In his sequel to the groundbreaking novel “Jurassic Park,” author Michael Crichton issued this tongue-in-cheek line to his audience through the fictional mathematician Ian Malcolm: “Sequelae are inherently unpredictable.”
In their own realm of show business, the 2022 New England Patriots are proving that true -- minus the dinosaurs running around eating people. (No, Bill Belichick does not count.)
On its face, this season was shaping up like a run-of-the-mill sequel to a surprisingly successful 2021, with protagonist Mac Jones leading his supporting cast in a more starring role than he did last year. His growth on the path to stardom would only help elevate a good-but-not-great squad that largely hadn't changed much (or gotten significantly better on paper) another step past that thudding wildcard loss -- or so the theory went.
Sure, the Patriots might start off 1-3, but they did that last year, too. After they got through Week 4, it’d be time to go on another run and end up in position to make playoff noise just like last year.
But the screenwriters decided that was much too boring.
An injury to Mac Jones here, an injury to backup Brian Hoyer there, an improbable near-upset of the Green Bay Packers by third-string rookie Bailey Zappe (mixed in with a pick-six by rapidly ascending rookie cornerback Jack Jones) and the outlook of the 1-3 Patriots feels anything but predictable now.
Will they tear through the likes of the fun-bad Lions, the Deshaun Watson-less Browns, the bad news Bears and the probably overrated Jets like Mahershala Ali did to the Marvel "Blade" script and seize a wildcard spot by the bye? Or will the lack of a healthy Mac Jones kill those hopes and leave them in the cellar?
On one hand, this version of the 1-3 Patriots seems, well, better than last year’s.
"I think they're starting to figure out some things that are coming together," said Mark Schofield of SB Nation on the "1st and Foxborough" podcast. "I think they're starting to figure out what they really want to lead into in the running game. And I think when they get Mac Jones back, there are things they can do in the passing game that are going to work...
"I know it's 1-3. I know that there's been this idea of moral victories. It's still a loss on Sunday. But I think I have a clearer vision of what this team can be. And now you're getting into that similarly winnable schedule...could they go over this next stretch of games, 4-2, 5-1? It's entirely possible. And then we're talking about a much different team when we get around to November."
There are real reasons for optimism the Patriots can find themselves right back where they were going into November last year.
Though you still wouldn’t call Matt Patricia’s performance as an offensive play-caller rousing, the identity he’s crafted for the Patriots’ offense is clear: they’re a gritty, dark noir film, not a suped-up action blockbuster.
They’re running the football better every week, and Jones had just started to find rhythm as a deep-ball thrower before going down against Baltimore. That’s a far more optimistic outlook this early in the season than who those saw this offense bubble through training camp would’ve guessed.
New England’s defense also keeps finding ways to hold the plot together at various points despite lacking the talent most people believed they’d need to carry the show. Unlikely heroes like Deatrich Wise Jr., Jonathan Jones and the rookie Jack Jones have stolen scenes left and right against bigger-name counterparts while opponents have focused most of their attention on stopping Matthew Judon and Christian Barmore from wrecking games.
But as always, what’s a movie without its star? And you could argue the Patriots don’t have one even when Mac Jones is under center. Not yet anyway.
Then, throw in the sudden quarterback casting change to Zappe, who simultaneously performed admirably and alarmingly against the Packers when called upon in relief, and we have no idea whether this supposed-to-be winnable stretch for the Patriots becomes tour -de-force or terrible.
One thing’s for sure, though: we have definitely NOT seen this movie before, and the plot twist is too intriguing to turn away from now.
