As we stand on the precipice of another campaign, I wanted to take one last quick look back at another Patriots offseason.
In some ways I felt like I never got a true ending for the 2015 Patriots. It all started the Saturday evening before their AFC Championship Game against the Broncos. And by “it” I mean the pukes. I was sick all night, finally getting some rest in the early morning hours. Needless to say this completely derailed all excitement and preparation for the big game.
Instead of putting together a ton of good food and drinks, I watched the 2015 Patriots’ demise trying to hold down saltine crackers with a bit of Gatorade. I just didn’t have the mental nor physical energy to deal with such a frustrating loss as that one. Going in I knew if it was a “clean” game the Patriots should win. If it was a fluky game, the Pats would get upset.
Surprise, surprise it was a fluky game. Gostkowski missed his first extra point since his rookie year. The offensive line was completely unprepared to deal with Denver’s pass rush. Jamie Collins, coming off an excellent year in pass coverage, was toasted twice for touchdowns. And all Peyton Manning‘s ducks somehow avoided interception.
Still, Brady put together a miracle drive and if he’d found the open Gronk for the two-pointer we really woulda/shoulda been headed to overtime. But the disappointment of laying another unrepresentative turd in Denver quickly subsided as I crawled back into bed and continued what would be a two-week fight against the flu that cost me over ten pounds.
The biggest offseason headline was the continuation and ending of Deflategate. Brady’s lawyers got hammered by the three judge panel in the Second Circuit. A couple months later Brady’s suspension was re-instated and his last appeal later denied.
By the time Brady decided to just accept a four-game vacation to start the season, everyone was done with Deflategate. Once October hits it will be nice to know the whole charade is in the rearview mirror. Until we have to eat that final fourth-round pick in next year’s draft. Then it’s really over.
Free agency was interesting as usual. Martellus Bennett, Chris Long, Chris Hogan and Shea McClellin were the key additions. Dominique Easley and Brandon LaFell were the surprise (ish) departures. Bennett alone was enough to inspire excitement that the Patriots’ offense will have an unstoppable new dimension.
The most significant subtraction came when Chandler Jones was traded in one of the most predictable “surprise” moves Bill Belichick has ever made. Jones was entering the last year of his deal and was a lock to command way more than the Patriots would ever pay him. This was a classic Belichick move. A year early rather than a year late. And if Jonathan Cooper lives up to his draft billing, the Pats could come away with a steal.
But most of the football-related attention of the offseason focused not on 2016 but on 2017. That’s when Dont’a Hightower, Jamie Collins, Jabaal Sheard and Malcolm Butler (RFA) are due to hit free agency. “How can we keep everyone?”… “Who walks if one of them has to walk?”… Yes, we’re already burned out on these questions that we’ll be rehashing in seven months.
The draft ended up being a head scratcher as usual. With no proven healthy running back on the roster the Pats still passed on selecting one in the draft. This is an area of major interest going into camp, because no one forgets how one-dimensional the Pats were at the end of 2015.
Still, the Pats did what they always do in the draft. Take the players who fit, worry about lack of depth later. Cyrus Jones and Joe Thuney should step right into significant roles, while expectations for Malcolm Mitchell are high. The list of failed wide receivers in New England is long. But there’s hope Mitchell can click.
As for things here on the site, this will be the seventh full season of PatsPropaganda and the tenth overall that I’ve blogged excessively about the Pats. There were major changes to the site this offseason, including a migration from the Tumblr platform to a fully hosted site. I’ve added a collection of great contributors who should push the level and frequency of the content here to an unprecedented level.
The Prop Shop is back. We’re adding new partnerships with brands every week, including a near-daily short podcast that will be featured on RotoGab. It’s my hope that we can continue to carve out a unique niche within the landscape of outlets who cover the team professionally. We’re still just a blog, but I’ll put our coverage of the team up against any other outlet, including those who do it as a full time job.
2016 is an exciting year for the Patriots. We must realize that we’re closer to the end of Brady and Belichick than the start. And the end can come quickly and unexpectedly. We have to enjoy every snap this season and unfortunately, take it a little more seriously, because this very well could be the best last shot at ring number five.
We’ll get a glimpse of Jimmy Garoppolo as a small potential post-Brady preview and that should only serve to have us all appreciate TB12 that much more. But with Peyton and the Broncos seemingly out of the way, there really should be no excuses to fall short of the Super Bowl this year.
That’s a lot of pressure, but would we really have it any other way?
Here’s to another great season and most of all, NO INJURIES!!!!
