After a stint at WEEI as a columnist/co-host (with Dale and Holley), one of my very favorite sports writers Jerry Thornton has re-signed to Barstool, with a presumably Von Miller-esque deal. He gets us going this week with a rant within his “knee-jerk reaction” piece that makes me want to blast “Crazy Train” and run into brick walls:
Yet (Brady’s) ability to leave the pocket and throw on the run is the best of his career. But you Deflategate Truthers keep telling yourself it was always about air pressure. If there was a drop off in Brady’s performance, we’d never be hearing the end of it from you anti-science Flat Earth shitbags. But now that he’s playing some of his best football ever with allegedly untampered footballs, the silence is deafening.
Is it Sunday yet?! Absolutely love it and really couldn’t be more true. Proof is in the pudding with another ho-hum AFC player of the week award to add to the TB resume. If you don’t read Jerry’s “knee-jerk reaction” series after every game, start now. You’re genuinely missing out.
Okay, enough with the fun and games. Let’s refocus our efforts on continuing to fix the defense, which suffered an enormous (literally) loss this week with the suspension of defensive tackle Alan Branch.
Branch (6’6, somewhere in between 300 and 400 pounds), has been one of, if not the best and most consistent defensive lineman on the squad this year. He’s played at a very “high” level, especially against the run. Pending his appeal, Branch would be lost for four games in the midst of a critical, soul searching stretch for this unit. Not ideal, and something that can’t be overlooked. Spotlights on rookies Vincent Valentine and Woodrow Hamilton to rotate with Malcolm Brown in the big dog’s absence.
Although not identical positions, will this open up the door for the return of Jabaal Sheard, who, prior to his disappearance, was known as a stout run defender? Mike Reiss (ESPN) offered his take on the flat out bizarre fall of a very talented player into the dreaded Belichick dog house. Reiss writes:
“What’s best for the team” can mean a lot of different things – off-field considerations, on-field performance etc. – and Belichick opens the door for media-based speculation when he doesn’t specify. He doesn’t care. And here’s something else he doesn’t care about: perception.
You’ve got that right, Mike. He doesn’t care what you think. He doesn’t care what I think. He doesn’t care if Jabaal was one of the better players on the unit last year. What have you done for me lately? Clearly not enough. Here’s to hoping Sheard reacts positively to this, and all he needed was a kick in the tail. The 2015 version would be a welcome addition to this unit.
Truth is, I have no idea what’s next for the D. There were positive steps last Sunday, but by no means was it pretty. I’m starting to get agita, so let’s talk McOffense and rookie wideout Malcolm Freakin’ Mitchell.
Brady’s a pretty demanding guy, but can you imagine Malcolm showing up late or being ill- prepared to discuss the latest Barnes and Nobles Best Seller every Wednesday? I wouldn’t want to mess with these ladies. Talk about proper training. Very positive start for the rookie, let’s hope he can continue to improve and take advantage of his opportunities. He’s big, he’s strong, he’s fast, he’s got big and reliable hands, and seemingly has earned Brady’s trust. What’s not to like?
Speaking of things to like, I know they haven’t been perfect by any means, but the offensive line has been markedly better than last season, in which it proved to be the fatal flaw and achilles heel. Rich Hill (Pats Pulpit) touched on the unit earlier this week. He writes:
Every player is performing at a higher level than they were in 2015, with Cannon actively playing like a “very good” player deserving of a contract extension. Thuney has excelled as a rookie and Andrews clearly has the trust of QB Tom Brady. Solder and Mason have been less consistent, but they’ve had their moments.
Uniformity and development has been key. Last season was a juggling act between injuries and the decision to rotate. Coach Scar has proved to be the stabilizing factor this team so desperately needed. Let’s put it this way, while the O-line is certainly not a strength, there’s a number of more concerning factors moving forward.
That being said, they will have their hands full Sunday. If there’s one area that can offer a silver of hope for the Jets against New England, it’s in the trenches. We know the names by now: Richardson, Wilkerson, Williams. As a whole, they haven’t performed to expectations this season, but they’re still individually very difficult to block and pose a threat every down to blow up a play. In his game preview piece for the Globe, local troll Ben Volin reminds us of the recent history between these bitter ‘rivals’:
But don’t chalk this one up in the win column for the Patriots just yet. Since that ButtFumble game, all six Patriots-Jets contests have been decided by one score, four of them by a field goal or less. The Jets played the Patriots tough twice last year, and still have a stout front seven, big physical receivers, and a good running game. The Jets also will be rested, coming off a bye week.
When it comes to Volin, I recommend cross checking references, but in this case he’s spot on. Don’t expect this one to get out of hand early. This is truly New York’s Super Bowl, and they’ll be throwing the kitchen sink at Belichick, McDaniels, and Patricia both offensively and defensively. At the end of the day, the difference will be #12, as it was last Sunday and often is. In Mike Freeman’s (Bleacher Report) piece this week, he writes:
The 49ers spent all week practicing for the way Brady hits quick passes between the hashes. Yet preparing for Brady’s quick throws is different from stopping them.
“He was getting the ball off real fast,” said 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks. “And…”
Then Brooks paused, shrugging his shoulders.
“Tom Brady.”
As in: What the hell are we supposed to do? That’s Tom Brady.
Expect a similar quote in next weeks’s links. We’re onto the Jets.