0
0
Aah, it’s bye week for the Patriots.
Lots of time to speculate. To lick one’s wounds. To rationalize about that one loss. To assure oneself that it’s just it’s the exception that proves the rule. After all, having a perfect record just puts more pressure on the team, doesn’t it? And, when you think of it, we learn from our mistakes, so the Ravens game was nothing more than one great big learning opportunity.
I know that I’ve already had fantasies of a Pats-Ravens rematch in the playoffs, with visions of the Pats correcting all their mistakes and manhandling (or is it person-handling these days, even in football) Lamar Jackson and the Ravens. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, nah, it ain’t gonna happen.
Going beyond that game, bye week gives one time and space to speculate on the Patriots and their ways, almost always winning and almost always idiosyncratic. Like…
Why is it that hardly any teams use a fullback these days, many of them with very successful running attacks? But when the Patriots lose their both of their fullbacks, 1) they can’t find anyone out there who can even vaguely play the James Develin role, and 2) they can’t mount a consistent running game without that lead blocker? I’m not sure I believe in alchemy, but perhaps adding Isaiah Wynn back into his tackle spot can turn base metal into gold.
On a different front, I’m always amazed at how some guys just fit the Patriots and others do not or cannot. On the plus side, Belichick and company seem to be able to find linebackers who haven’t done much of anything, plug them into the Pats defense, and see them become defensive monsters. On the opposite side, so often they spot receivers who’ve done great things in the collegiate or pro ranks, and draft or sign them, only to watch them disappoint in major ways.
In 2001, Mike Vrabel was not exactly a world beater in his four seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers when the Patriots signed him as a free agent. Could anyone have imagined that he would become an All-Pro and a key defensive stalwart of three Super Bowl winning teams (nor that he would catch 10 passes in his career, all for touchdowns, two in Super Bowl wins).
On the team today, Kyle Van Noy came to the Patriots via trade from the Detroit Lions for next to nothing. As a second round pick of the Lions, his play had been underwhelming. In 2015, his second pro season with Detroit, he was credited with a total of 10 tackles in 16 regular season games. Fast forward to the 2019 Patriots, and in the first nine games of the season, he already has four and a half sacks, three forced fumbles, and a TD.
At the other end of the success scale, tight ends who had had previously demonstrated their ability to be successful receivers became full-time blockers or pass-catching afterthoughts when they moved to New England. Scott Chandler, who averaged 50 catches per year in his last two seasons for the Bills, caught a total of 23 for the Pats in his one year in Foxborough. Dwayne Allen, who had made 51 catches in his previous two seasons with the Colts, caught a grand total of 13 passes in his two seasons with the Pats.
While those guys might have made contributions to the Pats running game as blockers, what can we say about pure receivers? Way back when, the Pats signed veteran all-stars Joey Galloway and Chad Johnson, each of whom barely became footnotes in Pats history. Maybe they didn’t have much left in the tank, but more likely they just couldn’t figure out where to be when Tom Brady needed them to run crisp routes and make specific adjustments.
The Pats must have had high hopes for Bethel Johnson and Chad Jackson when the selected them as wide outs in the second round of the NFL draft. They most likely had it talent-wise, but never managed to find their way in the complex Patriots scheme of things. N’Keal Harry? The Patriots brain trust must have seen something very special to dare to make him a first round draft choice, but right now we have no idea whether he will be able to break the mold of past receiver busts.
Ah it’s bye week, and I’m still not quite ready to be game planning for the Eagles next weekend—as if it mattered what I thought. So instead of worrying about real life, you know, things like family or climate change or losing a few pounds, it’s far more fun to fill my mind with random thoughts about those guys in Foxborough. It’s great that the home team is such a consistent winner, but I’ve got a PhD and I’ll be damned if I can decipher the formula the makes them so successful.
