Pats Picks: The 2015 NFL Draft

Next to the combine and the Super Bowl, the NFL draft is my favorite thing ever. I guess you could kind of link the combine and draft as one, but still. As Patriots fans, we've kind of gotten used to how Bill Belichick does the draft. Trade out of the first round, draft at least 3 Rutgers players, draft at least 1 dud, annnd avoid drafting the most blatant need for the upcoming season. That was a little harsh but it was pretty funny...plus you have to admit it's kind of true. But I love Coach Belichick and since he's pretty darn good at what he does, and considering he's brought us 14 consecutive winning seasons, 4 Super Bowls, and 12 division titles, I will not complain. Belichick is a genius on so many levels.

Who do I want to see the Patriots take a chance on in this years draft?

• Eddie Goldman. Defensive Tackle. Florida State. With Wilfork gone taking his talents to Houston, New England's defensive line is going to need some help. Goldman is a good, younger replacement who will likely bring the same level of production, for much cheaper. 
• Byron Jones. Cornerback. UConn. Really hoping for this one. Byron Jones is a skilled, versatile, athletic freak. Reminds me a lot of Patrick Peterson. By no means will he be a Revis or a Peterson or even a Joe Haden in his rookie season. But watching his game film...you have to believe he'll improve a much depleted Patriots' secondary. 
• Laken Tomlinson. Offensive Guard. Duke. Watch his game film and highlights...tell me he doesn't look like a Patriot-type player...he's good. While some rookies take a season to adjust to the NFL, Laken Tomlinson to me looks like he would be good and ready to tackle whatever the Patriots ask of him in his rookie season. 
• Devin Funchess. Wide Receiver. Michigan. Kind of dreaming with a broken heart on this one (cue John Mayer), but Devin Funchess has been a great addition to Michigan's offense over the past couple seasons, and he's been a thrill to watch. While not perfect or even the best WR in this draft, he's skilled and could potentially play tight end (full time) in the NFL. Imagine Funchess lining up opposite Gronk. Scarrrry duo, man. 
• Maxx Williams. Tight End. Minnesota. If we don't get Funchess, we better get Maxx Williams; if we don't get Williams, we better get Funchess. Basically what I'm saying is, I will be very disappointed if we pass on both tight ends. With similar skill sets and size, either Funchess or Williams would be a great fit into the Tom Brady-led-offense and might just be the piece we've been missing since Hernandez was cut. 

While I would love to get all 5 of these players, that's highly unlikely. And by highly unlikely I mean, we maybe get one of these; just one of my favorites in this years draft class. But all is good because I'm convinced that no matter who we do or do not get, the Patriots will be back in the playoffs again this season.

As always, go Patriots. 

Better off with or without?

The Patriots and the Broncos rivalry has heated up over the past few seasons. First Manning went from a Colt to a Bronco, then Wes Welker left New England to play with Manning, then Talib followed and we thought we had lost all hope for a successful secondary...little did we know that life would actually get better once Welker and Talib dropped off our roster.
Still, it was hard to see them go, especially Welker. But this raises the question..are the Patriots better with or without the traitors/current-Broncos?

Welks
Just three seasons ago if you had asked me to picture a Tom Brady-led Patriots offense without Wes Welker, I probably would have laughed in your face. Why? Two reasons. 1) Welker used to be my favorite player in the NFL. He's the reason I got so into football when I was just 10 years old. 2) It's no secret that Brady and Welker were best friends on and off the field. There was just no way I could picture a Welker-less Patriots' offense any time soon. Fast forward to March 2013 and my worst "fear" had come true. My favorite player and Brady's security blanket was no longer a Patriot. And to make it worse, he was now going to be playing for Peyton Manning (not to mention wearing that horrible, gaudy orange color). Obviously, everyone saw the Patriots' struggles last season, especially early in the season, and many people started to wonder if Belichick the GM had screwed up, yet again. Brady and co managed to get on the same page and find success, making it back to the AFCCG despite losing two of Brady's favorite targets (Welker and Hernandez), and what seemed like half of the roster on injured reserve. 
Ask any Patriots fan about Welker (who used to be a fan favorite in PatsNation), and they will most likely be bring up his "butterfingers" and key drops. Most notably the infamous drop that would've essentially sealed the deal on Super Bowl 46, and his failure to catch and hold onto key passes in the AFCCG during his last season as a Patriot. 
Sure, it's okay to hold that against him. In fact, I completely understand. But it's also important to remember all the good things he did for us, too. Without Welker, who knows if the Patriots would've made it to the Super Bowl in 2012 and the AFCCG in 2013. 
Better off without him? Umm, this is hard to say considering I still love Welks despite him being a traitor and his most recent issues, being suspended for violating the league's substance policy. But, I'm gonna have to say that the Patriots are better without him. Why? Over the past 2 seasons, Brady has been forced to throw to other receivers more often. I think that in a way, Welker's time in New England really had just run out. Even if he had stayed in NE, I'm not convinced that he would've continued to be as productive as we were used to. It is hard to say, though. 

Talib
After acquiring Talib from Tampa Bay in the middle of the 2012-2013 season, he had a breakout game against the Colts and Pats fans immediately started declaring that Talib was comparable to (some even said better than) Revis. We started seeing "#TalibIsland" every game day. Talib was a nice boost to our secondary and really overall defense, but his health issues were always a concern. He always seemed to be hurt on the biggest stages. He was injured in back to back AFC Championship Games. He wasn't necesarilly the shutdown corner I thought he was going to be in his 2nd and final season as a Patriot. He couldn't shut down AJ Green like Revis did for us this past season. 
Better off without him? Yup. But I would be lying if I said that I didn't freak out and have a slight mental breakdown when I first saw Schefter's tweet late Monday night announcing that Talib had agreed to terms with the Broncos. Because let's face it: The Patriots defense with Talib wasn't awesome, so I definitely didn't want to go back to a Patriots defense without Talib. And then, the Patriots went out and got Revis and I was all good again. Due to his injuries, and his nagging hip issue, I think that the Broncos overpaid Talib. And if that's the money he was after, then I'm definitely just as glad the Patriots didn't go all out to sign him back. 

What Made Me Become a Patriots Fan?

Arguably one of my most asked questions for the past like, 5 years, is "why the Patriots?" "What made you become a Patriots fan?" There's always a series of questions and guesses that people go through before they let me answer: are you from Boston, is your whole family Patriots fans and you were "born into it", etc. And of course, everyone usually thinks it at least has something to do with Tom Brady's looks. When I became a Patriots fan and really started following the NFL, I was 10. At that point, I didn't know much about football, and still to this day I cannot tell you what exactly made me like the Patriots so much that it became this full-blown obsession (in the best possible way). 

While many people think that every female Patriots fan is a 'fan' simply because of Brady's looks, that's not always true. And it's definitely not the case here. For me, it all began with a little short guy by the name of Wes Welker. I watched his last game as a Dolphin with Gramps and knew I was watching something (or someone, rather) special, I just didn't know what exactly. Fast forward to the next Sunday, and boom, there he was in Patriots uniform. Something about him just inspired me. Always did, always will. He was "too short", so he went undrafted out of Texas Tech. He was cut by San Diego, picked up by the Dolphins, where he was just okay. Belichick obviously saw something that no one else did. After joining the Patriots, he quickly emerged as one of the best receivers in the game. Welker soon became a vital piece to the Patriots offense, and one of Brady's best friends on and off the field. 

One of the most inspiring things about Welker to me, was his rehab, recovery, and determination after tearing his ACL. I know that these knee injuries are unfortunately common in the NFL, and most of the time players are able to come back from them. It's pretty normal. But Welker's situation was a little different. 
January 2010: Pats regular season finale vs the Texans. I remember watching him go down on the field like it was last week. I've seen many ACL injuries over the years while watching games, but this one was brutal. They say it usually takes around a year to fully recover from an ACL injury. I think most people were pretty shocked to see him cutting and juking and running routes at minicamp in June, just four months after surgery. Fast forward to the regular season, where he played in 15 of 16 games, and caught 86 passes. Not bad for someone returning from such a nasty injury. But it was really his second season back that he exploded and surged to a different level. That year, he led the league with 122 catches and over 1,000 yards receiving. Everyone said he wouldn't come back the same player. They were right. He came back even better. 

So to answer the question, what made me become a Patriots fan: I give most credit to Welker. Bruschi also has a lot to do with it. Still my favorite #54 ever. In any sport. 

As always, 
Go Patriots. 

Quick Thoughts: Patriots Free Agency Noise

Since the beginning of free agency last Tuesday at 4pm, many teams have made some good moves, and hammered out some great (borderline crazy) deals. The Patriots however, are not one of those teams. After losing Darrelle Revis to the Jets, in a crazy biding war...that wasn't even a war at all because New England was out of it Monday afternoon...many people seemingly gave up on New England's season right then and there. To top it off, we also lost Browner, Vereen, Casillas, and possibly Wilfork. More thoughts on that later. While the Patriots haven't made any big splashes or national-headline-acquisitions, all hope is not lost. Why? Because we still have Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, and because we are the New England Patriots. We make studs out of no-name guys all the time. More accurately, we don't take losing well. Hence why the Patriots have been a-okay the past 15 seasons, and will continue to dominate the league, this season. Feel a little better, now?

Things to ponder:

• It's typical for New England to stay quiet during free agency. Very rarely do we hear about the Patriots giving guys max deals, with a ridiculous amount of guaranteed money. I should also point out that we don't usually go after big-name players. One of the things that makes this organization so consistently good. 
• Just because we have no secondary right now, does not mean that we are doomed for the 2014-2015 season. Belichick has 5 months to figure this out. Does a secondary made up of Arrington and Chung excite me? Not necessarily. In fact, it actually frightens me. But hey, in Bill we trust, here in New England. 
• "Oh no! This means were back to playing nothing but zone?! How will we ever win another game?!" First, we've won playing predominately zone coverage before. That's really all we played before we signed Talib, a couple seasons ago. So everyone should chill. Second, just because we lost Revis doesn't necessarily mean we're back to zone. Bill has 4 months minimum to figure this out. Will he have to essentially reinvent the Patriots defense and defensive schemes? Yes. But he's the man for the job. It's only the middle of March. I'm not even thinking about being worried, yet. 
• "Since we didn't sign Revis there's no reason we didn't bring Browner back. We could've at least had a half-way decent secondary." Browner wouldn't have been anywhere near as good without Revis starting opposite him. A lot of what made Browner so good was Revis. Browner in my opinion, was decent, definitely the physical presence we had been missing, but he really just reaped the benefits of what Revis did. Plus the outrageous amount of penalties he drew alone, is a good enough reason to double-think resigning him. I mean, I appreciate all he did during his time in New England, but I wasn't devastated to let him walk. Adios!
• Since we didn't bring in Andre Johnson *sigh* (which after seeing his deal with the Colts, Im just as glad we didn't), I would love to see the Patriots make a run at Stevie Johnson. He's visiting New England on Monday...the best part about it? He's the only receiver in the league who is consistently successful against Revis. I would love to see Brady to Stevie Johnson every Sunday. And I would love for Johnson to embarrass Revis while in a Patriots uniform. Seriously, that's gotta be every Patriots' fans dream. 
• The Patriots' front 7 is getting a tremendous boost. Defensively, I think our main concern is our back 4. But I still wouldn't hit the panic button just yet. With a great front 7, and I think New England could potentially have a top five front, there's (a little) less pressure on the secondary. Kill plays before they make it into the secondary, and you're in business. Ps. pleaseeee bring in Evan Mathis. This has been a rumor for the past week and it really needs to become a reality.
• What we don't tackle during free agency, we will get to in the draft. OLine is definitely still a concern, and now obviously our secondary is something we have to address. 

That's all for now. 

As always, go Pats. 

So long, thanks for the...shutouts, lockdowns, & top-corner plays.

So Revis pulled a Deion...essentially rented himself to a contending team, won the Super Bowl, then chased the money, and left. One-year-rental-Revis. Only difference? Revis *probably* won't be getting ring #2. 

Now, I understand that the NFL is a business. And what NFL player isn't about the money? I got that. It's not about the love of the game anymore, but merely about the love of the almighty dollar. Greed, if you will. Revis is one of the best to ever do it, and arguably the best corner in the league right now. So did he deserve to get paid? Yes, of course! Did the Jets (over)spend a ridiculous amount of money on #24? Yes. Do I blame the Patriots for not matching their offer? Nope. In my opinion, though Revis is in his prime and balling, a 5 year deal THAT big is too much for a 30 year old who's blown his knee out before. Since "Revis Island" is officially back, and he finally won a championship, there was no doubt in my mind that he would be going after the money. I can't even say I blame him for that. No one works the system better than Revis. 

I'm not mad or upset at New England for letting Revis walk. If it really was between the Jets and the Patriots, and it was coming down to the money, we all knew New York would outbid us. The Jets tend to overpay, and be okay with it, and still find themselves on the couch come January. But hey, to each their own. I am however disappointed that we couldn't work out a deal with Revis before he had the chance to hit the open market. I still like Revis, think he's a great player, and wish him all the best...just not when the Pats play the Jets. I'm grateful for what he did during his time in New England. He helped us bring the Lombardi back to Foxboro. The 2014 Patriots' secondary is one we'll remember for ages. 

This does leave a lot of question marks for the Patriots, though. I have no doubt that Belichick already had something up his sleeve. What or who that is exactly? I do not know. Maybe PrimeTime is making an unexpected return to the NFL. Maybe Bill's got a trade for Joe Haden or Patrick Peterson in the works. Maybe we bring back Browner and sign Cromartie. Or maybe, PatsNation should have a little faith and trust Belichick & Co. He always has a backup plan. Ehem, look at last March...we lost Talib, Pats fans freaked, hours later, boom, we got Revis. 

This was a hard one to swallow, for sure, but it all works out for the best in the long run. If we had decided to meet the Jets' offer, we would be tight in cap space, and left with little to no money to improve the rest of our team. Luckily, we have genius head coach who is known for making studs out of the least expected players. I'm not writing us off for this year. I still like our chances to repeat. We need a ring for the thumb. Besides, it's only day 1 of free agency. We have no idea what Belichick is working on right now. I just know that we'll probably like it. 

As always, go Patriots. 

Why I want Andre Johnson In a Pats Uniform

Andre Johnson's name has come up in multiple conversations and has been linked to the Patriots for years now. In my opinion, he's one of, if not THE most underrated receivers in the game. His entire career as a Texan, has been spent with mediocre quarterbacks, at best, and little to no help from other receivers on the roster. That is unfortunate for a guy like Andre Johnson. Even though he was catching passes from less-than-average quarterbacks and basically doing it all himself, he's remained virtually uncover-able. I don't use the word "beast" much, but Andre Johnson is just that. At 33 years old, some might hesitate to sign him. If it's up to me though (which unfortunately it isn't), I look at Johnson as a standout, veteran receiver with a ton of experience, and someone who wants to win. Give Brady a threat like Andre Johnson, and watch the magic unfold.

He's made it pretty clear that he no longer wants to be in Houston. As the best receiver in Texans' history, he deserved to be able to either seek a trade or to be let go so he is free to sign with a contending team. Since Johnson was released earlier today and will hit the open market tomorrow, I expect him to get a lot of calls. I just hope the Patriots are one of those calls and leave a convincing offer on the table. 

For this 'dream' to become a reality, it's inevitable that the Patriots will have to make some roster moves. Unfortunately, if Johnson becomes available and garners some interest from New England, I don't see Amendola lasting too much longer in Foxboro. Which would be the better option? Long term? Amendola, for sure. Short term, as in next couple seasons, Super Bowl or bust? Andre Johnson.
Do we absolutely need Johnson? Not really. In fact, if it comes down to either being able to resign Shane Vereen or sign Andre Johnson, it's a no brainer to me....bring back Vereen and tell Andre we wish him all the best.

Tomorrow should make for a very busy and interesting day around the NFL. I can't wait to see what New England does. Because knowing Bill, he's got a few things up his sleeve.

As always, go Patriots.

The Calm Before the Storm..?

The start of the legal tampering period is always an eventful weekend. 

There was quite a bit of noise in the AFC East over the past few days. The Bills acquiring Shady, one of my favorite players; the Dolphins overpaying Suh, I mean the Dolphins getting a deal done with Suh; the Jets trading for Brandon Marshall, which, I love B. Marshall but I absolutely cannot support him when he's wearing that Jets uniform, nope; and of course, my personal favorite, D-Mac returning to Foxboro. 

The Eagles were the team that had the most interesting weekend, though. First, let's just take a minute to remember that they cut DeSean Jackson last offseason (big mistake), their quarterbacks are Mark Sanchez (who is returning this season) and Nick Foles, and Chip Kelly is trying to turn the Philadelphia Eagles into the Oregon Eagles (or the Philadelphia Ducks?). I wasn't sure how I felt about Chip Kelly coming into the NFL...and after two 10-6 seasons, I'm even more unsure now. 

I mean...

• What does it say about a team/coach when your best pass catcher, Jeremy Maclin, decides to reunite with his former head coach (Andy Reid in KC) instead of return to his current team, when offered the same amount of money..? To me, it means 1) the Eagles didn't make a strong enough push to bring him back, for whatever reasons and 2) maybe Chip Kelly isn't quite the NFL caliber coach many thought he was. 
• So you were given one of the most talented offenses in the league, with an incredible amount of potential...ya let DeSean Jackson go...okay, that can be forgiven and overcome...then, you trade Shady, one of the best RBs in the league...for a linebacker...and to top it off, you just lost your best receiver...I'm sorry, but nothing the Eagles have done so far has made any sense. Basically they're going to have Darren Sproles, maybe Frank Gore, Brent Celek (one of my favorites), and Mark Sanchez...but hey, Chip Kelly is an offensive genius. 
• Even if the Eagles do trade up in the draft and manage to get Mariota, which is what Chip Kelly wants, he will not be the answer to Philly's now seemingly lackluster offense. I'm not sold on Mariota as an NFL starting quarterback, anyway. 

Tomorrow is the start of free agency and I could not be more excited. First and foremost, I hope we bring Revis and Vereen back. Then, address the offensive line and defensive line needs, whether it's via free agency or the draft.  Whatever happens, I just hope Belichick & co. do their jobs. Which they normally do! 

Will update tomorrow, as more moves are made!

As always, go Pats!