1. It’s been a few weeks since it was reported Matt Patricia will be re-joining the Patriots' staff, but not much has been said on his role. ESPN’s Mike Reiss joined Dale & Keefe Friday and gave his best guess. “I think the best comparison that we can make was when Michael Lombardi was here in 2014 and ’15. I think his title was assistant to the coaching staff,” Reiss said. “The way my understanding of this type of thing is, ‘Hey, let’s just get you in here, and you know our system. You know the way it works and we’ll figure it out, where we determine we need you the most and where you’re the most comfortable.’ I will say this, if there was a game being played tomorrow, I don’t think that we’ll see him on the sideline. I feel fairly confident on that. Could we see him up in the coaching booth? Possibly. But I think that stuff is almost like, ‘We’ll figure that out down the line.’ Big picture, long-term, to me he is almost like another [Bill] Belichick son. If he wants to be here, he’ll be here as long as he wants. That’s my view on that.” One theory is he could fill in some of the voids left by Nick Caserio, especially when it comes to game day and being in the booth and on the headsets. During the week, it could be similar to Lombardi where it was special projects and just being another soundboard in the building since he knows the system so well. Belichick has said in the past how much being a head coach changes things in terms of how someone views the league, team-building, etc. and now Patricia has that. Down the road, it would not be all that surprising if Patricia finds a role within the Patriots organization. Not everyone is suited to be a head coach and perhaps Patricia realized that during his time in Detroit. While it is very early in the process, don’t be surprised if Patricia continues to work for Belichick in the years to come in a role to be determined.
2. There’s been a lot of talk this week of how Tom Brady winning the Super Bowl will make Belichick be even more aggressive this offseason when it comes to adding players to make the team better for 2021 and getting back to what they were when Brady was under center. From this perspective, it seems unlikely. Belichick is never one to make rash decisions and sticks to what he’s always done. This means he will not overpay for anyone and will be all about value. Even though the Patriots have the fourth-most cap space in the league, do not expect them to throw money at all the biggest names available. Could they be in on more of the first and second-tier free agents? Probably, but just don’t expect them to throw money at players left and right. Belichick and Co. will still stick to value as that is what the foundation of the organization is built on.
3. Speaking of Brady, it was cool to see him let loose this week and have some fun at the Buccaneers Super Bowl victory boat parade. We never saw him like that in his 20 years with the Patriots and it speaks to just how relaxed and how much fun he had in Tampa Bay this season. Check out another video of him walking off the boat that was surfaced late in the week.
This is pure gold. Tom Brady and Cam Brate's convo about the Lombardi toss.
— Grace Remington (@GraceRemiWTSP) February 12, 2021
"If that hit your face, it would've been a disaster."
Also, please listen to ultimate hype man Ryan Griffin at the beginning. #GoBucs pic.twitter.com/9eP7fNYAPU
4. More will be written on this in the coming days and weeks, but the Patriots are in a tough spot when it comes to addressing the quarterback position. Without a true No. 1 target out there, they might not want to go all-in on a QB during free agency because that likely would mean not selecting one at No. 15 overall in the draft. What if Justin Fields or Trey Lance were to fall that far? What if a veteran quarterback becomes available around then that no one is talking about now? That would be a nightmare scenario if they already committed to a QB in free agency. This is why it could make sense to grab a player like Marcus Mariota, who gives them the flexibility to add another player if the right one becomes available down the road after free agency. At the same time, Mariota would certainly be an upgrade over what the team had last year and would give the offense hope towards being competitive in 2021.
5. In recent mock drafts, there’s been a player projected to the Patriots at No. 15 overall by a number of experts: Micah Parsons, a linebacker out of Penn State. This wouldn’t be all that surprising as even though everyone is discussing the needs on offense, the defense needs help as well. Linebacker would be a good start and this is even if Dont’a Hightower comes back. The team needs some help in the middle of the defense, especially someone who has speed.
6. With everything going on in Houston, it’s worth wondering if Nick Caserio knew fully what he was getting himself into. Of course he knew the lack of draft picks he would be working with the next couple of years, but did he envision not having J.J. Watt and potentially Deshaun Watson? Probably not. It will be interesting to see what happens, and at this point it may be best to deal Watson and get a boatload of picks in return.
7. While Trevor Lawrence had his own pro day Friday, others will not take place until mid March. Arkansas will lead off on March 10. As of now, the week of March 22 is the biggest one with the most taking place. In addition, EXOS, which is training more than 130 NFL draft prospects this offseason, will host a two-day pro day later this month that will simulate a combine setting. All the stuff will be filmed and sent to teams via agents and players since NFL rules prohibit teams from visiting third-party training sites.
