Jason Pombo

After a slew of opt-outs, and a slew of free agent departures, the Patriots are entering 2020 searching for a new identity. Losing Tom Brady was going to be a challenge in itself, but losing key contributors on defense like Dont’a Hightower and Pat Chung on such short notice really hurts this Patriots team. With the season opener slowly approaching Bill Belichick will need to figure out how to minimize all of these losses on both sides of the ball. The Next Man Up mentality needs to be as evident as ever.

Even with the Patriots going through a plethora of changes, many in the betting industry still have faith in Bill Belichick. It is still a few weeks until the season starts but it’s not too early to start looking at some of the Week 1 NFL odds out there. First game of the season is going to be an easy one of the Patriots as they’re listed as 7-point favorites against Miami.

A lot can change between now and then, but a successful season for the Patriots will likely come down to a variety of factors. In particular, the leadership void in the Patriots’ locker room certainly is a question mark. But, with everyone talking about how the Patriots will cope with their personnel losses, they are getting a key player on their offensive line.

David Andrews missed the entire 2019 season due to blood clots in his lungs. Last August was a scary time for the 28-year-old Andrews, but he has made his way all the way to the field. Returning from blood clots in the lungs is already a mountain of a challenge. But, returning during a pandemic would seem virtually impossible. David Andrews isn’t just going to attempt a comeback in 2020, he’s chomping at the bit to get back there. After meeting with the media last week on zoom, there is little to no doubt that David Andrews will be ready to go, week 1:

“It’s just something I feel comfortable with, to have the opportunity to go out and play. Talking with doctors and my wife, it’s something we feel comfortable with. I’m just excited to get the chance to go out there and compete again. I’m excited for the opportunity coming up.”

Andrews has been a captain for three consecutive seasons, and really has brought stability to the Patriots’ offensive line. When he was absent for the entire 2019 season, it was obvious how uncomfortable and how out-of-sync the offensive line was.

According to Pro Football Focus, between 2017 and 2018, Andrews had a pass-blocking grade of 84.2. This was the fourth highest among qualifying centers. On top of that, Andrews has also been productive in run-blocking. He was graded out as the sixth highest center for run-blocking with a 79.2. When Andrews is healthy, he’s the best offensive lineman for New England, and it really isn’t close.

Patriots running back Rex Burkhead couldn’t stop raving about Andrews when he was asked about him during yesterday’s zoom session:

“David, he’s an unbelievable player, not only just a player but a captain for this team, a leader for this team, and just what else he brings. He’s a master communicator up front to get everyone in the right position, moving on the same page. And he does it every single day with consistency. He’s a great guy to follow for those young guys in that room to really go to if they have any questions.”

It’s tough to deny how important and how valuable Andrews is to the Patriots. With the Patriots entering the post-Brady era, leadership will be a priority. Andrews will provide that and more for whoever is under center.

The chatter and buzz around David Andrews might not seem like a difference-maker, but it’s almost a guarantee that the interior part of the Patriots’ offensive line improves in 2020.

Bill Belichick’s preparation and his ability to adapt in every situation is what separates him as a coach. Now, more then ever, Belichick will need to adapt on the fly, and work with these unprecedented circumstances. Covid-19 and the pandemic in general has made things difficult in everyday life. Now with constant testing, and new restrictions, how will Bill Belichick look to build this Patriots team in the post-Brady era?

You could argue that this season will be one of the biggest challenges of Bill Belichick’s. Losing Tom Brady, Dont’a Hightower, Pat Chung, Kyle Van Noy, Jamie Collins, and Duron Harmon all in one offseason are a challenge in itself. In a typical season, Belichick would use training camp and the preseason as a competition for positional battles. But, with the preseason being completely eliminated, things just got difficult for the Patriots and the rest of the NFL. The Patriots have question marks at right tackle, tight end, defensive end, linebacker, safety, and even at quarterback.

A traditional NFL season includes four preseason games. These games may do more harm then good when it comes to injuries. But, it allows for coaches to truly evaluate the talent on the back-end of the roster. Finding those hidden gems is something that Bill Belichick has truly mastered, and the preseason is a major reason why. I mean it’s almost every year that Patriots fans get excited about a guy fighting to make the team. Whether that’s Tim Tebow, Austin Carr, or Jakobi Meyers to name a couple.

So, without a preseason how will Belichick evaluate his roster in 2020? How will he replenish the system? Well, he did not seem too concerned about it when he was asked about it last week on his zoom call with the media:

“It will be a little different set up, but that’s what college teams do every year. I think ever since the beginning of college football back in – well, I don’t know about all the way back when Rutgers started in the 1870’s – but that’s the way it’s been. You go to camp for three weeks, then you start the season. There are no preseason games, and you evaluate your team and you get ready to play. I mean, that’s what all college football teams do. So, I don’t think it’s anything that’s revolutionary here. This is just we haven’t done it that way in the National Football League for a while, and I certainly haven’t done it that way. I mean, I haven’t coached in college, but as a college player and growing up around college programs, I can remember those periods of time leading up to the start of the season. Teams had their scrimmages or whatever you want to call them and ways to prepare their team and at the same time evaluate the players. It’s a process that certainly goes into the early part of the season. This is just football, that’s all. I don’t really see it any differently.”

Bill Belichick seems relatively comfortable about playing 2020 without a preseason, and he referenced college football as being one of the main reasons why.

It’s well-documented that Bill Belichick has great relationships with some of college football’s greatest minds. Former head coach of Florida and Ohio State Urban Meyer, Greg Schiano of Rutgers, UCLA’s Chip Kelly, Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly, Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz, and of course Alabama’s Nick Saban all have had a connection to Bill Belichick at some point.

In particular, everyone saw first-hand in HBO’s, Belichick & Saban: The Art of Coaching, how close Belichick and Saban are. Belichick’s respect and admiration for Nick Saban extends more than anyone else in football.

“There’s nobody I respect more in football than Nick Saban. I’ve learned an awful lot from him. We’ve had a lot of great conversations throughout the years.“

It’s time for Bill Belichick to take a page out of Nick Saban’s book. Whether the key to success is more team scrimmages, or more practice reps for bubble guys, Belichick will need to figure out a solution.

I believe that Belichick will come into training camp this summer with a college football mindset. Belichick has never coached college football, but between Saban and others, he should have a pretty good understanding how they evaluate talent.

While the rest of the coaches in the NFL scramble around trying to makeshift their way through this unique training camp, Bill Belichick always seems like he’s ahead of everyone, and this situation feels no different.

For example, you have coaches like Bill O’Brien publicly giving up on his young players due to the lack of a preseason and unorthodox training camp:

“It’s going to be difficult for younger players.”

As always Bill Belichick is ready to adapt and ready to get ahead of the rest of the league.

The key to success might be an old friend…

Over the weekend, Bill Belichick and the Patriots released 10 players, trimming their roster to 80 players. Typically, Belichick would bring in 90 players into training camp, but this training camp will look a little different, for obvious reasons.

On July 24th, the NFL and the NFLPA came to an agreement in which teams had to reduce their rosters to 80 players by August, 16th. However, with training camp rapidly approaching, Bill Belichick wasted no time in reaching that 80 player mark. This might not seem like a big deal, but when it comes to evaluating talent, and finding those hidden gems it makes all the difference in the world. Especially with this current Patriots roster, with a lot of competition and unknowns with the front-7.

For the past 16 years, at least one undrafted rookie free agent has made the Patriots week 1 roster. For nearly two decades, it’s been one of the safest bets in sports, and has become one of Bill Belichick’s biggest strengths. He identifies talent like nobody else, and that is why he has been able to have success for nearly 20 years. Guys like Brian Hoyer, Brandon Bolden, Malcolm Butler, David Andrews, Jonathan Jones, Adam Butler, and J.C. Jackson all came from the undrafted ranks. Belichick has really thrived in finding the forgotten talent, but he may struggle to keep the streak alive this season.

On Saturday, the Patriots released veteran cornerback Lenzy Pipkins, and on Sunday they released an additional 9 players, including seven undrafted free agents. Quarterbacks Brian Lewerke and J’Mar Smith, wide receivers Isaiah Zuber, Sean Riley and Will Hastings, defensive tackle Courtney Wallace, linebacker Kyahva Tezino, and safeties Adarius Pickett and Malik Grant were all let go by the Patriots.

After these cuts the Patriots only have eight UDFA’s on their roster. Running back JJ Taylor, tight ends Jake Burt and Rashod Berry, wide receiver Jeff Thomas, defensive end Nick Coe, defensive tackle Bill Murray, linebacker De’Jon Harris, and cornerback Myles Bryant are the last remaining UDFA’s on the Patriots’ roster.

With training camp around the corner, will any of these eight players stick on the week 1 roster? Well, with the competition at the running back and wide receiver positions it seem like too much of an uphill battle for JJ Taylor and Jeff Thomas. The Patriots drafted two tight ends in the draft, and still have Matt LaCosse and Ryan Izzo, so I’m not in love with Burt or Berry’s chances to make the roster. The depth at cornerback is probably the biggest strength of this Patriots team, so Myles Bryant won’s sniff the roster.

So, that leaves defensive end Nick Coe, defensive tackle Bill Murray, and linebacker De’Jon Harris.

Defensive end Nick Coe played his collegiate career at Auburn, and finished his career with 71 tackles, nine sacks, and two forced fumbles. Coe was scouted and projected to be a 3-4 defensive end, and his long-arms and length really are his best traits. Coe will be fighting for a roster spot with Nick Thurman and Deatrich Wise Jr. With the Patriots continued support of Deatrich Wise over the last couple of seasons, I would be surprised if Belichick axed him in 2020. Especially in a season with a lot of question marks, Wise provides the Patriots with safety and security.

Defensive tackle Bill Murray played at William & Murray, and was a three-year starter. He recorded 143 tackles, 32 tackles for loss, and four forced fumbles. On top of that, he had an impact on special teams, as he blocked 10 kicks. His 4.93 40-time was his most notable achievement at the NFL combine. His strength is in run defense, but he has shown the ability to chase down the quarterback. Murray will be in competition with Byron Cowhart and Beau Allen for the right to backup Adam Butler. I like Murray’s chances to make the squad, as I would pin point him as the UDFA that is most likely to keep the streak alive. With Adam Butler being most effective as an interior pass-rusher, Murray could get a serious look when it comes to stopping the run. The Patriots need all the help they can get on the interior part of their defensive line. Losing Danny Shelton was a substantial loss, and Murray could slide into his shoes.

Linebacker De’Jon Harris played at Arkansas, and was mostly used as an off-the-ball linebacker. Harris finished his collegiate career with 371 tackles, seven and a half sacks, and four forced fumbles. His senior season he was named All-SEC second team. The linebacker group for the Patriots is filled with question marks, so who knows how it’ll play out. Harris will duke it out with Cassh Maluia, Derek Rivers, and Shilique Calhoun for a position as an inside linebacker. It’s tough to predict how the linebacker position will unfold, but if Harris has a good camp he can easily skate on this roster. The linebacker position is as open as any position on the roster.

As training camp begins to get underway keep an eye on Coe, Murray, and Harris, as they look to make it onto the week 1 roster.

Over the past 2 decades the New England Patriots have cemented themselves as one of the best dynasties in NFL history, and a case can be made that they should be in the conversation for the best dynasty in the history of professional sports.

After 17 division titles, 13 trips to the AFC title game, 9 trips to the Super Bowl, and 6 Super Bowl victories, the Patriots are headed into uncharted territories. Losing Tom Brady was something that many Patriots fans never expected to see, but it is the new reality.

The Tom Brady era in New England has come to a conclusion, but that should not stop Patriots fans from getting excited about 2020 and beyond.

As the Patriots begin to turn the page and begin a new chapter, so will PatsPropaganda. I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to become a new writer for the site, and I couldn’t be more excited.

I’m eager to get started and eager to provide Patriots nation with the best possible content.

So, here’s a little about myself, and who I am as a person.

This past May, I completed my undergraduate studies, and received my Bachelor’s degree from Curry College. I enjoyed my 4 years at Curry, and was involved with a multitude of different things on campus. I wrote for the campus newspaper, I was involved with the campus television station, and I was the Program Director for the campus radio station, WMLN. Along with being the Program Director, I was a co-host for the most popular show on WMLN’s airwaves. Pombo and Milliken was a weekly sports show, that was a huge success. As you could probably guess, many of our shows were centered around the Patriots. I had a great time at Curry, it opened up so many doors for me, and I couldn’t have been more thankful for the time I spent there. I was fortunate enough to even intern at the home of Patriots radio broadcasts. During the spring of 2019, I was an intern for the Zolak and Bertrand program on 98.5 The Sports Hub It was a great experience!

However, after completing my tenure at Curry College, I decided to return to school to pursue my Master’s degree. So, this Fall I will be pursing my Master’s degree at Northeastern University.

So, that’s a little about me, and what I’ve really been up to. As training camp gets started, and the season gets underway, expect to hear from me often. I can’t wait to get started, and I can’t wait to provide Patriots nation with everything they need to know!

Be sure to follow me on twitter, @jpombo24!

And of course, check PatsPropaganda for the latest news and updates!