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Pats Posits: BB & His Pancakes Take Us Early Into the Void

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After a flurry of real news to write about last week during minicamp, this week has seen a return to the dead of the offseason. This has been highlighted by Belichick canceling the last two days of OTAs while everyone was talking about some $60 pancakes he ordered at a hotel.

This is the offseason. The real offseason, the worst part. There shouldn’t be much football action as teams take the final month before training camp to get some well-needed rest and relaxation before it’s pedal to the metal from August-January.

Here’s a bunch of random Pats Posits as we regroup and begin to prepare for summer, and with it, another training camp.

The Belichick $60 pancakes might be my favorite story of the offseason, both because of how pointless it is and how invested people got into it. I mean, it made the NY Post! But I’m confused what the real takeaway is here. That Belichick shouldn’t have spent that much? I think any person who’s spent a night in a hotel and didn’t feel like leaving the room has struggled with the overpriced menus. I know I’ve spent $25 on a quesadilla. I wasn’t proud of it, nor was I trying to flaunt my extensive wealth. I was just starving and didn’t feel like moving and laziness won out over the price tag. But really, if there’s one meal to never be ashamed to get room service for, it’s breakfast, and especially pancakes. You know you have to check out, you don’t want to go out and then come back. You want to grab something in the room, check out and be on your day. And if you wouldn’t see $60 pancakes on a menu and be incredibly intrigued I don’t want to know you. Kudos BB for biting the bullet and just getting those damn $60 pancakes. BTW, best pancakes I’ve ever had were here.

So at the end of OTAs you’re telling me that Brady chose to be in some tropical location celebrating Brazilian Valentine’s Day (?) rather than playing cornhole at Fenway park and getting the last two days canceled? I think this perfectly illustrates why endgame Brady isn’t that big of a deal. By all accounts, he was fire at minicamp. We know he’s in shape. So what were we supposed to be concerned about? That missing that cornhole session is going to make his teammates less receptive to him or something? I’ve lost track of the manufactured controversies and how I’m supposed to feel.

We joked about what the Patriots would do with all their wide receiver depth but I think it’s one of the most fascinating years at the position since 2013’s Welker/Branch turnover. Cooks is gone, Amendola is gone, Edelman is suspended. How will it look in Week 1? We know Chris Hogan will be leaned on heavily, but after him, who comes through with the big catches? Kenny Britt is one guy who turned heads, even if just as a “first off the bus” specimen. But of course it’s the quick slot guy the Pats need most and there’s no easy answer after Edelman. Jordan Matthews is my favorite to be the best newcomer receiver this year. After him, could we see Braxton Berrios or Riley McCarron emerge from the slot in the Amendola role? There should be a roster spot available if one of them can carve out a unique role.

Phillip Dorsett is a big wild card. There were plenty of reports how the Pats love him, that he just “fits”. I’m not sure exactly what that means because I personally only use that kind of label for a Brown/Branch/Welker/Edelman type. We’ll see how Dorsett is incorporated now with a year of experience under his belt. Every play will matter for every wide receiver this summer.

Defensively, the two most intriguing guys to me are Derek Rivers and Harvey Langi. Expectations for Rivers should be higher, given his draft status and how badly the team could use someone with the kind of get-off he showed in college. Still I think both will have an uphill climb to be significant defensive contributors. Between Dont’a Hightower returning and Adrian Clayborn at the defensive right end spot, the biggest roles on defense have already improved. Rivers as a designated pass rusher and rotation piece makes the most sense. As for Langi, I continue to wonder if he should make a move to middle linebacker.

Are rookie cornerbacks Keion Crossen and JC Jackson legitimate threats to make the team? There’s always one or two, unfortunately, the Pats also always have to cut a good player who gets picked up by another team, often at cornerback. It bodes well for replacing Malcolm Butler no matter who stays or goes, but the bigger question is whether Jason McCourty is managing an injury. His absence from the playing field but not practice is interesting. Most of us penciled him in as a starter but here were rookies getting most of the attention. I won’t read too much into it until August, but it’s another spot where things are fluid, and I didn’t even mention Duke Dawson. Three good rookie corners is, of course, a high-class problem.