The 2016 NFL league year starts in just hours now and with it will come a flurry of free agency moves mostly made by the bottom third of the league trying to climb back into relevance. As for the Patriots, things have been pretty quiet thus far in the “legal tampering period.” If the last 15 years tell us anything about Bill Belichick and free agency it’s that this time is used to fill holes with at least temporary fixes, most often with castoffs or under-the-radar types who will either blossom in New England or get beaten out by someone else and end up on the side of the road.
There were only two bits of Pats news on Tuesday, that the team had picked up Alan Branch‘s option while also trying to actively retain Akiem Hicks. Reports were that Hicks had as many as 10 other suitors, giving the impression that he’d likely get a more lucrative offer elsewhere.
It seemed like Hicks and Branch were very much connected as they’d be competing for a similar if not the same exact role — starting next to Malcom Brown on the interior. Hicks is younger and has a higher ceiling, but Branch had an excellent year in New England in 2015 and should be expected to do the same in 2016 now that he’s on board. It would still be great to land Hicks as well, but this is a deep year in the draft for defensive tackles so the Pats should ultimately be okay.
And honestly, I thought Hicks was good last year, but the majority opinion now seems to be that he was great. Integral even? I don’t know. He had 1 solo tackle in the playoffs. No sacks. I mean, I get it, he’s 26 has great size and is good against the pass and run. But he’s still not as good as Malcom Brown was as a rookie so all this buzz is just for DT #2 and with Easley back (and hopefully putting together his first healthy season) the pass rushing DT role isn’t empty either. So yeah, they’ll be fine if he walks. And if they keep him, it could make Branch expendable if he comes to camp out of shape, which is always possible.
So that’s all we get on the eve of Free Agency, and really, it shouldn’t be all that surprising. This is what the Patriots do. Play it cool and under the radar, until all of sudden… SPLASH.
I think the Pats should add a running back, wide receiver and middle linebacker as priorities in free agency. Matt Forte seems to be more and more a pipe dream the more I think about him, and I just don’t see an ideal X-WR to replace Brandon LaFell. At MLB I think they could look at a veteran and preserve him in a two-down run-stopping role.
Put it this way, they must get better at those positions, and expecting a rookie who won’t come until 60th overall to step in and start at those spots is foolish. At the very least they’ll put a vet in those positions and make the rookie win the role.
Things will get interesting quickly tomorrow, and nowhere will that be more true that here on the blog where I’m relaunching the Prop Shop with a collection of t-shirts I hope you all like. Let the 2016 journey begin!
The painful place to start with Manning are the six times he beat the Patriots, the most painful of which were the 2006, 2013 and 2015 AFC Championships. Then there’s the most infamous regular season loss of Belichick’s reign, the 4th-and-2 game. Of those, the 2006 AFC Championship and the 4th-and-2 game stand out the most.
The AFC just won’t be the same without Peyton Manning. No matter how he looked at the end of last season, just knowing that the Patriots won’t have to face him and all the storylines and attention the game would receive is both exciting and sad. Exciting because it’s one less thing to worry about on the way to the Super Bowl, but sad because we’ll never see two of the great QBs to ever play the game face off again.