1. In what is one of the biggest offseason’s in the Bill Belichick era, he wasn’t at the Senior Bowl this week, which got some attention in these parts. But, it really shouldn’t have. First off, Belichick hinted in his season-ending press conference the coaching staff was going to get some down time. “I think everybody’s put a lot into this season. It’s really been a daily process since late July,” he said. “There was no bye week, there was no break, there was no break in the testing, there was no break in the availability of everyone pretty much on every day. So, I think we can all use a breath of fresh air and a break to get away from things for a period of time.” Even though it feels like months ago, the staff has only been away for really three weeks, so this was still likely part of the coaching staff, Belichick included, getting a break. And also because of COVID protocols, teams were only allowed 10 people in attendance and the only teams to send coaches besides the Panthers and Dolphins, who coached in the game, were reportedly the Giants and Bengals. In addition, teams couldn’t roam the sidelines like usual, as they were in the stands and in suites. Doesn’t it make sense to allocate those 10 spots to college scouting coordinator Brian Smith and his team along with executives Dave Ziegler and Eliot Wolf? These people have been scouting college players for a year-plus, so they should be given the chance to finish the process. There are still opportunities for Belichick to attend various pro days to scout players, so it isn’t like he’s ignoring the pre-draft process. If there was any year for Belichick and the coaching staff to skip the Senior Bowl, it was this one.
2. When listening to Tom Brady glow about Bruce Arians last week, it was hard not to compare what he said to what he's said when asked about Belichick in the past. Brady stuck to saying there’s no coach he’d rather player for, but never went as in-depth as he did about Arians. It will be interesting to see how he handles these types of questions this coming week, as he likely will be asked more directly about his relationship with Belichick. We’ll probably get more dodging than actual answers, but it would be refreshing to hear him give his honest opinion and maybe admit for the first time publicly Belichick’s coaching style wore on him and he prefers Arians' style at this point in his career.
3. With Matthew Stafford now going to L.A. and Jared Goff to Detroit, this means two teams in the QB market this offseason have their guys. This could also be taken as Jimmy Garoppolo has a better chance of staying in San Francisco and not being dealt, as some speculated that would happen if Stafford was brought in. The 49ers do not have too many options left to potentially upgrade Garoppolo with. Relating to the Patriots, they never had a shot at Stafford as he likely wouldn’t have wanted to come to New England, especially given the other teams that showed interest.
4. Thinking about what Tony Romo said at the end of the AFC Championship Game -- "[The Bills] will be back next year. The AFC is going to be loaded. New England is going to get back in this thing. I have a feeling, Belichick, with that much salary cap, they'll find a way to come back in this thing" -- isn’t it dependent on who they get at quarterback? It may be too simple, but it just feels if the team can get good play at the position like it did for 20 years, they will be able to figure the rest out and get back to being one of the best teams in the AFC.
5. A quick reminder that this time of year almost every team speaks to every draft prospect, so just because the Patriots met with Mac Jones at the Senior Bowl, it doesn’t mean much when it comes to them potentially drafting him. The same will come up in the coming months with the Patriots having formal interviews with players at their respective pro days and the same thought holds true then as well.
6. Thinking about that No. 15 overall pick, it seems worth pointing out in five of the last six years that selection has been an offensive player. The last six No. 15 overall picks are: WR Jerry Jeudy (Denver), QB Dwayne Haskins (Washington), OT Kolton Miller (Las Vegas), S Malik Hooker (Indianapolis), WR Corey Coleman (Cleveland) and RB Melvin Gordon (Los Angeles).
7. Looking ahead to Super Bowl week, of course Tampa Bay doesn’t need to travel, but Kansas City will be spending the week at home and not traveling until Saturday. Media availability will look a lot different due to COVID protocols. Players and coaches will be available Monday-Thursday via video conference and it will be somewhat similar to what it’s been like in year’s past, the only difference is not every single player will be available Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. That simply would be impossible to do given the virtual nature of things. Roughly 10 players will be available each day for 45 minutes, so there still will be plenty of quotes to discuss.
