2025 and Beyond

[BigKen]

When you have no one to discuss the Patriots with, you begin think to yourself about various things. For four days I was with family, but often found myself, by myself with little to do but play games on my phone. But I saw an article that said, "Look at your favorite team and think about the five things that should be done every year to make it better or keep it where it is."

I've been giving it some thought and have come up with five things that I think could really turn the patriots around and make them a contender and not a pretender.

1. Everyone pretty much agrees with this one. Make multiple moves with the offensive line.
1a. Sign a free agent left tackle. Stay away from the older guys. My suggestions: Justin Skule (28) or Garrett Bolles (30). Top pick? Walker Little (25)
Skule has started for both the 49ers and Bucs and is now the backup on the Bucs to Trist. Might be more inclined to sign where he knows he'll start. While Bolles might be the media favorite, I personally like Walker Little of the Jags.

2. Sign a partner for Christian Gonzalez. J Jones and M Jones are not the answer for outside coverage. Both are slot CB.
2a. CBs will be coveted by their own teams. DJ Reed (NYJ) could be very costly but might be the best available. Asante Samuel Jr brings back memories of his dad, who might be against having his son playing in NE. So may look at the less knowns like Nate Hobbs and Mike Hilton.

3. Find an Edge.
3a. Chase Young or Marcus Sweat will be looking for a big paycheck. They're listed below a few guys that are in their early thirties. Pay for the youth.

4. Spend some money on a known quantity WR.
4a. Tee Higgins is a perfect fit. 6'4" and would be the #1 WR on this team. Back fill with an older guy like Keenan Allen or Amari Cooper.

5. Look to the draft to find a kid who can come on board and start at RT. Look for both inside and outside LBs.
5a. Don't be afraid to give S Jeremy Chinn (WAS) a call. He's a big (6'3") Safety and can cover. Peppers is gone and Dugger needs help.


To sign four or five free agents will cost most of the $145M that Wolfe will have in his wallet. These guys cannot pull a BB and wait until day two or three to see what's left in Clearance bin.

You may not agree. Give it some thought and lets us know your five steps.




I

 

[YankeeRebel]

Im going to keep this real simple, because it is real simple.

1: Secure the Oline. Don't care how you do it that is number 1 priority to include an O Line coach.

2. DT then Edge.

3. S then CB.

Don't care how it's done that is the priority. The WRs are developing I see it, the TEs are solid, run game ok.

 

[Yankee Traveler]

Im going to keep this real simple, because it is real simple.

1: Secure the Oline. Don't care how you do it that is number 1 priority to include an O Line coach.

2. DT then Edge.

3. S then CB.

Don't care how it's done that is the priority. The WRs are developing I see it, the TEs are solid, run game ok.

And coaching needs to improve as well.

From getting players to play better, to getting players ready for situations, to getting players more disciplined and not committing penalties.

 

[NWPATSFAN]

And coaching needs to improve as well.

From getting players to play better, to getting players ready for situations, to getting players more disciplined and not committing penalties.

Don't forget about the use of the challenge flag and clock management.

 

[molsaniceman]

Jerod Mayo is expected to remain the Patriots’ Head Coach next season, according to Dianna Russini of the Athletic.
Not a big surprise here as Mayo is in his first year with New England. It would’ve been a pretty bad look for the organization to make him a one-and-done coach. The Patriots have struggled with a 3-10 record this season, but the team is breaking in rookie quarterback Drake Maye and has limited weapons at the offensive skill positions. New England would have the third pick in the draft if the season ended today and it’s expected that Mayo will still be in charge when they make that selection.

 

[cdumler7]

When you have no one to discuss the Patriots with, you begin think to yourself about various things. For four days I was with family, but often found myself, by myself with little to do but play games on my phone. But I saw an article that said, "Look at your favorite team and think about the five things that should be done every year to make it better or keep it where it is."

I've been giving it some thought and have come up with five things that I think could really turn the patriots around and make them a contender and not a pretender.

1. Everyone pretty much agrees with this one. Make multiple moves with the offensive line.
1a. Sign a free agent left tackle. Stay away from the older guys. My suggestions: Justin Skule (28) or Garrett Bolles (30). Top pick? Walker Little (25)
Skule has started for both the 49ers and Bucs and is now the backup on the Bucs to Trist. Might be more inclined to sign where he knows he'll start. While Bolles might be the media favorite, I personally like Walker Little of the Jags.

2. Sign a partner for Christian Gonzalez. J Jones and M Jones are not the answer for outside coverage. Both are slot CB.
2a. CBs will be coveted by their own teams. DJ Reed (NYJ) could be very costly but might be the best available. Asante Samuel Jr brings back memories of his dad, who might be against having his son playing in NE. So may look at the less knowns like Nate Hobbs and Mike Hilton.

3. Find an Edge.
3a. Chase Young or Marcus Sweat will be looking for a big paycheck. They're listed below a few guys that are in their early thirties. Pay for the youth.

4. Spend some money on a known quantity WR.
4a. Tee Higgins is a perfect fit. 6'4" and would be the #1 WR on this team. Back fill with an older guy like Keenan Allen or Amari Cooper.

5. Look to the draft to find a kid who can come on board and start at RT. Look for both inside and outside LBs.
5a. Don't be afraid to give S Jeremy Chinn (WAS) a call. He's a big (6'3") Safety and can cover. Peppers is gone and Dugger needs help.


To sign four or five free agents will cost most of the $145M that Wolfe will have in his wallet. These guys cannot pull a BB and wait until day two or three to see what's left in Clearance bin.

You may not agree. Give it some thought and lets us know your five steps.




I

I'm really glad that Bolles is no longer an option for you guys. Not that I care too much whether you fill that LT spot or not but more didn't want to create a hole on the roster that didn't need to be there. Tough to find good OL players. Sign them when you can because you can go from best OL to worst in a hurry. Skule I think is an ok guy. He isn't anything special at the position though and I would say if you get him expecting anything but average at best would be putting too much on the signing.

Little is a decent pass blocker but don't expect much in the run department. This is where you have to decide what your team will be for the future. If you are about the pass then Little makes sense. If you want to stay balanced then I would look elsewhere. Ronnie Stanley could be an interesting choice but his injury history obviously very concerning. I'll be interested in Cam Robinson as well for what he gets long-term deal wise.

 

[NWPATSFAN]

I'm really glad that Bolles is no longer an option for you guys. Not that I care too much whether you fill that LT spot or not but more didn't want to create a hole on the roster that didn't need to be there. Tough to find good OL players. Sign them when you can because you can go from best OL to worst in a hurry. Skule I think is an ok guy. He isn't anything special at the position though and I would say if you get him expecting anything but average at best would be putting too much on the signing.

Little is a decent pass blocker but don't expect much in the run department. This is where you have to decide what your team will be for the future. If you are about the pass then Little makes sense. If you want to stay balanced then I would look elsewhere. Ronnie Stanley could be an interesting choice but his injury history obviously very concerning. I'll be interested in Cam Robinson as well for what he gets long-term deal wise.

Agree NE needs more pass blocking help. We need at a minimum serviceable tackles.

I'm going to contradict myself here for a minute. Having said that, I hope NE goes to a more run heavy offense next year. The interior of the line is decent. There's talk about moving Cole Strange to C. He's a road grader and if he can win the position at C it could make a big impact. Henry and Hooper are decent blockers and I've been begging for a real FB to be brought in.

With the NFL having gone to a faster game with the edge rushers and LBs a run heavy offense could be a strategy that could pay off as teams are built to protect the pass. Something to think about anyway. Zig while everyone else zags.

 

[BigKen]

If a team is going to be 60/40 Pass/Run, then the OL has to be able to pass block. I always coached my OLs to start counting mentally the second the ball is snapped. Physically, it's nearly impossible to push an object in motion from its forward path. The offensive player has to alter the path by obstructing it. If an OL can stay in front of the defensive players for four seconds, The QB has to be able to check down and release the ball before the number five even comes to OL's mouth. As speed increases, the NFL OL has to shorten that count to three and the QB has to learn to either step up or step out and force the Defense to hesitate and switch their projection. The QB cannot stay in the same spot of a three, four or five step drop.
The critical thing for the QB is to be able to read whether the defense is in Man or zone and make a change in his original play selection if the defense is set up to stop it.

The problem today is that most OL are attached to a run heavy or pass heavy offense and are better at one than the other. As far as tackles are concerned, arm length and arm strength are becoming more and more crotical. If an OT has long and strong arms, he can push an edge rushers far enough outside to keep him from accessing the QB. But doing that, he gives up contact and must try to adjust his position to recover and get back in front of that same rusher. Then again, can he bulldoze a defender and move him in such a way that a RB can get though that supposed hole in two and half seconds without running face first into the OT's back?

 

[Southieinnc]

Agree NE needs more pass blocking help. We need at a minimum serviceable tackles.

I'm going to contradict myself here for a minute. Having said that, I hope NE goes to a more run heavy offense next year. The interior of the line is decent. There's talk about moving Cole Strange to C. He's a road grader and if he can win the position at C it could make a big impact. Henry and Hooper are decent blockers and I've been begging for a real FB to be brought in.

With the NFL having gone to a faster game with the edge rushers and LBs a run heavy offense could be a strategy that could pay off as teams are built to protect the pass. Something to think about anyway. Zig while everyone else zags.

Many teams are going run first offense. Too late to zig?

 

[cdumler7]

If a team is going to be 60/40 Pass/Run, then the OL has to be able to pass block. I always coached my OLs to start counting mentally the second the ball is snapped. Physically, it's nearly impossible to push an object in motion from its forward path. The offensive player has to alter the path by obstructing it. If an OL can stay in front of the defensive players for four seconds, The QB has to be able to check down and release the ball before the number five even comes to OL's mouth. As speed increases, the NFL OL has to shorten that count to three and the QB has to learn to either step up or step out and force the Defense to hesitate and switch their projection. The QB cannot stay in the same spot of a three, four or five step drop.
The critical thing for the QB is to be able to read whether the defense is in Man or zone and make a change in his original play selection if the defense is set up to stop it.

The problem today is that most OL are attached to a run heavy or pass heavy offense and are better at one than the other. As far as tackles are concerned, arm length and arm strength are becoming more and more crotical. If an OT has long and strong arms, he can push an edge rushers far enough outside to keep him from accessing the QB. But doing that, he gives up contact and must try to adjust his position to recover and get back in front of that same rusher. Then again, can he bulldoze a defender and move him in such a way that a RB can get though that supposed hole in two and half seconds without running face first into the OT's back?

The arm length number might be the most critical number for an OL to come out of the combine. No one cares at on how fast they run or how far they can jump. Yes there are minimum numbers you need them to hit but anything less than 33" arms and you are designated as an interior OL anymore.

 

[YankeeRebel]

The arm length number might be the most critical number for an OL to come out of the combine. No one cares at on how fast they run or how far they can jump. Yes there are minimum numbers you need them to hit but anything less than 33" arms and you are designated as an interior OL anymore.

And the three cone drill, arm length and footspeed / agility are huge

 

[molsaniceman]

The Athletic’s Diana Russini reports Patriots owner Robert Kraft has told associates that Jerod Mayo “will be back for another season.”
Mayo managed to step in some hot water with the press by seeming to throw Alex Van Pelt under the bus on a goal-line play call this week — saying “you said it, I didn’t” about sneaking with Drake Maye — before referring to it as “a defensive response.” Mayo told WEEI that “Just like I tell the players, I’m still learning how those things work.” Never a bad time to learn, coach. The state of the Patriots roster is such that it’s hard to really hold Mayo’s feet to the fire for a terrible opening season, but he sure hasn’t gotten much from the roster and the defense has collapsed without Bill Belichick. It wouldn’t be unprecedented to fire a first-year head coach who struggled like this, but Kraft has had Mayo as the coach-in-waiting long enough that it would certainly be surprising.

 

[YankeeRebel]

The Athletic’s Diana Russini reports Patriots owner Robert Kraft has told associates that Jerod Mayo “will be back for another season.”
Mayo managed to step in some hot water with the press by seeming to throw Alex Van Pelt under the bus on a goal-line play call this week — saying “you said it, I didn’t” about sneaking with Drake Maye — before referring to it as “a defensive response.” Mayo told WEEI that “Just like I tell the players, I’m still learning how those things work.” Never a bad time to learn, coach. The state of the Patriots roster is such that it’s hard to really hold Mayo’s feet to the fire for a terrible opening season, but he sure hasn’t gotten much from the roster and the defense has collapsed without Bill Belichick. It wouldn’t be unprecedented to fire a first-year head coach who struggled like this, but Kraft has had Mayo as the coach-in-waiting long enough that it would certainly be surprising.

Yeah its hard to put all this on Mayo although protocols and history dictate that's where the blame should fall. He was dealt a shitty hand for sure and you can sugar coat shit but it's still shit. I did not like AVP pick, and well a QB sneak makes sense there may be a reason it was not called. But AVP is making the calls and our RZ offense has sucked all year, that I put on him. I can see Wolfe cutting AVP and Covington and I have no issues with that.

 

[nefansince75]

The Athletic’s Diana Russini reports Patriots owner Robert Kraft has told associates that Jerod Mayo “will be back for another season.”
Mayo managed to step in some hot water with the press by seeming to throw Alex Van Pelt under the bus on a goal-line play call this week — saying “you said it, I didn’t” about sneaking with Drake Maye — before referring to it as “a defensive response.” Mayo told WEEI that “Just like I tell the players, I’m still learning how those things work.” Never a bad time to learn, coach. The state of the Patriots roster is such that it’s hard to really hold Mayo’s feet to the fire for a terrible opening season, but he sure hasn’t gotten much from the roster and the defense has collapsed without Bill Belichick. It wouldn’t be unprecedented to fire a first-year head coach who struggled like this, but Kraft has had Mayo as the coach-in-waiting long enough that it would certainly be surprising.

Yeah its hard to put all this on Mayo although protocols and history dictate that's where the blame should fall. He was dealt a shitty hand for sure and you can sugar coat shit but it's still shit. I did not like AVP pick, and well a QB sneak makes sense there may be a reason it was not called. But AVP is making the calls and our RZ offense has sucked all year, that I put on him. I can see Wolfe cutting AVP and Covington and I have no issues with that.

I usually don't find placing blame to be productive, but whoever had final say on that call really failed and failed in several ways. Amongst them were calling a play that clearly was relying on the team's weakest link. Why would anyone do that?

Lowe whiffed on his block. If he simply engages and loses the play still works. But why trust him to begin with?

 

[BigKen]

Everyone wants to blame someone.

The blame starts with Bill Belichick. He put the majority of the pieces in place. Mayo and Wolfe didn't have an entire yar to sort out everything so they took most of BB's pieces along for the 2024 ride.

AVP is trying to work in a completely new offensive system and he's trying to do it with guys that couldn't figure out the last one. Age, ineptness and just below average skills in the offensive line are the basis for every offensive problem. The OL is the sme for the first time this season. It's not great, but it finally seems to be starting to figure out what it's supposed to be doing. I want to see how it performs in Buffalo this week before I give out any applause.

Suddenly, the defense is looking like it had one too many jack Daniels before taking the field last week. Poor tackling, missed tackles, bad angles and horrible defensive calls by Covington. When an opponent has a third and seventeen a defense can't give up twenty three. Maybe they are hoping to just get cut so they can go elsewhere.

It's frustrating but I'd like to see if AVP can get the offense to buy into his plan. I'd also like to see him get more trust in Maye.

 

[Southieinnc]

The arm length number might be the most critical number for an OL to come out of the combine. No one cares at on how fast they run or how far they can jump. Yes there are minimum numbers you need them to hit but anything less than 33" arms and you are designated as an interior OL anymore.

My minimum for OT is 34" Anything less than that is Isaiah Wynn, in the long run.....

 

[cdumler7]

My minimum for OT is 34" Anything less than that is Isaiah Wynn, in the long run.....

I know of at least 5-6 teams that 34" is the minimum before they will even consider putting you on their board.

 

[BigKen]

I'm 6'2" and my arms are unusually long.....38". Try buying a shirt without an 18-1/2" neck for arms as long as mine. Even then, it's brutal. I've had to roll up sleeves my entire life because I couldn't button a sleeve..

That being said, anyone 6'4" to 6'8" with 32"-34" arms will be at a distinct disadvantage.

 

[Southieinnc]

I'm 6'2" and my arms are unusually long.....38". Try buying a shirt without an 18-1/2" neck for arms as long as mine. Even then, it's brutal. I've had to roll up sleeves my entire life because I couldn't button a sleeve..

That being said, anyone 6'4" to 6'8" with 32"-34" arms will be at a distinct disadvantage.

 

[YankeeRebel]

And Beyond? Will the team pay to keep Gonzo or let him walk? That's gonna be a huge number.