Open Rants by YvnggLxnkk

Coaching Staff:

HC/DC - Bill Belichick

OC - Josh McDaniels

The Subtractions:

HB Dion Lewis, WR Brandin Cooks, WR Danny Amendola, WR Bernard Reedy, TE Martellus Bennett, OT Nate Solder, OT Cameron Fleming, DT Alan Branch, DT Ricky Jean-Francois, OLB Trevor Reilly, OLB James Harrison, MLB David Harris, CB Malcolm Butler, CB Johnson Bademosi

The Additions:

HB Jeremy Hill, WR Jordan Matthews, WR Cordarrelle Patterson, TE Troy Niklas, TE Will Tye, OT Trent Brown, DE Adrian Clayborn, DT Danny Shelton, CB Jason McCourty

The Draft:

Round 1 Pick 23 

Isaiah Wynn OT/OG Georgia

Grade: B-

Wynn played Left Tackle with The Bulldogs last season but for The NFL he’ll likely make the move to Guard. He has short arms and that will give him problems on the edge. Not every team had Wynn as a 1st Round prospect but this isnt a crazy reach or anything. He’ll battle to unseat the inconsistent Joe Thuney at Left Guard.

Round 1 Pick 31

Sony Michel HB Georgia

Grade: A

New England takes Georgia players with both of their 1st Round selections. I like this one more. Michel was the consensus #2 back in this class, and his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield will make him a perfect replacement for Dion Lewis. 

Round 2 Pick 56

Duke Dawson CB Florisa

Grade: C

Egh. There was better Corners available. I expected dawson to go in the next round but its not an awful pick. Cyrus Jones has been a dissapointment while Eric Rowe is in the final year of his contract. New England needed a young slot corner.

Round 5 Pick 143

Ja’Whaun Bentley OLB Purdue

Grade: F

Ah, a yearly highlight of the draft. Bill Belichick taking his ramdom guys. I’ve never heard of Bentley and didnt see him on any anybody’s draft radar so this doesnt seem too logical.

Round 6 Pick 178

Christian Sam MLB Arizona State

Grade: B

Sam is extremely raw but he has potential. With a guy like Bill Belichick coaching him up, he might be able to tap into it.

Round 6 Pick 210

Braxton Berrios WR Miami

Grade:A

As a diehard U fan, I love this pick. Berrios is a clutch receiver whose very tough. He certainly has what it takes to be next in a long line of productive Pats slot receivers.

Round 7 Pick 219

Danny Etling QB LSU

Grade:D

Etling wasnt even good in college and I did not think he’d be drafted. Belichick has an eye for talent so maybe he thinks he’s got a sleeper. Maybe learning from Tom Brady will help him become a better pro than prep.

Round 7 Pick 243

Keion Crossen CB Western Carolina

Grade:C

Another player i’ve never heard of. It’s the final round now though, so it’s not that big of a deal. Besides, in a couple years this kid will probably be the next Malcolm Butler.

Round 7 Pick 250

Ryan Izzo TE Florida State

Grade:B

Izzo is a sound blocker with some upside so I like this late round selection. A long term project for sure, but why not ? It’s the last round.

Overall Grade: C+

The Offense:

It’s a shame Tom Brady’s defense let him down in The Super Bowl. Somehow despite how old he’s getting, the guy doesn’t look close to slowing down. He took home MVP last season and led his team back to the big game where he put on a classic performance. Brady finished the night 28/48 for 505 yds and 3 TDs. It wasn’t enough however, as The Pats defense was abused by Nick Foles and The Eagles offense. Brady actially didn’t commit to playing this season until the draft. I think this will likely be the final year for Brady, so enjoy it why you can. The end of an era is coming soon.

Brady wasn’t the only Pariot who waited until draft day to make up his mind about wanting to play. Rob Gronkowski mulled retirement this offseason but decided against it after Brady announced his intentions to play. The injuries are always going to be an issue with Gronk but his dominance on the field is what matters. The man is practically unstoppable, as there’s very few people in the league right now that can cover him 1 on 1. He’s been a big part of Brady’s success, as the go to guy when a big play is needed. Dwyane Allen was expectd to join Gronk in the two TE set but he struggled with the offense and caught only 10 passes. Martellus Bennet’s return was it for him. He’ll get another chance but wil have to earn his spot. Will Tye, Troy Niklas, and Jacob Hollister are all fighting for reps. 

Brady had to have been excited to get his favorite target back after Julian Edelman missed all of 2017. However, it looks like his absence is going to be prolonged due to a 4 game PED suspension. Danny Amendola is gone after striking a deal with Miami so in his absence Brady will have Chris Hogan and Free Agent pickup Jordan Matthews at his disposal. Hogan may not rack up the receptions like Edelman but he runs terrific routes to get open in space and make stuff happen after the catch. Matthews is an intellgent Wideout and should be a nice fit in New England. Things are crowded after that. Philip Dorsett, and Kenny Britt return from last season, but neither was impressive. Malcolm Mitchell is a Belichick favorite who established a role for himself in the offense as a rookie two years ago, but missed 2017 due to injury. Cordarrelle Patterson was added via a trade with Oakland but it’s unknown if Belichick even plans on using him much offensively.

There will be one familiar face missing when camp opens up, as longtime Left Tackle Nate Solder signed with The Giants this offseason. New England made a nice draft day trade to aquire Trent Brown who Von Miller once called “The best Right Tackle in the league”. He’ll stay stationed on that side so more than likely, Marcus Cannon will be protecting the blindside. He’s primarily a Right Tackle but has played well on the Left when called upon in the past. New England used both their 1st Round Picks on Georgia Bulldogs, the first being Isaiah Wynn. While the morons on ESPN acted like Wynn would be replacing Solder, he’s actially going to battle Joe Thuney for the Left Guard job. The winner will start across from Shaq Mason, one of the NFL’s most athletic lineman. Sandwiched between will be David Andrews whose been solid the past two seasons.

The other pick The Pats made was Running Back Sony Michel. It’s unclear if Michel is going to see the field much as a rookie, because the backfield is crowded like the receving core. James White and Rex Burkhead remain the primary options, neither one is a great runner on the ground but The Pats use the short passing game to get them involved as a substitute for a rushing attack. Mike Gillislee ended up in Belichick’s dog house, not seeing the field hardly at all due to fumbling. If he wants to stick he’ll have to beat out former Bengal Jeremy Hill. Hill was once recognized as one of the best young and upcoming backs in The NFL but he’s struggled mightily in recent years. He is still young though, and New England has a great coaching staff to help him re-discover the magic. This signing actually reminds me of the LeGarrette Blount deal, and that worked out well for them.

The Defense:

As I mentioned, Brady’s defense completely let him down in The Super Bowl. Belichick’s decision to sit Malcolm Butler for the entire game also didn’t help matters. Butler is a physical lockdown corner and would have been a difference maker. Butler is obvioisly gone, having worn out his welcome with Belichick, signing with Tennesse along with fellow former Patriot teammate Dion Lewis. His replacement will be Jason McCourty who will be playing alongside his brother Devin, one of the leaders of the team. He’s played well for some terrible Cleveland teams the past two seasons, and while he’s no Butler, he’ll be solid. Stephon Gilmore got off to a slow start last year after joining the team via Free Agency, getting torched like no tommorow. He got it together though, and played brilliantly down the stretch. It’s unlikely he’ll ever break out and become that true lockdown guy many expected him to be after his excellent rookie season, but he’s a a number one Corner. Depth is strong here as well. Jonathan Jones came out of nowhere in 2017 and wound up The Pats top reserve DB. Eric Rowe is hoping to bounce back in his contract year and rookie Duke Dawson also figures to be in the mix. Devin McCourty has always been the better player out of him and his twin brother, putting together a great career and still going strong as he enters his 9th season. His running mate Patrick Chung looked like he was slowing down at times in 2017 so if he shows major regression expect talented 3rd Safety Duron Harmon to be promoted.

The main reason New England lost to The Eagles was the complete lack of pressure Nick Foles faced. He was comfortable in the pocket all night delivering key throw after key throw. And that was without Jason Peters ! This issue obviously needed to be fixed so Belichick made some moves. First he signed Adriam Clayborn to start across from the young and promising Trey Flowers. Clayborn was a dissapointment as a 1st Round Pick for Tampa Bay but was able to at least establish himself as a good run stuffer with Atlanta. He even posted a career high 9.5 sacks a year ago, but 6 of those came in one game as he abused anemic Tackle Chaz Green and made life hell for Dak Prescott. With a great coaching staff now around him perhaps Clayborn can be the next Belichick reclamation project. Deatrich Wise Jr. did a nice job provinding depth as a rookie in 2017. The other big addition was trading for Danny Shelton who will start next to the solid Malcolm Brown in the interior. Shelton has alot of potential and now that he’s in a winning enviroment perhaps he’ll reach his peak. Lawrence Guy is still around and will provide some very key depth along with Vincent Valentine who made some noise as a rookie in 2016 but missed last season due to injury.

Dont’a Hightower only played in 5 games in 2017, the first year of his big 4 year extension. They’ll be depending on him to stay healthy in 2018 as Marquis Flowers starting isn’t very ideal. Opposite him will once again be Kyle Van Noy who was traded to New England following a dissapointing start to his career with The Lions but stepped up his game when called upon to start last year. The weak link of the unit is Middle Linebacker Elandon Roberts whose been a big dissapointment as the replacement for Jamie Collins. He did play a bit better down the stretch in 2017 so maybe thats a sign of things to come.

The Special Teams:

Some though Stephen Gostkowski was regressing after missing alot more kicks than usual in 2016. He made all his starters look dumb last season hitting 37 of his 40 tries. Ryan Allen is just an average punter. His 43.4 NET average was down from his 2016 total. He had improved the figure every season before that.

Belichick has always mixed things up week after week in the return game but the trade for Cordarrelle Patterson changes things. He’s one of the most dangerous return men in the game and is looking to bounce back after failing to bring one to the house last season and only averaging 28.3 YPR after posting totals over 31 the two seasons prior.

The Conclusion:

Is there a team in the AFC that can end New England’s dominance ? This will likely be Tom Brady’s farewell tour and we all know what he does when he’s motivated. After last season’s heartbreaking SB loss, the desire for a 6th ring has to be eating Brady alive and I expect for him to take it out on the rest of the league. They’ll cruise through the regular season and make a laughingstock out of this pathetic division. Then we’ll see if somebody can past them come playoff time.

The Prediction:

14-2 1st Place AFC East