New
England Patriots
2018 Record: (11-5) 1st AFC East
2018 Season Recap:
Offense
Points: 27.2 (4th)
Yards: 393.4 (5th)
Pass Yards: 266.1 (8th)
Rush Yards: 127.3 (5th)
Defense
Points: 20.3 (7th)
Yards: 359.1 (21st)
Pass Yards: 246.4 (22nd)
Rush Yards: 112.7 (11th)
While the Patriots didn’t overwhelm in the winning
column this year compared to previous campaigns, they still managed
to win the division with an 11-5 record while scoring the 4th most
points offensively this season.
The Patriots offense was viewed as a lesser product in
2018 due in part to the explosive nature of the Chiefs, Rams, and Saints. In
their own right, New England was quite dominant offensively holding the 5th overall
ranking in the NFL without great flash. Emphasis on the run game has been the
guiding principle for this Patriots edition as the offense tended to lead with
plays on the ground.
Sony Michel and James White formed a dynamic duo that
complements each other perfectly, leaving Brady more opportunities to exploit
the play action pass. The Patriots were a mere 500 rushing yards short from
holding the top spot in the league on the ground, don’t kid yourself, this team
knew how to run the ball effectively.
From a statistical standpoint, teams who run the ball
with this much success normally comes at the expense of their pass attack. New
England’s offensive unit was able to lead the way running the ball while
racking up solid numbers in the pass game. Even as the Pats rushed for over
2000 yards this season, Brady was able to muster a very healthy 4200+ yards
passing, good enough for 8th overall in the league. This
balanced approach allowed Bill Belichick & Josh McDaniels to be
multifaceted creating mismatches all over the field.
Over the course of the 2018 regular season, the
Patriot defense has shown both positives and negatives with inconsistent
performances, untimely dropping their overall outlook to hold the 21st rank
in overall defense.
Even as New England seemed to hemorrhage yards to the
opposition, their bend but don’t break persona remained true in giving up the 7th best
in points against average to 20.3 per game. Leading into the post season,
Belichick seemed to have this group reinvigorated as the overall level of
execution seemed to rise as well.
The Patriots continued their domination in the post season
ultimately taking their talents back to the Super Bowl, and this time, winning
it once again. No matter how this team is constructed, the Patriots just manage
to adjust what they are as a team while exploiting the opposition. Shutting
down the Rams high-octane offense was a glorious feat in itself.
To the jubilation of all Patriots staff and all their
fans, they are once again SUPER BOWL
CHAMPIONS!
2019
Offseason WorkBook:
The
Coaching Staff
While the constant remains the fixture of this organization,
Bill Belichick will once again return to spearhead this franchise continuing to
re-write the history books.
Like in years past, winning ways will surly promote other
teams to be interested and pilfer coaching talent who cut their teeth under the
greatest head coach in NFL history. This year was no different as both Josh
McDaniels and Brian Flores both received interviews with other teams.
While McDaniels chose to remain as the sidekick to
Belichick, Flores found good fortune and accepted an offer from the Miami
Dolphins to attempt to correct that sinking ship. As most new head coaches do,
Flores assembled his coaching staff to include a numbers of Patriots leaving
Bill to reconstruct his staff.
With many specialty coaching hires made and perhaps more
still to come, the most important for Belichick was replacing his defensive
coordinator. Hiring Greg Schiano who has received most of his experience from
the college ranks to take over the role of defensive coordinator was announced
shortly after Flores left.
Regardless of who attaches to Belichick, the mantra
will remain dictated by perfection.
The
Offense
Obviously the Patriots success starts and stops with the
great Tom Brady and he has provided no indication of hanging up the cleats any
times soon. Perhaps the time has come for the Patriots to draft the heir to the
throne, while providing the necessary tutelage to groom another talent. As long
as Brady is the starting pivot, the Patriots offense will soar.
When we review the running back situation in New
England, all other 31 NFL teams should be health checked for allowing the
Patriots to obtain a talent like Sony Michel. Like hitting the jackpot in the
state lottery, New England landed a truly dynamic runner who proved his worth
in his rookie season. Along with James White continuing to prove his doubters
wrong, piling up a career season in the process, the cast lined up behind Brady
are an extremely sound tandem.
The receiving core for the Pats has always been rather
fluid, as it appears Belichick can bring in any talent that is conducive to his
systems, and Tom Brady will make them a house hold name. This year will see a
great deal of changeover as the majority of this crew will be vying for new
contracts. At this point, Julian Edelman will be the only returning pass catcher
from last year group.
Speculation rose quick after the super bowl regarding
the future of the Pats future hall of famer Rob Gronkowski. Floating the option
of retirement yet again after the big game, final word has yet to be
determined. Gronk did look like a shell of his former self this past season
looking beaten and battered from the physical punishment he continues to
endure. While winning the super bowl could entice him to return, anything is a
possibility.
The
Defense
Looking back and reviewing this defensive line, it was
clear that outside of Trey Flowers, many shortcomings followed this group. As a
whole they were quite sound in stopping the run, but generating sacks of the opposing
quarterback was an exercise in futility. Managing a meek 30 total take-downs this past season, and seeing Flower poised to hit the open market, this will be
a top priority to retool.
When reviewing this line backing core over what was
accomplished this past season, it was clear that this group was vastly
important to the Patriots success. While statistical achievements didn’t jump
off the paper, the shear brilliance in how they handled the middle of the
field, especially in the postseason shows how good they are. Kyle Van Noy
lifted his game this past season, while Don’t’a Hightower seemed to have taken
a slight step backward. Nevertheless, adding more depth to this group should
transpire to create those key mismatches while aiding in pass defense.
The team’s secondary was a group that on paper looked
to be an absolute star with the McCourty brothers providing their assistance to
shutdown man Stephon Gilmore. Surprisingly enough with the talent this group
possessed, they were rather pedestrian in terms of how much yards they allowed.
This group became more of a bend but don’t break unit as they did house a top
ten ranking in points surrendered. With the amount of picks Belichick has at
his disposal this year, we definitely see additions to this group with rookie
talent.
Team
Free Agents / Team Salary Cap
Winning super bowls while maintaining a great level of
flexibility under the cap is like a balancing act the Patriots have excelled
at.
As of today, New England holds a decent 20 million
(+$20,463,221) against the cap and houses a slew of talent to consider
resigning. Having 25 players in need of new deals, the most notable names on
this list are Stephen Gostkowski, Cordarrelle Patterson, Chris Hogan, Jason
McCourty, and Trey Flowers. A few others also warrant consideration, but given
the limited amount of room under the cap, New England would be hard pressed to
resign anyone outside of their kicker at this point.
With the prospects to cut expensive talent from the
roster, Bill Belichick has a multitude of options to add funds to the books.
Starting with Devin McCourty who holds a whopping 13.4 million or 7.02% of the
Patriots cap, he could be cut while only giving the club a mere 3.9 million
heading to dead funds.
Seeing Rob Gronkowski retire wouldn’t be the worst
thing according to the financials, as Gronk would produce an additional 11.9
million to the Patriots cap leaving them in a great spot in terms of extra
funds. With that still uncertain, Adrian Clayborn is another player that could produce
nearly 6 million in new money with a small 2 million heading to the dead cap.
If the Patriots require more funds to help the
transition this season, it can be generate by getting creative.
The
NFL Draft
It’s become evidently clear to us that New England has
become masters at working the draft process in order to re-stack this team and continue
their winning ways. Finding the league loophole to generate compensatory draft
pick compensation for players whom leave in free agency is the primary
objective.
Year after year, we all make claims to not understand
how the Patriots can continue to be a force yet not paying their star talent. Allowing
players to walk free to the open market has given New England a plethora of
draft capital to which they have turned into higher end talent, and the cycle
just continues.
This year, the Patriots were awarded high-end draft compensation
to bolster their selection base to the tune of 11 picks in this year’s draft. Holding
an extra 2nd round, two extra 3rd round and two more 7th
round picks, New England will have no issue dictating how the board operates
come draft day.
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