score a single touchdown which is about all you need to know about another pathetic offensive effort from this deeply flawed team. As a result of today's completely predictable outcome, New England won't be in the postseason for the first time since 2008 (the year that Tom Brady blew out his knee in the opener) and it is also their first non-winning campaign since way back in 2000. 

    Last week's wretched loss to the Rams (who somehow lost today to the Jets!) basically sealed the coffin shut on New England's unlikely path to the playoffs. Instead, they get two more meaningless contests to hopefully tank to get the best possible draft pick (not that I have any faith in Bill Belichick to select the right player in the first round). In a related topic, for the love of God, can he finally bench quarterback Cam Newton (17-of-27 for 209 yards; 38 yards rushing) and give Jarrett Stidham his first career NFL start? Even if he plays for free, there is no logical justification to bring Newton back next season and why is Bill so reluctant to put Stidham in any situation but a blowout? Few think he'll be the answer for the next Pats quarterback but why not throw him out there next Monday night (8:15, ESPN) against the high-flying AFC East champion (for the 1st time since 1995!) Buffalo Bills (11-3) who are suddenly one of the best teams in football?

    If you ever doubted the importance of a quality QB in the NFL, this ill-fated season by the Patriots could serve as a case study in how not to address the fallout from the best quarterback in NFL history leaving for another team. There is a reason why Newton was still available this summer: he's absolutely cooked. He simply can't throw anymore (which was never his biggest strength anyway) and like any running quarterback, the wear and tear has caught up to him so he's not the battering ram like he used to be. The only pleasant surprise with him is that it turns out he's actually a really good guy that teammates love to play with. The Pats have no choice but to use a draft pick (preferably one of their first ones) on a new quarterback while simultaneously signing an experienced veteran signal-caller (in the Ryan Fitzpatrick or Matthew Stafford mold) while serving as a bridge to the next guy. 

    The scary part about the Patriots' rebuild is that they appear nowhere close to being good again since years of awful drafts coupled with being super cheap in free agency coupled with not hitting on many trades has left them with a mediocre at best roster. With their quarterback Josh Allen a legitimate MVP candidate, the Bills are in great shape (not to mention a loaded roster) and meanwhile former Patriots defensive coordinator Brian Flores is building something in Miami with rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (20-of-26 for 145 yards, INT; 2 rushing TDs) showing signs that he could be a nice player at this level as the Dolphins make a push for the playoffs. The Jets' (1-13) mind-numbingly stupid victory today means that if the draft happened tomorrow, the Jaguars (1-13) would get the top pick which will be Clemson's incredible quarterback Trevor Lawrence. If New York can acquire him, they would have a better QB than New England as well, yikes.

    Today was a microcosm of this entire frustrating season for the Patriots as their best players were kicker Nick Folk (who made 4 FGs) and punter Jake Bailey who hit a 56-yard punt that was downed at the two-yard line. Wide receiver Jakobi Meyers (7 catches, 111 yards on 10 targets) re-emerged, with Damien Harris (ankle) out, running back Sony Michel (10 carries, 74 yards) had fresh legs and cornerback J.C. Jackson picked off Tua at the goal-line for his eighth interception of the season. After a scoreless first quarter, Folk hit a pair of field goals in the second quarter and the Pats took a 6-0 lead into halftime. Even with their best receiver (DeVante Parker) and a good tight end (Mike Gesicki) both out with injuries, you knew that the Patriots' crappy defense could only hold down Miami for so long. Seeing cornerback Stephon Gilmore leave with a non-contact leg injury in the second quarter probably puts a cap on a bizarre and disappointing 2020 for him. You have to wonder if he'll ever play another game for the Pats after all the drama he caused this year. 

    The Dolphins running game is not known as a powerhouse by any stretch of the imagination but you wouldn't know that the way that a no-name undrafted rookie named Salvon Ahmed (23 carries, 122 yards, TD) and veteran Matt Breida (12 carries, 86 yards) both ran over the Patriots particularly in the second half. Ahmed's one-yard touchdown run on the opening drive of the third quarter put the Dolphins ahead 7-6. Another 45-yard field goal by Folk gave New England their last lead at 9-7 late in the frame. Tua ran for a three-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter and added a two-point conversion pass to Ahmed which gave Miami a 15-9 lead. Folk's last field goal cut it to 15-12 Miami but Tua's one-yard touchdown run iced it late for the home team.

The 72-game NBA regular season starts on Tuesday with the Celtics opening on Wednesday as they host the Bucks then the NHL just confirmed that their 56-game regular season will start on January 13 with some different divisions (including an All-Canada one since they have strict travel restrictions during the pandemic). There won't be any Patriots playoff action but it's not like they deserved to be anywhere near that. At least we aren't some one team podunk place, this holiday season among many other way more important things (the health of my family, friends and myself), I am thankful to have the Celts and B's to get us through our first and hopefully last Covid-19 winter.

UPDATE 12/21/20: There was some good news on the Gilmore injury front as he tore a quad muscle which will require surgery but at least it wasn't a serious knee or leg injury that would take a much longer recovery period. Tonight, Gilmore, punter Jake Bailey and special teams captain Matthew Slater were all named to the Pro Bowl for the Patriots this season, their only three representatives. 

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.

Led By Cam Newton, The Patriots Smother The Dolphins 21-11 In A Bizarre 2020 Season Opener

 

    With Tom Brady in Tampa Bay (that will never stop being weird) not to mention six months into a unfathomable global pandemic, we are just happy to have the NFL back to take our minds off of the constant nightmares going on daily all around us. With no preseason, today was the first time we saw Cam Newton (15-for-19, 155 yards; 15 carries, 75 yards, 2 TDs) in game action as a Patriot and it was a major success. In front of an empty Gillette Stadium, New England (1-0) beat Miami (0-1) 21-11 to begin the 2020 campaign. Showing off their totally revamped offense, the Pats ran the ball a whopping 42 times to control the clock for nearly 35 minutes (34:49). 

    After beating them in the 2019 regular season finale (which cost the Patriots the No. 2 seed and a bye), Ryan Fitzpatrick (20-for-30, 191 yards, 3 INTs) turned back into a pumpkin well before Halloween. With no Brady to lean on anymore, this season will be all about head coach Bill Belichick and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels doing everything they can to get the most out of a limited roster. Let's remember though, that the Pats still reside in the AFC East where the Jets (0-1) and Phins are basically rebuilding for life while the Bills (1-0) look like their one legitimate threat. As much as those guys have to prove, Newton is in the same boat when it comes to his on-the-field production. At 31 and after only playing in two games last season with Carolina, his career is at a serious crossroads (shoutout to Bone Thugs-N-Harmony!) and he figures to make an absurd amount of money if he can regain some of his 2015 MVP form.

    It should come as no surprise given Cam's incredible running skills and New England's lack of dangerous receivers other than Julian Edelman (5 catches, 57 yards; 1 rush, 23 yards) that the playbook was essentially whittled down to a Massachusetts high school style run-heavy attack. Outside of Newton-who set a Patriots record for most rushing attempts by a QB-four other Patriots had at least four carries: Sony Michel (10 carries, 37 yards, TD) was followed closely by Rex Burkhead (7 catches, 32 yards) while tiny (5-foot-6) rookie J.J. Taylor (4 carries, 28 yards) and James White (3 catches, 30 yards; 5 catches, 22 yards) had over 50 combined yards on just eight touches. 

    When the Patriots face a true No. 1 cornerback that can cover Edelman, they are going to be in trouble at least in terms of their shaky passing game. Ditto for any high-scoring opponent that will force them to speed things up and match them touchdown for touchdown. N'Keal Harry (5 catches, 39 yards) showed flashes but he fumbled right on the goal-line when New England could have put the game away at 21-3 late in the third quarter. If only they had a real tight end and not Ryan Izzo (1 catch, 25 yards). Miami used three different running backs but none of them could gain much traction as they combined for only 87 yards on 27 carries (3.2 yards per carry). The Pats also had some good fortune when the Dolphins only above average wide receiver-DeVante Parker (4 catches, 47 yards)-left in the third quarter with a hamstring injury that had been bugging him lately. 

    After a scoreless first quarter, Newton put the Patriots in front with a four-yard touchdown run to cap off an 11-play, 80-yard drive that lasted 6:11. In the first half, New England didn't make Fitzpatrick pay for his mistakes since they went three-and-out and punted after Gilmore picked him off. Jason Sanders cut it to 7-3 Patriots with a 46-yard field goal that was tipped but still somehow had enough power to make it over the crossbar. New Patriots safety Adrian Phillips intercepted Fitzpatrick near midfield with time running down in the half. Six plays later, New England was in field goal range (45 yards) but Nick Folk missed it wide right so it was 7-3 Patriots at halftime. 

    Like the good old days with Brady, the Pats began the third quarter with the ball and marched right down the field (8 plays, 75 yards, 4:46) and ended it with another TD run by Cam-this time from 11 yards out. New England's defense forced a three-and-out and after another long drive, it looked like they would go up 21-3 but then Harry was crushed by linebacker Jerome Baker (13 solo tackles, 3 assists, sack) and the football went out of the end zone for a touchback. That pumped up Miami as they put together their only real drive (11 plays, 80 yards, 5:23) of the entire day. Jordan Howard ran it in from one-yard and Fitzpatrick followed with a run of his own for the two-point conversion that made it 14-11 Patriots. New England responded as they went 75 yards in 10 plays and 5:18. Michel ended it with a one-yard touchdown run and on the ensuing drive for the Dolphins, Fitzpatrick lobbed up one more grenade-this time to J.C. Jackson to clinch the victory for the home team.

    All and all, it was a fun day as the Pats proved right off the bat that this season shouldn't be a total waste of our precious time. They still have the best coach ever in the NFL and if Newton can play like this, there's no reason they can't win the AFC East and make the playoffs. With that said, next week's Sunday night (8:20, NBC) showdown in Seattle (1-0) could be a sobering reality check. Russell Wilson is one of the top quarterbacks in the league and they will definitely have their hands full trying to stop him. Let the record show that 43-year-old Brady (23-for-36, 239 yards,  2 TDs, 2 INTs; rushing TD) looked his age in a clunky 34-23 loss at New Orleans this afternoon. It sucks that it had to end like that for the greatest athlete in Boston sports history but at least if properly managed, New England seems to have found a bargain basement steal in Newton.

        

During a Pandemic, You Can Never Have Enough Quality RBs: Enter Lamar Miller to the Patriots

 

    Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has always been ahead of the curve (in many ways) for NFL head coaches and he realized long ago that the days of one workhouse running back is over. Rather, he prefers to load up with a bunch of guys in the backfield with various skill sets and sizes. Therefore, when they inevitably get hurt at some point, others are ready to step in without much of a drop off in terms of production. Shocker, Sony Michel is on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list after offseason foot surgery, Brandon Bolden opted out and training camp starts next Monday so New England needed another warm body. The team hasn't confirmed the move yet but many of the top NFL/Patriots reporters all said yesterday that they hosted free agent Lamar Miller on a visit and quickly signed him to a one-year deal (probably for spare change and a gift card to Toby Keith's Bar and Grill at Patriot Place).

    I was hesitant to write about this move since for all we know, Miller could be the usual (semi) big name veteran that New England brings to camp, only to release them before the regular season has even started. Still, the man has put together a very solid career in the league after being drafted in the fourth round (97th overall) by the Dolphins in 2012. He turned 29 in April and coming off a lost 2019 (after tearing his ACL in the third preseason game, remember those?), hopefully Miller still has a few decent years left in his 5-foot-10, 221-pound frame. 

    Coming into his third year, it's hard to call Michel a complete bust already but other than his great postseason two years ago, can you name any other huge performances that he's had as a Patriot? I thought not. He came into the NFL with injury concerns and so far, he's done nothing to dispel that notion since he always seems to be banged up with knee/leg/foot issues. James White is a perfect change of pace back that is excellent catching the ball but it is clearly diminishing returns when his carries start to pile up. Likewise, Rex Burkhead is basically a poor man's White with a similar injury history to Michel and who knows about Damien Harris after the 2019 third-round pick from Alabama was great in August last year then never seen again in games that meant anything. 

Playing for mostly terrible teams in Miami for four seasons then perennial playoff choke-artist Houston for three seasons, Miller has put together sneaky impressive numbers. Before last season, the fewest regular season games that he missed was just three so Belichick must love that already. He's topped 1000 rushing yards twice (career-best 1099 in 2014 with Miami), came close another year (973) and had two other respectable outputs (872 and 888). He's run for 32 touchdowns including eight in two different seasons with a career average of 4.3 yards per attempt. It appears like he's not one-dimensional either since he has 209 receptions in his career (7.5 yards per catch) as well with highs of 47 catches and 397 receiving yards in 2015 with the Dolphins and three touchdown catches in 2017 with the Texans. 

    Bottom line, you could do a lot worse finding a running back off the scrap heap than Miller. If he's healthy (like Cam Newton, the biggest unknown by far), I would take him in a heartbeat over Michel, Burkhead and Harris. New England will most likely have to rely on running the ball way more than they have in years as they get acclimated to Newton who is not an accurate passer at all-unlike you know who in Tampa Bay-so it is a smart decision to have as many experienced running backs as possible.