The Propies: 2016 Patriots Regular Season Awards

No gameplan article this week, unless you consider sitting on your couch watching some stress-free playoff football a gameplan. Instead today I’ll be handing out a bunch of “Propies” for the regular season awards, honoring the the superlative performances from the 2016 Patriots.

Yes, the next month will truly determine where the 2016 Patriots place in history will be, but if 2007 taught me anything, it’s that appreciating the regular season is what makes being a football fan the most fun. Let’s face it, the playoffs are stressful. Almost too stressful. And more often than not they’re going to end in bitter disappointment.

But can anyone at this point really feel disappointed? We got the Deflategate suspension over with, lost only Gronk to injury (still significant, but not what we saw in 2013 or 2015), and finished the regular season off in dominant fashion that gives every indication this Patriots team will come out with something to prove the next (hopefully) three games.

The Patriots dynasty continues to roll on with another 14-2 season in books!

Without further ado, we’re on to the Propies!

“Holy Shit, Belichick Did What?” Moment of the Year – Jamie Collins Traded

Following the Patriots under Bill Belichick is always interesting because there’s never a lack of jaw-dropping moves. There’s at least one per year and often more. I’m not sure there’s ever been a more shocking one than Belichick’s trade of Collins in the middle of the season. Collins was supposed to be one of the best linebackers in the league, a true athletic freak. We were hoping he’d re-sign and be a Patriot for a long time heading into the season. Instead BB sent him packing seemingly out of the blue. The reasoning? That Collins was going to be moved to a part-time player and the Patriots worried what kind of effect it would have on the locker room. Once again the Patriots overcame a crazy Belichick move and the defense rounded into form, but I still can’t quite believe they got rid of Collins like that.

Suck It Up Performance of the Year – One-Thumbed Jacoby Brissett vs. Buffalo

By now we’ve all forgotten the first four games of the season without Brady. Jimmy Garoppolo looked legit before going down against Miami, thrusting rookie Jacoby Brissett into starting the last two games. It was a fascinating challenge for Belichick and company. Brissett injured his thumb in an impressive win against Houston, but still toughed it out against the Bills before going onto IR prior to Brady’s return. Brissett showed a lot of toughness and it wasn’t surprising to see the team bring him back from IR late in the season. He’s the true x-factor in Garoppolo’s future with the team and he certainly earned a lot of respect from the coaching staff by playing against Buffalo.

Disappointment of the Year – Jabaal Sheard

Most of us had penciled in Sheard as a long-term starter at defensive end. He had an impressive first season with the Pats, making Chandler Jones expendable, but struggled for much of the 2016 season, recording just five sacks and 20 tackles. He came on as of late, earning a solid spot in the defensive end rotation. Now the stage is set for his playoff performance, which could determine his future. Sheard will hit free agency this offseason, and while his down year could keep him in the Pats’ price range, no one would be surprised if he wasn’t back with the team in 2017.

Record Setting Performance of the Year – LeGarrette Blount

Blount set the Patriots team record with 18 rushing touchdowns and had 1,161 yards rushing. While his workload diminished a bit with the return of Dion Lewis, Blount put together the best rushing season since Corey Dillon and was a big factor in the Patriots’ return to offensive balance, taking some heat off Tom Brady and forcing teams to respect the run on every down. Curtis Martin’s record stood for two decades before Blount’s 2016 season.

Surprise of the Year – Wide Receivers Everywhere

The long-running joke with the Patriots offense is that few receivers could actually gain Brady’s trust. Suddenly this season Brady loved everyone, from Chris Hogan (38/680/4) and Malcolm Mitchell (32/401/4) to Martellus Bennett (55/701/7), it was no longer the Edelman/Gronk offense. That enabled the Patriots to overcome the loss of Gronk and take some of the heat off of Edelman. This is maybe the most balanced offense we’ve ever seen in New England, and they can threaten all levels of the defense. Add in Michael Floyd’s performance in the season finale and the Pats found four new weapons who could all contribute.

Tom Brady of the Year – Tom Brady

Of course every award could go to Tom Brady, but let’s just keep him separated because he deserves a category all to himself. Where do we begin with #12? Missing the first four games, but stepping right back in like he hadn’t missed a beat, playing as well as ever in 2016, throwing just two interceptions in his 12 games. Brady showed no sign of dropoff at age 39 and looks primed to lead the Patriots back to the Super Bowl once again. Cherish every snap we get to cheer TFB on folks, this kind of domination won’t last forever.

Free Agent of the Year – Martellus Bennett

I had my concerns about Bennett assimilating into the intense football atmosphere in New England but he’s been one of the nicest breaths of fresh air to come through Foxborough in years. He was the team’s MVP through the first four games and powered through ankle and shoulder injuries mid-season without missing a game. Lately, he’s come on again with three touchdowns in his last four games and the Pats will need him to be a red zone threat in the playoffs. Most Pats fans will hope Marty sticks around beyond this one season and the signs look promising that he wants to.

Rookie of the Year – Joe Thuney

Thuney stepped in as a rookie and played nearly every snap at left guard, helping to stabilize an offensive line that seemed in constant flux in 2015. Guard isn’t a glamorous position but Thuney has great athleticism and deep waist bend. He’ll be a fixture on the Patriots line for the next decade and is the perfect Logan Mankins replacement, even if he isn’t quite that level of salty mauler.

Honorable Mention – Malcolm Mitchell

Hoodie of the Year – 2016 Gray Mock Cut

Belichick mostly stuck with the Hot Jacket over the hoodies once again this season, going 8-2 and raising his all time record in it to 24-8. That’s good for second-best all time behind the infamous cutoff gray Reebok hoodie, Belichick is 31-9 all time in that. Next season the Hot Jacket could become Belichick’s all time most-worn attire and it’s not a hoodie. Prepare yourselves. But the winner of Hoodie of the Year has to go to the 2016 Gray Mock Cut, which Belichick wore against the Texans and Browns, going 2-0. It’s a thing of pure shredded beauty, with the neck, arms and waist all hacked to hell. We can only hope he busts this bad boy out for the playoffs.

Assistant Coach of the Year – Dante Scarnecchia 

The Patriots offensive line was a mess in 2015. Of course injuries had a lot to do with it, especially with Nate Solder going down. But the return of Dante Scarnecchia took the Pats back to the kind of offensive line play that we grew accustomed to over the last decade-and-a-half. After using 39 OL combinations in 2015, they used just nine in 2016. Scar’s return has left us all wondering how many more years we can squeeze out of the 68-year-old, or how we can clone him.

Game of the Year – Patriots 16, Broncos 3

No win felt better this year, despite the sad state of Denver’s offense. However, last year their offense was pretty sad too, so we can’t minimize the importance of winning in Denver after losing three in a row there going back to the 2013 AFC Championship. This was the defensive performance we should’ve seen in 2015’s AFC Championship as the Pats allowed just three points and were every bit as dominant as they should’ve been against lame Peyton Manning. It wasn’t a great back-and-forth game, it was just a win that got a huge monkey off their back. This is just the kind of win that could spark the team on to great things.

Play of the Year – Chris Hogan 79-yard TD vs. Baltimore

The Ravens pulled within three points late in the fourth quarter, but Hogan read the defense just like Brady did, running down the seam uncovered for the 79-yard touchdown that effectively put the game away. It was a huge win, and for the knockout blow to come on a deep ball after so many years of Brady getting maligned as a dink-and-dunker made it even more special. Hogan finished second in the league in yards-per-catch, finally giving the Patriots an outside threat who stretch the defense vertically, aka a DEEEEEEEP THREAT!!

Honorable Mention – Devin McCourty Drills Demaryius Thomas to Seal Broncos Win

Offensive MVP – LeGarrette Blount

Obviously this could and should easily go to Brady, but I’m giving it to Blount because his season rounded out the entire Patriots offense and made Brady even more lethal than he already was. He broke 100 yards just four times, but was the hammer that sealed many wins with an important short yardage carries that were often for touchdowns. Blount’s timely runs took the Patriots offense to another level this season.

Defensive MVP – Trey Flowers

The Patriots defense had their struggles early in the season, most notably culminating against the Seahawks when they gave up six scoring drives on eight possessions. But in the second half of the season it was Flowers’ emergence that seemed to turn things around. He finished with seven sacks, best on the team, but his biggest impact came from the pure disruption he caused as an interior pass rusher. While we were pencilling in Sheard as the future at DE, it’s now clearly Flowers, who’s under his rookie deal for two more seasons. There isn’t a better combination than productive and affordable.

What awards would you guys give out that I missed??