Glory Days 2

Such a random reference for our cover photo today but it’s so accurate. If you’re curious head over to your MAX app and check out South Park Season 20 Episode 1.

From Wiki for those who don’t have 20 minutes to watch South Park:

The episode lampooned the massive national media coverage of Colin Kaepernick and other American athletes’ protest during “The Star-Spangled Banner” and the presidential campaigns of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton while also commenting on nostalgia and reboots. Stressed by the political climate, Stephen Stotch recommends eating a superfruit called “member berries” to relax. The member (i.e. remember) berries, which are small purple berries that utter nostalgic phrases, initially relax Randy, but he is shocked when the berries suddenly start spouting overtly political talking-points

So I reference it because I think that Robert Kraft is consuming member berries like a mad man. Or he’s tied in so tight with the Hollywood elite that he thinks that a Patriots reboot with characters you remember will bring the franchise back to relevance.

Yesterday it was announced that Josh McDaniels was rejoining the Patriots for the third time. This go around as the offensive coordinator for newly hired head coach Mike Vrabel. Remember how good the offense was when Tom Brady was our quarterback. Remember?

Rumors swirled that Vrabel had interviewed several other candidates (ok three) but the bigger rumor that’s persisted for months was that Vrabel and McDaniels would be a package deal. Vrabel tried to throw us off the scent in his press conference, but it was coming.

So once again the Krafts hire a coach that was a head coach, that was fired, that is being paid by another organization, and likely won’t have to pay that much money to. This has worked out so well over the last few years.

Why bring in innovation and new schemes and a fresh perspective when you can keep living in the past?

“3000 years of beautiful tradition from Moses to Sandy Koufax you’re God Damned right I’m living in the past.” – Walter Sobchak, The Big Lebowski.

Well so is Robert Kraft.

So we’re going to bring back a system that rookies and young players have repeatedly failed in as the team is trying to get younger. Building around their second-year quarterback they’ll likely have at least one (hopefully more) new receiver in the room learning a new system. A new offensive lineman (or several) learning a new system. Not to mention several second and third year players that will have to learn a new system. Do you really think it’s smart to bring in the McDaniels system that none of the young players will be able to learn?

So once again, Kraft hits the Nostalgia Bar instead of doing real interviews.

So like Joe Murray said last night on his show, we’ll all just put on our favorite Patriots shirt, or our footie pajamas and remember the good old days as our franchise falls deeper into disrepair. We’ll have another 4-13 season next year, but it’s OK because we’ll be able to remember the good old days. We’ll have Rodney Harrison ring the bell before the game on the $250 Million Lighthouse in the middle of dry land. Stop by the Pro Shop and pick up some throwback jerseys for your favorite Patriots of the past.

Don’t think about the future, building towards a winner, or anything like that. Just remember the past and the Glory Days. As you muck towards mediocrity and decades of being a laughingstock.

I never thought the Patriots would be a team I’d think about giving up my fan card with, but these last six years have certainly given me fuel.

Glory Days

I said it last week that the Krafts needed to take this coaching search seriously and do an actual search. I hoped that all the internet noise was just that and they would be really conducting multiple interviews with multiple candidates. Not just going to the nostalgia well again, but actually looking outside their “inner circle” or whatever you want to call it.

I heard rumblings Saturday night that it was just down to the contract details – and then Sunday morning got the notice that it was Vrabel.

Puke on my shoes. Bob Kraft sitting in his office looking at old pictures of old Super Bowl wins while Bruce Springsteen cranks in the background “Glory Days”…

The positive – he’s actually been a head coach. He’s been in multiple organizations (opposed to Mayo who only knew people in the Pats organization). He has connections around the league beyond one team. He has players respect throughout the league as well.

The biggest negative is that there’s the rumor that Josh McDaniels would be joining him as his offensive coordinator. Again, going to the well of people you know. How about you find the next offensive wiz kid. You find the guy that’s going to bring the Patriots offense into the 21st century. A Josh McDaniels double tight end set run in twice, throw and punt isn’t exciting and doesn’t win games in the fall. It was the same reaction when I’d hear Bill O’Brien. Shivers.

On the defensive side of the ball, I’ve heard Robert Saleh as the name mentioned as a defensive coordinator. OK, division experience, was a beast as a defensive coordinator. Actually, excites me a little bit.

Eliot Wolf still employed. Not loving it. You can’t make Jerod Mayo the lone fall guy.

I’m hoping we know more after the press conference at noon. But there needs to be a few more dominos falling prior to me getting remotely on board with the hire.

Clean house in the front office. Tell me there’s a new GM running the board. Tell me those inept coordinators and coaching staff from Mayo’s staff are out the door or at least demoted to positions they’re more qualified for.

Otherwise you rushed the process, circumvented the Rooney Rule, and rushed to hire a player you’d previously sent out of town when he criticized you for building Patriot Place and not paying players. Don’t think I forgot about that.

Again, I know it’s early in the process, but there needs to be a lot more done before I get excited. I’m not one of these Pats, hardo, fanboys that’s going to be jumping out of his chair because you brought back someone from the old dynasty. It’s old. It’s been 17 years since he suited up for your franchise. Nostalgia is great but it’s not the stones to build the next dynasty.

Here’s hoping I’m completely wrong on all this and they made the perfect hire and are building the next dynasty.

Now What?

Well, it’s been a little over 12 hours and I think I have coherent enough thoughts to spit out a post. Apparently my first in over two years…

I was going to spit fire about how Kraft is an idiot for sticking with Mayo as the head coach. I was ready to begrudgingly accept another lost season next year under a coach in way over his head. A coordinator and some random coaches being canned as the “fall guys” and fooling myself into thinking that they’d be able to have a better season. After all they have “cash to burn” as Mayo said last offseason.

Then Kraft did the unthinkable (as of a month ago) and grew a pair and canned Mayo.

I’m going to start back last January when Kraft fired Bill. No parting of ways, he was fired.

First off, Mayo had no business being named the head coach at that time. He hadn’t even been a coordinator under Belichick. But Kraft saw Jerod in Israel as a leader and knew then that he’d be the next head coach. Um, I’ve seen waiters do an amazing job at a restaurant, I don’t want them managing the place. Maybe in time he could be a head coach, but with zero offensive experience, no coordinator title on his resume, and by all indications succeeding a year sooner than anticipated, this was doomed to fail from the start.

I went to Draft Kings at bet the under at 4.5 wins. I knew then this was going to be abysmal.

In training camp where Drake Maye clearly outperformed Brissett – Mayo makes the call coming out of camp that he shouldn’t be the starter. The team miraculously comes out and beats Cincinnati in week one and we all got our hopes up too high. They stayed with Seattle and we thought the season might not be as bad as we’d anticipated. Then it continued to get worse and worse. For every step ahead, there were three steps back. I’m not going to rehash the entire season, but it was awful and as it progressed we knew Mayo was in way over his head, and the fanbase soon began calling for his job.

We were assured that Dan Campbell started bad in Detroit but look at them now. Mayo will be able to do the same thing. Trust the process. Then as we came out of the bye week following a collapse against Indianapolis and faceplanted against the Cardinals, the rumbles really started. We feared playing a close game against the Bills would buy Mayo more goodwill. Then a faceplant against the Chargers last week had us in the top draft spot heading into the final week against the Bills.

We knew the Bills were going to rest their starters. It would look like a preseason game. But you could still lose and secure that top pick. Many of us dreamed of trading out of the top spot to a quarterback needy team and having either a second first rounder or another first next year. We’d be able to shore up the offensive line, get a speedy wide receiver that doesn’t have stone hands, it was looking bright.

Then Mayo won the game and screwed us out of the top spot and we dropped all the way to number four. The two quarterback needy teams now sit in front of you, and there really isn’t a lot of phone calls coming in on this thin draft board to mortgage the future on the fourth overall pick.

So Kraft fires Mayo and everyone says Vrabel is the next one in.

Can we please pump the brakes on that. Please.

I’m not saying that Vrabel is a bad choice, but can we please actually do some interviewing. Can we see who else is out there? Can we see what kind of staffs these potential replacements want to bring with them? Just handing the keys to Vrabel has so many issues. The first being you’ll lose a draft pick for not interviewing a minority head coach thanks to the Rooney Rule.

Also, can we please address Elliot Wolf’s job?

Going back to Mayo’s introductory column – “cash to burn” and this moron couldn’t come out of free agency or the draft with a left tackle or a wide receiver worth a damn. Yet somehow he’s going to keep his job? Hard pass. Kick his ass to the curb along with Mayo and Mayo’s entire staff. None of these idiots should be back next year.

Hire a new GM, not acting GM, not whatever other cost saving “don’t give him a real title” bullshit that the Krafts could get away with when Bill was here. A real head of football operations that will build the roster to win. Also, let the GM pick the head coach. Enough of Kraft being involved. Every time he gets involved the team gets screwed (Jimmy G, Brady, Sony Michel, Mac Jones, Mayo).

Enough of the “we know this guy” and “our families are very close”. Someone from the outside that will revamp the entire organization.

Mayo was the first domino to fall, but there best be many more to follow.

Go All In!

It’s been 30 years since the Patriots had the top pick in the NFL draft. That year they drafted Drew Bledsoe and the team started their road to relevence. Within three years of drafting him the Patriots found themselves not only in the playoffs but also the Super Bowl.

After Bledsoe and Terry Glenn, the Patriots didn’t draft in the single digits again till 2001 when they drafted Richard Seymour out of Georgia. That along with the emergence of some guy named Tom Brady gave birth to a dynasty.

The highest the team drafted anyone since then was Jerod Mayo in 2008 and the team traded DOWN to aquire him (remember they held the #7 pick that year) at #10 overall.

I got the Bleacher Report update yesterday afternoon that the Chicago Bears who own the top overall pick in this year’s draft are looking to trade out of that spot. I know it’s a loaded draft class, but for once, I would love to see the Patriots just push all their chips in and move up 13 spots.

My want for the move isn’t even seeded in want for a new quarterback. I want the team to draft game changing players. Last year the top five were all defense and all game changers. If you’re able to have your pick of the litter at number one, you can take Jalen Carter or Will Anderson that will dramatically move the needle on your defense.

Personally I’m just not satisfied with the team dropping further into the draft and drafting a bunch of “B” prospects. Taking a chance on a second or third round receiver that will be “serviceable”. I want game changers.

So I’m resurecting the blog, pleading with the powers that be, and begging; go all in. Get a game CHANGER. Change the narrative on the Patriot Way. Be an agressive team that is willing to move up and make moves. A dumpy O-Lineman, trading down, and not giving the offense any weapons excites NO ONE.

Now we wait two more months to see how it all plays out. I still hate the Thursday night start of the draft and wish they’d return to an all weekend draft, but despite me being in the majority the league appears to ignore us.

Waving the White Flag

Flying high above Gillette, early indication is that they’re conceding next season.

I miss connecting with you guys on a daily basis. The 24/7 news cycles and podcasts have really made blogging an obsolete medium but here I am.

Rarely does something anger me so much that a simple post on Facebook isn’t enough rage that I need to reopen the blog and unload, but Friday’s Patriots news did exactly that.

It started with the alert that the Patriots were bringing back Cam Newton. My knee jerk reaction was to congratulate the Buffalo Bills on their second straight AFC East Championship before the season even started. Then additional news started coming out and my mind was blown.

First you’re bringing back a quarterback that can’t throw. I don’t care what the spin doctors tell us about the weapons he had to throw to, the lack of knowledge with the playbook in a COVID shortened off-season, or that Cam actually had COVID and that really affected his play. The bottom line was the team limped to an embarrassing finish, the guy couldn’t throw the ball, and when he wanted to be 2015 Cam and run it, he looked slow and awkward.

The terms on bringing this slow quarterback with no arm initially reported at $14 million. My brain started to seep out of my head. Then they broke it down a little.

• $5.1 Million Base Salary
  • $2 million signing bonus
  • $1.5 million in base salary
  • $1.5 in per-game roster bonuses (so we’re clear, that’s $1.5 million total – not $1.5 million per game)
• $8.5 Million in incentives
  • Play 60% of the snaps – $500K
  • Play 90% of the snaps – $1 million
  • Playoff Incentives
    • $500,000 each for
      • 60% regular season snaps + a playoff berth
      • 70% regular season snaps + a playoff berth
      • 80% regular season snaps + a playoff berth
      • 90% regular season snaps + a playoff berth
  • $500,000 for each playoff win (50% snaps), max $1.5M
  • Super Bowl Win (50% snaps): $1.5M
  • Super Bowl MVP: $1M
  • Pro Bowl (original ballot): $500,000
  • All-Pro: $500,000
  • $100k workout bonus

So having reviewed the totals, I think we’d all be comfortable paying Cam $14 million for the year if he achieves all of those goals. That would mean the Patriots won the Super Bowl, he was the MVP, an All Pro etc. Seems like a bargain.

Realistically he’s not likely to do any of those things based on his performance last year. In reality he’s a backup that will likely be given a chance to win the starting job in camp. But who’s there to compete with him?

That’s the real question that’s facing the Patriots. It became very clear last season that they have no interest at all in getting Stidham reps. Even when it was more than apparent that Cam couldn’t throw the ball, they continued to start him even after they were eliminated from the playoffs. So he’s out.

The free agent market is abysmal. Ancient options like Alex Smith and Ryan Fitzpatrick seem like just as useless options as Cam Newton.

So what’s the plan?

Belichick is too competitive to tank for a year. He proved it this past year. So did word come from on high that the Krafts were OK with him tanking this coming year so long as they netted a top three pick and were able to draft an elite quarterback?

Are the going to try and trade up in this draft with the hopes of snagging a quarterback? Or is the ego so large that Bill thinks he can draft someone in the second round, stop gap for a year with Cam under center, and start the rookie in 2022?

The bottom line is, none of know the plan and at this point some of us are starting to question if the Patriots even know the plan. So for the time being as of March 15th, I’m going with my initial response of congraluating the Bills on a second straight AFC Championship and hope that the Patriots have an ace up their sleeve that none of us sees coming.

Otherwise it’s going to be another long, boring football season.