1 – While Bill Belichick and the Patriots have faced their fair share of criticism from many media and fans this offseason, it seems the perceptions among players is still pretty positive in New England.
This week free agent journeyman cornerback addition Terrance Mitchell was the latest to remind the world that playing for the Patriots and Belichick remains an attractive proposition, even if it’s not based on the publics’ current NFL power rankings.
“When you think about as a kid, the NBA you have Phil Jackson, the Lakers, the Celtics, the Bulls. When you think about the NFL, dynasties like the Patriots, man there’s no other,” Mitchell said, expressing great excitement regarding his new home. “So I think every kid growing up in this era, seeing the Patriots and being able to play for them is just like, crazy. That’s self-explanatory right there. The Pats, that’s the team for real.”
Sure that’s a somewhat historic perspective regarding a team that hasn’t won a playoff game in the last three seasons, but it still apparently exists in the minds of at least some players. The same is true of the respect for Belichick, something that safety Jabrill Peppers expressed when he signed with New England earlier this spring.
“It’s no secret to the dynasty that New England has been. I wanted to come learn from Bill,” Peppers said in his introductory Zoom call with reporters last month. “I’m just looking forward to learning. He’s seen a lot of ball. He’s coached in a lot of eras. I’m just more so excited to pick his brain, see things how he sees it. Curious to see how he watches film, how he breaks down the opposing offenses, just things like that, that really stuck out to me.”
Even veteran linebacker Kyle Van Noy, released by the Patriots this offseason after a relatively impressive 2021 return season in New England, maintains some love for his former bosses while starting the next chapter of his career with the Chargers.
“The one thing I love about (New England) is the respect that Bill has for me and the respect that I have for Bill,” Van Noy told The Pat McAfee Show this week. “I do respect (Belichick). I do respect the Patriots organization. I love RKK (Robert Kraft). He’s been wonderful to my family. I’ll always be a Patriot — there’s no denying that.”
It’s easy to get caught up in the offseason. To see that teams across the AFC and within the division made significant roster upgrades via trade, free agency and the draft. To wonder whether the Patriots still measure up.
It’s easy to question the Patriots roster building as they appear to fall further behind the competition for playoff spots.
It’s easy to poke holes in Belichick’s decisions, pondering how much time the 70-year-old realistically has left running the show in Foxborough both in terms of coaching and personnel.
It’s also easy to forget that within the world of the NFL and the fraternity of players, Belichick and the Patriots still sit on a pedestal of respect unlike almost any other organization thanks to their past accomplishments.
Whether that allure for players or respect means anything moving forward heading into a 2022 season with a lot to prove in New England, well that’s an entirely different topic.
2 – The NFL will display the greatest flex of its marketing power this Thursday night with the reveal of the league’s 2022 schedule on NFL Network. While teams’ opponents have been known since the conclusion of last season, the announcement of the whens of the slate of games has become priority information for fans and media. Fans will plan road trips to see their favorite teams, which for the Patriots this fall will include intriguing options like Las Vegas, Green Bay and Arizona as well as the usual sunny stop in Miami. Media can begin to try to project and predict New England’s potential record and stumbling blocks with the first taste of on-field action still four months away. From the always key timing of trips to take on the Dolphins and Bills to the rundown of a possible murderers’ row of opposing QBs that includes MVP-caliber foes Aaron Rodgers, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Kyler Murray, Deshuan Watson (maybe?), Joe Burrow, Matt Ryan and Derek Carr/Davante Adams, the NFL’s schedule release makes a Thursday night in mid-May true must-see TV for hardcore Patriots fans and football fans all across the land.
3 – Beyond professing his respect for Belichick and the Patriots, Van Noy had some interesting comments about New England second-year quarterback Mac Jones this week. While some may dismiss Van Noy’s sentiments under the “what else would you expect him to say?” heading, the veteran linebacker seemed pretty genuine in his support of the young franchise passer.
“I love Mac. I do believe in Mac,” Van Noy said on The Pat MacAfee Show. “I really believe in him and I think he’s going to be great. I hope he has the supporting cast to support him, that’s for sure, because he needs it.”
The last part might be the most honest. A Pro Bowler as a rookie, Jones clearly has established himself as the man atop the depth chart in New England. But his future, like so many quarterbacks, will be predicated on the guys and contributions surrounding him.
4 – Thanks to social media, we’ve gotten a direct connection to what some Patriots players have felt about New England’s team-building process this offseason. Matthew Judon spent much of the spring using the platforms to try to recruit big-name, elite talents to join him in New England with little to show for his online efforts. This week, we got a view of how receiver Kendrick Bourne and some of his teammates reacted to the Patriots trading down from the No. 21 pick in last month’s NFL Draft. Bourne, like many a Patriots fan over the years, was none too pleased to see Belichick and Co. move down the draft.
While it’s fun to see the players react in the same way that many fans and media do, it’s also interesting to see even a slight bit of Belichick team-building criticism from his current crop of players. Because, after all, there’s indeed a little bit of truth in every joke.
5 – Matt Groh noted that the Patriots were “excited” about the team’s returning group of linebackers when defending New England’s lack of a draft pick at this position. Certainly there may be reason for optimism for some of the players in the mix, even if everyone not named Ja’Whuan Bentley remains a question at this point. Each player in the group of Josh Uche, Anfernee Jennings, Ronnie Perkins, Cameron McGrone, Harvey Langi and Raekwon McMillan is returning from a 2021 stint on IR/NFI. The only linebacker not lost to injury a year ago was Jahlani Tavai. And none has ever been more than a part-time player in the Patriots defense, with Jennings the most experienced in New England with four starts in 2020 and 33-percent play time.
While many have put their focus and hope in this unproven group on 2021 fifth-round pick Cameron McGrone thanks to his supposed and projected ability as a speed-based linebacker from his time at Michigan, there is a more proven option in the mix. McMillan was having a nice summer in his first training camp a year ago before being lost to a torn ACL. The veteran has actually started 32 of the 45 games he’s played in the NFL for both the Raiders and the Dolphins. The former second-round pick out of Ohio State played 76 and 58 percent of the snaps on defense in Miami in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
Maybe McGrone will be a young revelation as the Patriots retool a linebacker position that, so far, moved on from Van Noy, Dont’a Hightower and Jamie Collins this offseason. But McMillan should also be very much in the mix for playing time and maybe even a significant role given his experience level.
6 – Patriots rookies will get on the field for the team’s mini-camp at Gillette Stadium later this week. There’s not any scheduled media access to the workouts, so reporters will have to wait until OTA access later this month (May 26) to get their first look at the newest New England players. When that time comes there will be plenty to focus on, but from this perspective maybe nothing more worthy of a first look than the speed that second-round pick Tyquan Thornton brings to the job. Thornton’s 4.28 40 was the fastest at the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine. Former 2003 second-round receiver/kickoff returner Bethel Johnson has been the measuring stick in terms of speed during the Belichick era in New England. It will be fun to get an initial impression of Thornton’s track speed on the practice fields in a couple weeks and see how that compares to the memories of Johnson. Regardless of how Thornton’s speed looks, Patriots fans obviously hope that he has a better career as a receiver than Johnson, who never had more than 16 receptions in a season, ,that coming as a rookie in New England in 2003.
7 – Ho-hum, Tom Brady still leads the NFL world in merchandise sales. But his replacement in New England isn’t doing too shabby in the sales department, either. Jones finished No. 5 overall in the NFLPA’s Top 50 Players Sales List from the last year. Jones was the highest-ranked rookie on the list, trailing only Brady, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen and Joe Burrow. The only other of the nine rookies on the top-50 list to break into the top 10 was Bears quarterback Justin Fields. Jones joined a group of Super Bowl winners in Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, Aaron Rodgers and Matthew Stafford that led sales of framed memorabilia over the last year. Not bad for a rookie.
