WOW! I cannot wait to go to sleep! I’ll take one for every night of the week. Between this and the $50 bags of peanuts, take my money Tom! Take it all! I’d knowingly buy water from this guy if he told me it was wine. Just brilliant. When he retires in 20-whatever I’m sure he’ll keep finding ways like this to pay the bills.
Let’s kick off the bye week links with a couple Globe pieces. First, Trollin’ Volin recaps the Pats beatdown of the Dolphins and labels it a microcosm of the season. Ben writes:
The Patriots offense isn’t as dynamic without Rob Gronkowski, but it still does a good job of keeping the chains moving and picking up positive yardage…the defense still came up big when it needed to. The Patriots have shown a knack for making timely plays this season, and that happened again Sunday.
He’s right. Great overall effort on Sunday and it started from the opening kick. That first drive especially was just such a thing of beauty. Alternating run and pass, a true surgical dissection of a home team and deflation of their home crowd. You just knew from that point moving forward that the Pats were locked in offensively. The D loosened their grip a bit, seemingly given the score, but were able to shut the door when it mattered. The Patriots combined to beat the Jets and Dolphins by a score of 76-17 over the final two weeks of the season. Peaking at the right time, it’s going to be awfully difficult for a visiting AFC club to come in and pull an upset. Especially given the forgiving seeding.
Chris Gasper (Globe) reminisces on the season and mental toughness this team displayed throughout in his piece at the beginning of the week:
Seemingly nothing can deter the Patriots: an unjust four-game suspension for TB12; being forced to employ a third-string rookie QB; insubordination from a Pro Bowl linebacker once thought essential to the cause; political fallout from the support of a polarizing president-elect; a season-ending injury to their all-world tight end; or a playing surface in Miami that looked more like a Civil War battlefield. It doesn’t matter.
Quite the year, huh? Brady’s suspension feels like years ago, haven’t thought about Jamie Collins in months, and the offense is still putting up 30+ without #87. Crazy impressive, and cannot be understated. That’s all well and good, but the job really isn’t done. Fair or unfair, we know what the expectations are. As a wise GOAT once said, “I didn’t come this far, to only come this far.” The season starts a week from today at roughly 8:15 EST.
Given it’s a bye week, or excuse me- “get ahead” week, I’d like to take a brief peek into the future, where some uncertainty stares back regarding the Patriots’ players, front office, and coaching staff. We know Hightower, etc. need to be re-upped, and the Patricia/McDaniels combo will be highly sought after, but Jeff Howe (Boston Herald) brings another name to the forefront: Pats’ director of player personnel Nick Caserio. Howe writes:
Caserio’s value can’t be undersold. Of course, he takes the lead on negotiations with contracts and trades. Last offseason when the Patriots courted restricted free agent Chris Hogan, Belichick’s sit-down with the wide receiver never touched on money. When they parted, Belichick affirmed to Hogan that Caserio would ensure the deal would be executed, and they struck a creative three-year, $12 million pact.
Howe alludes to several other examples, and suggests the Pats double Caserio’s salary (from roughly $2M per->$4M) to entice his staying put. This is a significant offseason for Belichick and co. and it runs deeper than just the players. That being said, A player that most everyone would love to see back next year+? Martellus Bennett. Chris Mason (Boston Herald) touched on Bennett and his thoughts on a new contract here.
“Oh yeah, I love it here,” Bennett said to the idea of re-signing. “We’ll figure it out when it’s time to figure it out, but my family loves it here, I love being a part of this team, this organization and this city.”
Whether it’s his quirky off field talk (personal favorites: imagination agency, diverse financial portfolios…), outstanding blocking, or big play ability catching the football, Marty has fit in great. As well or better than we could have expected. Given Gronk’s injury history and his own production, this guy will be a priority in the off-season and hopefully an asset for the next handful of seasons.
Lastly, I’d like to wrap up with something a bit different. Not football related, not even by a football writer. Jared Carrabis (Barstool Sports) offered his reaction to the movie Patriots Day, and it’s extremely well-done. Both the reaction and the movie. I saw it this week and it was a roller coaster of emotions. I sincerely recommend it if you are on the fence. He writes:
To the filmmakers’ credit, this movie, emotionally, puts you right back in that week, like you’re re-living it all over again. You’re shocked again, you’re horrified again, you’re devastated again, you’re upset again, you’re angry again, and you’re relieved again. But most of all, you’re proud again. That’s what I remember feeling the most at the end of the film.
I share this sentiment whole-heartedly. It seemed like they tried to depict what happened as accurately as possible. It’s obviously not an easy watch, but for me, it was worth it.