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BREAKING – Patriots trade RB Sony Michel to the LA Rams

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(AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Some news this morning as you wake up, former first-round pick Sony Michel is heading to LA for two late conditional draft picks (that can turn into a single fourth-rounder).

Not a big surprise here for me, given the buzz around the team’s depth at the position, and with Michel in the final year of his rookie deal, the Patriots clear off some space and get some future picks in return.

Michel never really reached the heights of his drafting position, unlike college team-mate Nick Chubb, who was drafted a whole round later than Michel and has become a franchise player for Cleveland.

Rapsheet gives an update on compensation here, stating that the fifth and six round conditional picks will likely become a fourth-rounder in due time, a fair trade in my opinion.

Here’s the cap update from Miguel at @Patscap as always.

Patriots place Sony Michel, Cody Davis on IR, promote three to main roster for KC game

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Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

Per Field Yates, the Patriots are placing RB Sony Michel on IR today. A tough break for Sony who had one of his better games as a Patriot against Las Vegas, he’ll be out with a quad injury for at least three weeks.

S/ST Cody Davis also unsurprisingly ends up on IR, he missed practice all week and now is given a few weeks to recover.

Now, here’s what we’ve been waiting for, RB Damien Harris is off IR and active for tonight, he’ll surely be lead back to begin proceedings and the first time we’ll get to see him in a meaningful role as a Patriot.

WR Gunner Olszewski has also been activated from IR and will be active tonight, along with fellow WR Isaiah Zuber, who gets another chance to show what he can do as the team’s official COVID-19 replacement.

Predicting the Patriots PUP List

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Over the next week, the Patriots will announce their Physically Unable to Perform list, a group of guys still recovering from injury/surgery who need more time to get healthy.

Anyone who opens camp on the PUP list is eligible to stay on the list when the regular season starts, costing them the first six weeks of their season. This can be a good way to create an extra roster spot, but missing more than the first two months of the season can be detrimental.

Now, with two players able to be placed on IR but brought back the same season, there’s a bit more flexibility when dealing with injuries.

The PUP list can also include players who don’t pass the conditioning test, which former PatsProp contributor Adam Magnacca tortured himself doing a few years ago.

Based on OTA and minicamp attendance, who might start training camp on the sidelines, not including any fat bodies who can’t make the run, which rarely happens now outside of free agent defensive tackles.

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Will Damien Harris Lead the Patriots in Rushing?

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The rise to health and success of Sony Michel and Rex Burkhead was an underrated aspect of the 2018 Patriots offense. Both players had lengthy injury histories but when it mattered most, both players delivered.

It was the first playoff run of the entire Patriots dynasty where the team topped 150 yards on the ground in every game. Previously, they had only topped 150 four times ever in the playoffs.

Schedule & Game Results Table
ScorScor OffeOffe
Week OT Rec Opp Tm Opp PassY RushY
12W8-3@New York Jets2713283215
13W9-3Minnesota Vikings2410311160
14L9-4@Miami Dolphins333434477
15L9-5@Pittsburgh Steelers101727296
16W10-5Buffalo Bills2412117273
17W11-5New York Jets383244131
DivisionW12-5Los Angeles Chargers4128343155
Conf. Champ.WOT13-5@Kansas City Chiefs3731348176
SuperBowlW14-5NLos Angeles Rams133253154
Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 7/10/2019.

Many analysts seem to undervalue the ground game these days and I understand that passing drives offenses these days. But with Tom Brady closing in on 42 it makes more sense than ever for the Patriots to ensure their running game can take some heat off him.

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Patriots Gameplan: Week 13 vs. Minnesota Vikings

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The Patriots return home for a brief road hiatus, taking on the 6-4-1 Vikings and unfamiliar opponent with plenty of quality pieces to challenge the thus-far inconsistent Pats. This next three-game set will essentially determine the Patriots road in the playoffs. A win at home this weekend, followed by road wins in Miami and Pittsburgh should solidify their position with a vital playoff bye. That would leave the only question as to whether they can make up one game on KC and get the top overall seed.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. This Vikings team will give the Pats everything they can handle. The stellar receiving duo of Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen leads the way. Latavius Murray and Dalvin Cook are a nice one-two combo at running back, while Kirk Cousins won’t be afraid to come in and throw it around Gillette Stadium. But the biggest problem for the Pats though could come in the form of tight end Kyle Rudolph.

The veteran Patriot secondary doesn’t usually lay stink bombs at home, but if they do, it will likely be apparent by Rudolph being their biggest and most consistent problem.

Defensively the Vikings also have the pieces to take the Patriots offense head on. They’re 6th overall in DVOA, including 4th against the run and 8th against the pass.  They’re 10th in yards, 3rd in points. Basically, this is a top-10 defense and while the Patriots always have an advantage at home, no one should be expecting a walk in the park on either side of the ball.

Let’s dive into the gameplan.

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Patriots Gameplan: Week 12 at New York Jets

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Is it really already week 12? Yes, we’re after Thanksgiving, when the “real” football starts and the push to the playoffs begins. After a week off the Patriots are back in contention for a bye, a vitally important piece of the Super Bowl run equation. There are just six games left, with three of the next four on the road. That’s where we’ll learn the most about who these Patriots really are.

They kick things off with the 3-7 Jets who will be without rookie quarterback Sam Darnold. The Jets have been hit hard with injuries this year, with running back Bilal Powell ending up on IR. Losing your best running back and young quarterback when you’re in rebuild mode is never a good thing and the Jets have lost four in a row and have put up just 26 total points in their last three games.

Still, no matter how bad the Jets appear on paper they always seem to play their asses off against the Patriots. Last October they put up 400 yards on the Patriots and lost by just a touchdown and that was a team that won just five games. The season finale was a meaningless affair just as this year’s finale will likely be.

But for now the Pats have a lot to prove on the road, and the Jets have the 2nd-best third-down defense in the league. That hits the Pats where they’ve struggled most. Tom Brady and the offense will get a good test. Defensively there aren’t any excuses. They’ve played down to the competition on the road and to do it again this week after getting a break will be unacceptable and another sign that the Pats are sputtering when they usually don’t sputter.

Let’s dive into both sides of the ball and come up with a gameplan that will get the post-Thanksgiving train rolling!

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Pats Posits: Music City Disaster

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There’s simply no way to put a silver lining around the Patriots completely flat performance against the Titans. They were bad in all three phases and made just a handful of plays over the course of the entirety of the game. The up-and-down secondary, which had recently strung together some solid performances, fell down hard yesterday, led by Stephon Gilmore, just as everyone was becoming assured he was a superstar shutdown corner.

The kickoff and punt teams, sub-par all year, once again were bad, giving the Titans favorable field position all day and putting the defense even more in the crosshairs of a balanced offensive attack that the Pats had no answer for.

Then there was the offense, which went 3-15 on third down and put up just 40 rushing yards. Yes, those things go very much hand in hand, as the smoke and mirrors offense finally collapsed against a team that knew Tom Brady through and through.

Unfortunately, we’re at the phase of the Patriots dynasty that every bad game will be touted as the end, the cliff, the harbinger of doom for Belichick and Brady. This one will certainly get that treatment over the bye week as I’m sure the radio airwaves are full of long-held bile that has been waiting to explode.

There’s no question, the 2018 Patriots were not on the upward trajectory I assumed they were. They continue to be two different teams at home and on the road, a strange dichotomy for a team that went undefeated on the road for a season-and-a-half from 2016 to 2017. And now, they’re behind the eightball when it comes to homefield and the playoffs, meaning that their road woes must be fixed or their chances of getting to the Super Bowl for the fourth time in five seasons will be severely in jeopardy.

Still, they’re a better team than what we saw yesterday. And not every team will play as flawlessly as the Titans did, especially with their inside knowledge of Brady and the Pats. Let’s dive in and vent and try to find some meaning and maybe just maybe, a glint of hope?

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