4 thoughts on the Patriots as the preseason winds down
Commentary on roster depth, the No. 1 cornerback spot, and the obligatory thoughts on the team's play-calling.
Four downs’ worth of thoughts on the state of the Patriots, because no gimmick is too basic for this space …
· This is Bill Belichick’s 23d training camp as Patriots coach, and it probably has been his most confusing, at least on the surface.
It makes all the sense in the world to alter the offense to fit second-year quarterback Mac Jones’s strengths and preferences. And streamlining the playbook allows rookies to assimilate faster without having to decipher the advanced calculus that Tom Brady left behind.
But the changes haven’t felt like tweaks or adjustments. They’ve often seemed drastic, and in a very unBelichickian way, the changes have put players — particularly offensive linemen — in situations that don’t play to their strengths.
With each report of the offense’s struggles in practice, it becomes easier to wonder whether they’ve gone too far too fast with the changes.
So in that sense, it was reassuring to hear Raiders coach and former Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels offer a reminder Tuesday that Belichick often sees what’s on the horizon before the rest of us.
“I think at the end of the day, Bill has a plan for whatever he wants to do,” said McDaniels, noting that Belichick elevated him to offensive play-caller in 2005 after just one season as quarterbacks coach, a curious decision to outsiders at the time. “That plan sometimes … he has foresight that some of the rest of us don’t have. I didn’t have it when he pushed me ahead.”
McDaniels’s words were a reminder that Belichick is usually correct when he zigs while everyone else expects a zag. Cutting popular Lawyer Milloy before the 2003 opener is the most obvious example, but I keep thinking about his decision to go with untested Matt Cassel in 2008 after Brady blew out his knee in the opener.
Do you remember some of the names that people were calling for him to sign? Daunte Culpepper. Chris Simms. Tim Rattay. Cassel, who had a rough training camp that year, ended up playing well for an 11-win team.
My faith in Belichick has not wavered, at least when it comes to the big picture. It helps that the offense has shown progress in recent days. But the reminder by McDaniels that Belichick almost always knows best was a welcome one.
· Jalen Mills grew up in the same town as Marcus Smart, and in some ways he reminds me of a football version of the Celtics’ most polarizing player. He’s tough, confident, determined, flawed, and loyal to the color green.
I’m not sure I trust him as the Patriots’ de facto No. 1 cornerback, however. He was competent last season, his first in New England after signing a four-year, $24 million contract in March 2021. You could even say his absence from the Patriots’ 47-17 loss to the Bills in their wild-card matchup is one reason Buffalo’s punter got the day off. (Joejuan Williams, who has made Terrence Wheatley’s career look productive, played a career-high 41 defensive snaps in that game).
But the Patriots have almost always had a lockdown and/or ballhawking cornerback on the roster in the Belichick era, from Ty Law at the advent of the dynasty, to Asante Samuel, to Darrelle Revis for his one-off season in 2014, to Malcolm Butler, and then Stephon Gilmore and J.C. Jackson.
Mills is not in the class of any of those players. He’s still looking for his first Patriots interception, and his most memorable play of 2021 might have been getting deep-fried by Dallas’s CeeDee Lamb for the winning touchdown in overtime in Week 6.
The Patriots had better hope that Jonathan Jones, who has moved outside after defending the slot for the first six seasons of his career, thrives in the new role (so far, so good), or that rookie Jack Jones emerges in a hurry.
Relatedly, I was really hoping it would work out for Butler, who appeared to be on the roster bubble before he ended up on injured reserve. His would have been a heck of a redemption story, if you believe he needed one in the first place.
· I’m glad all of the drama with Kendrick Bourne seems to be resolved.
Of all of the Patriots’ veteran free agent signings last season, Matthew Judon was the most successful (for the first 10 weeks or so, anyway). I’d put Bourne second, and maybe a close second. He had 55 catches on 70 targets for 800 yards and 5 touchdowns, including a 75-yard thriller against the Cowboys in that aforementioned Week 6 game. Remarkably, Bourne didn’t drop a pass all season.
That would seem like a receiver who would enter his second season here as a core member of the offense. But Bourne took up residence in Belichick’s doghouse after some puzzling behavior during the joint practices with the Panthers, including a uniform violation and a fight, and he didn’t play in the teams’ preseason matchup.
Some reports indicated he was frustrated with the direction of the offense. Others suggested he was on the trading block.
The situation has seemed better in recent days with the Patriots in Las Vegas. That’s a relief. The Patriots may be devoid of skill-position superstars, but they have plenty of quality players on offense. Trading Bourne because of a few days of disagreement would have been detrimental to the cause.
· One sign that the Patriots might have more quality depth this season than they have in recent seasons?
Those irresistible 53-man roster projections that every beat writer is obligated to attempt a couple of times during preseason all have the Patriots cutting at least a few players you’d really like to see stick around.
Looking at roughly a half-dozen roster projections from various writers, the following players fail to make the cut on at least one hypothetical cutdown:
Justin Bethel (gotta keep the veteran special teams ace, I say), Brenden Schooler (budding special teams ace), Cameron McGrone, Joshuah Bledsoe (it’s about time the Patriots had another Bledsoe), Carl Davis, Lil’Jordan Humphrey (his chances have to be enhanced by the Tyquan Thornton injury), James Ferentz (who exactly provides the interior line depth if he’s gone?), Kevin Harris, Terrance Mitchell, Myles Bryant, Shaun Wade, Tre Nixon, and Sam Roberts.
That’s a lot of competent players vying for just a few roster openings — and perhaps a sign that this team, from 1 to 53 and beyond (if you consider the practice squad), is deeper than most think.
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