Hey Everybody,
As most of you know, I was born and raised in the Boston area and therefore I am bound to be a fan of the Boston sports teams for all eternity. For some it sounds like it would be easy to root for teams who all have had so much success in the past years, respectively. However that is not the case recently.
Being a Boston sports fan this week has sucked, to put it lightly. First the Bruins lost in game 6 by giving up two goals in 17 seconds, then Doc Rivers bolted for Los Angeles, and of course the Aaron Hernandez debacle.
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| Thanks for the Memories, Doc. |
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| Patrice=Warrior |
Let's start off with what seems to be the number one issue in the news over the past 2 weeks or so, Aaron Hernandez. I have been following this situation since it was reported that there was a body found near Hernandez's home almost 2 weeks ago. I don't think I'm alone when I say that watching the whole situation unfold in front of our very eyes has been enticing to watch, yet so agonizing knowing this guy is so young and has so much damn talent on the gridiron.
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| AHH Shit I forgot about that! |
When this story first broke, we didn't really know all that much about Hernandez's past.
However, now everything is starting to come to the surface: his friends with gang associations, past crimes (he shot a dude in the face, how did we not hear about this? BREAKING: Just got a notification he is being investigated in a double shooting in Boston, guess things can get worse for him) and his tough upbringing in Bristol, Connecticut where his father died when he was 16, which affected him deeply.
I guess once the media gets their hands on a story, or a man (figuratively) they won't stop until every little drop of juice is squeezed out of it for the public to quench their unsatisfiable thirst for drama, particularly among those few who are deemed "celebrities" such as Aaron Hernandez.
Along from the fact that Hernandez was just charged with first degree murder along with 5 other charges, the Patriots released him swiftly after he was arrested. From a football perspective, that is not exactly helping the Patriots.
With Gronk coming off four forearm surgeries and a back surgery in the offseason, I'm not expecting him to be start the season which is pretty much the general consensus I'm hearing from a lot of people who know a lot more than I do. Hopefully Gronk can come back in good shape and help this offense out ASAP.
With that being said, the New England Patriots will be playing football this year, with or without Gronk and Hernandez.
So what does this mean for the Patriots?
No Welker, Gronk or Hernandez, not to mention Brandon Lloyd and Danny Woodhead are gone too... Well, we still have some hope in Foxborough ladies and gents because Tom Brady is still the quarterback and Bill Belicheck is the master of puppets controlling things. With those two at the helm, I wouldn't count the Patriots out just yet.
The big question most fans have is who will Tom Terrific throw the ball to?
The fact is that Tom Brady can make anyone a Pro Bowl receiver because that's just how good he is. While the Patriots appear to lack weapons, ask yourself when has that ever stopped them before? In 2001, our best receivers were Troy Brown and David Patten. In 2003 and 2004, Deion Branch, Kevin Faulk and David Givens were the main receivers of Brady's passes.
First and foremost, for our offense to be successful this season Danny Amendola must be productive and stay healthy, a problem that has nagged him his whole career. That applies to Julian Edelman as well, who I believe will have a career season this year filling the role of Wes Welker. Donald Jones and Michael Jenkins will also play key roles in the receiving corps this season. Look for Aaron Dobson, the rookie out of Marshall to step up and make some plays.
What also needs to happen in order for this team to make a run in the playoffs is a change of attitude going into every game. There must be a certain physicality and toughness on both sides of the ball for this team to win the Super Bowl. No longer are the days of the high flying, throw the ball around, finesse Patriots team. This team must come into each game wanting to physically dominate and destroy their respective opponent.
The running game has to continue to build on what they produced from last year, where they were 7th in the league in rushing. With Stevan Ridley, Shane Vereen, Leon Washington, Branden Bolden and Lagarette Blount, (solid pick up that flew under the radar) in the backfield I have faith that they can take the pressure off Tom Brady to win games.
The defense must to continue and improve as a unit from last season, where they ranked 29th in opponents passing YPG and 9th in opponents rushing YPG. What this defense thrives on is forcing turnovers as shown by their 20 INTs and 32 forced fumbles during the season. The acquisition of Aqib Talib had a great impact for them down the stretch of the season and the unit clearly improved when he was on the field, and I believe it cost them the AFC Championship game against Baltimore when he went down with a hamstring injury in the first quarter. To have that kind of defender that is able to man up on the number one receiver is huge for this defense because it allows the pass rush time to create pressure on the quarterback; part of the reason the Patriots forced so many turnovers last season was in part because of the addition of Talib and the flexibility he allows Belicheck with respect to play-calling.
Also, notice all the off season drama that has surrounded the Patriots has been on the offensive side of the ball. On the low, the defense has quietly been improving this off season with most the attention on the offense. There is a whole lot of young talent to be excited about in that unit, and I'm anxious to see what Belicheck and his staff has up their cut off sleeves.
Interesting tidbit, out of the 38 defensive players on the roster right now only five players are 30 years or older, Adrian Wilson, Steven Gregory, Vince Wilfork, and new comer Tommy Kelly. So the good news is our defense appears to be pretty set for a while.
Patriots fans, it's OK... Breath, relax... Inhale... exhale...
Repeat after me: The Patriots will be OK.
Admittedly, I have had my doubts about the Pat's in the past before, but have no fear, Belicheck is here. The truth is as long as Belicheck is coach and Tom Brady is the quarterback, we have a pretty good chance to win at least 10 games, make the playoffs, and make a run at the Lombardi.
What has to change for the Patriots is their style of play. We can't put every game on Tom Brady's right arm anymore, that won't work now. He's 35 years old, and not getting any younger, and he doesn't have Randy Moss walking through that door anymore. We need to give it to Stevan Ridley, establish the run game, play some power, smash mouth football, control the clock and keep our defense off the field, and let Brady throw the ball when he feels necessary.
To go back to my original point, it's a terrible situation for the families of Odin Lloyd and Aaron Hernandez, and I send my prayers to both families. Aaron Hernandez was a hell of a player with a lot of talent and probably could have been a special player in this league had he stayed healthy and out of trouble, but he didn't and that's why the Patriots cut ties with him. They don't need anyone, especially arrogant thugs like Hernandez. Everyone in that organization and locker room is a part of this well-oiled machine that has been running beautifully, for the most part, for the better part of this century. They will win games (enough to make the playoffs? YES) and they'll also lose games, and they'll recover from those losses and move on. That's what the Patriots do: they move on, like that girlfriend you wish you never let go. This team has shown to be resilient in the past, and I expect no less from them this season.
Thanks for reading,
-RB
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