Looking at the Patriots 2023

Last edited:
That is a really fucking good story. Thank you for posting it.
When you read Belichicks quote, it really is quite a statement to make.

If and when Slater does, a future first-ballot Hall of Famer who’s coached the game’s greatest offensive and defensive players will likely have a say.
“Certainly Matt Slater will go up there, in the kicking game, with (Tom) Brady on offense and (Lawrence) Taylor on defense,” Belichick said in March 2022.
 
This is a really great article on Matt Slater. It's long but well worth it to see how revered he is don't just in NE but in the league. I always felt we were so lucky to have him.


Excellent article on a guy who knows what being the best you can be truly means. He should be a 1st ballot guy without hesitation. No one's ever done it better.

The best before Slater, former Bill Steve Tasker, knows better than most. He did it all on kicks. Covering. Tackling. Rushing. Blocking. Tasker’s seen Slater do the same. And though he played in a less-regulated time in the game’s violent history, Tasker immensely appreciates Slater’s toughness.

“The game’s rough, man,” said Tasker, laughing. “I know (about) player safety and all that. People whine about being soft and all that; that’s bull****. It’s hard to play.

“You’ve got to chase kicks, and you’ve got to protect for kicks. You’ve got to catch the ball, play the ball, play off blocks, you’ve got to block. I mean, you’ve got to do everything on both sides of the ball, hard, at a high level, covering a lot of ground. So you’ve got to be fast; you’ve got to have an incredible amount of balance, strength (and) tenacity. I mean, it all comes together.”

Last May, The Athletic’s Dan Pompei detailed Slater’s meticulousness in staying fit for a young man’s role in a young man’s game. Long days at Gillette Stadium. Evening yoga after family time. Late-night walks through the neighborhood. The latter to reduce inflammation. And a diet that’s seemingly less appealing than the TB12 menu.

“Ninety percent of what he eats, he doesn’t like,” Pompei wrote.

I remember going to training camp one hot summer day his rookie year and watching him field punts for punt returns.
Slater took 4 punts and muffed 3 of them. I didn't think he would make it through training camp. What a great story.
 
The more I've looked at this season, the more I've thought it will come down to one major issue: the emergence of 1-2 pass catchers, presumably among Thornton, Bourne, Strong, Robinson, or one of the rookie WRs. JuJu, Parker, Gesicki, Henry can be enough if you have a speed back, a speedster, and/or dynamic playmaker to stretch the defense another way and split their focus. I think this would especially help JuJu and Gesicki.

Ideally a big jump from Thornton and Strong, with Robinson being healthy and at least effective enough to spell Mondre without losing too much production.
 
The offense will be average. Hopefully closer to 10th than 20th. I’ve said this a million times, and don’t mean it in a bad way, but Mac Jones is average. He’s a starter, and he’s gonna have a career in the NFL, but so does Andy Dalton. This is this first offseason I’ve loved personnel move wise by the pats in a long long time, so I don’t want to sound negative. But there was a huge hole to dig out from.
The defense is going to be the engine of of this team, and Bill snagging the top corner in the draft was his first great personal move since doubling up in Hightower and Jones over a decade ago.
I think the record this upcoming season is going to be similar to last year, but we will feel much better about it. It’s a tough schedule. Last year the team was worse than what the record said. They were. This year I think the team will be better than what their record says.
This offseason has been everything I’ve hoped for. That says it’s gonna take two more offseasons like this before they are contenders again.
I can be patient if they continue to make good moves.
 
The offense will be average. Hopefully closer to 10th than 20th. I’ve said this a million times, and don’t mean it in a bad way, but Mac Jones is average. He’s a starter, and he’s gonna have a career in the NFL, but so does Andy Dalton. This is this first offseason I’ve loved personnel move wise by the pats in a long long time, so I don’t want to sound negative. But there was a huge hole to dig out from.
The defense is going to be the engine of of this team, and Bill snagging the top corner in the draft was his first great personal move since doubling up in Hightower and Jones over a decade ago.
I think the record this upcoming season is going to be similar to last year, but we will feel much better about it. It’s a tough schedule. Last year the team was worse than what the record said. They were. This year I think the team will be better than what their record says.
This offseason has been everything I’ve hoped for. That says it’s gonna take two more offseasons like this before they are contenders again.
I can be patient if they continue to make good moves.
Mac Jones can absolutely be Drew Brees. Most likely outcome is about halfway between Brees and Pennington.
 
Mac Jones can absolutely be Drew Brees. Most likely outcome is about halfway between Brees and Pennington.

Personally, I love that Mac is being discounted now because of the Patriots' struggles on offense last year. Being under the radar provides the right environment to focus on incremental improvements without distractions for every player and coach. I also like that the entire org is committed to keeping everything top secret. Focus, learn, practice, repeat - all with a clear goal and a clear mind.

Situation is everything and his situation this year is light years ahead of last year. I'm not ready to sell him short by giving him a ceiling somewhere below Drew Brees.
I don't know his ceiling but I know we should have a lot better idea about his potential ceiling sometime during this season. We'll find out soon enough.
 

Patriots: Overlooked but not forgotten​

There's a lot to like about how the Pats have built their defensive line, but I thought the addition of Georgia Tech star Keion White - in the second round, mind you - was perfect. He's a rare athlete on the edge, checking in at a lean 6-foot-5, 285 pounds, with a sub-4.8-second 40. White should have a huge impact on New England's defensive line right away.

Combine him with linebackers Josh Uche (11.5 sacks) and Matthew Judon (15.5 sacks), rising star Christian Barmore (a 2021 second-rounder and All-Rookie selection out of Alabama), Deatrich Wise Jr. (7.5 sacks), and Davon Godchaux (who signed a two-year, $20.8-million extension last offseason), and New England's first two levels will create all sorts of problems.

cropped_GettyImages-1236766976.jpg
Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / Getty
Further: Think about the QBs they'll face in this division - Tua, Allen, and now Aaron Rodgers - and you can argue that nothing is more important for this defense.

My favorite White stat is his pass-rush win rate of 19.6% in 2023, per PFF. That's the exact same number as Alabama's two-time Nagurski winner and two-time SEC Defensive Player of the Year, Will Anderson Jr., who went third in the draft to the Texans.

A powerful combination of size, length, and quickness, White has the temperament of the quintessential Patriot; he's not flashy, nor does he say a whole lot. Not only was he overlooked in the draft, but the North Carolina native received scant interest as a two-star prep recruit before playing two seasons at tight end (he redshirted as a freshman) for FCS Old Dominion, ultimately making the switch to defense and amassing 19 tackles for a loss as a redshirt sophomore.

Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft may have hit the draft lottery once again.

 
Back
Top