Best/Worst in Weekly Patriots Links- 12/31

First off, a moment of silence for the coaching career of one Rex Ryan…

Thank you. Good night, sweet prince. And good luck on your next endeavor, hopefully on television for all of our sakes. No fear though, NFL Network, your new employee does NOT plan on kissing Bill Belichick’s rings, just in case you thought otherwise. Let’s take a moment and look back on some of the good times with Rex with the help of former WEEI writer, Chris Price:

September of 2015 he didn’t know who Dion Lewis was: It’s the kid that’s playing quarterback. That’ll make it a lot easier to be a running back…So that’s what makes them — I don’t care, put anybody back there. You can do good there. All right? Nah, I mean they’re decent backs in their own right. But I don’t think we’re gonna focus on that kid. I can’t even tell you that kid’s name. But you’re gonna focus on the guy throwing the ball, I’ll tell you that much.

Annnnnnnnd we know how that ended. The guy could just never help himself. At best, the lovable loser, at worst, the abomidable baffoon. I, for one, enjoyed his schtick. It always resulted in a fun week and more times than not, an entertaining football game. Plus, he’d certainly be an upgrade over most of the weathermen on these sport networks nowadays, but I digress…

We’re onto Miami. Our own Adam Magnacca breaks this matchup down for us in a doozy of a preview. Two eye opening points he brings to our attention:

1.) It has been 4 years since NE has won in Miami

2.) “An easy place to key in on this week could be Ajayi’s ball security with 4 fumbles on the year. The Pats have been dominating the turnover battle lately, this could help that number rise even higher.”

I remember the most recent two L’s clearly, but hadn’t realized it was also the prior two as well. Last year’s matchup was especially frustrating, with an (at best) questionable game plan (?) of slamming Steven Jackson into the offensive line and losing the #1 seed in the process. The difference is, that team was banged up, identity-less, and crawling into the playoffs. While I was hopeful with the return of the afore-injured Edelman and Gronk to the lineup, it was tough to know exactly what we’d see vs. KC for the divisional, and the following week in Denver. As exhibited over the last month and a half, this team is peaking at the right time. They’ve firmly established a running game for the cold weather playoff grind offensively, the defense hasn’t given up a touchdown in two weeks (*forcing turnovers*), and special teams troubles have seemingly been shored up. It’s all systems go this weekend, with a foot on the gas mindset.

The Miami sunshine isn’t the biggest story of the week, however. That honor goes to our very own Jimmy G, with Adam Schefter reporting the Patriots will be seeking a 1st and 4th rounder for Brady’s handsome backup. Frank Schwab (Yahoo Sports, Shutdown Corner) weighs in on the pros and cons of paying the price:

Garoppolo’s rookie contract is up after 2017, so a team would have to give up the picks in a trade and give him a mega-deal to him before he hits free agency – no team is sending a first- and fourth-round pick to New England for one year of Garoppolo. So a team has to understand it is investing valuable draft capital and perhaps an Osweiler-type contract (even if it doesn’t reach the $18 million a year Osweiler and Bradford got, it won’t be cheap), and is doing so on a quarterback who has 93 career passes. The risk is obvious.

That it is. It’s also not risk-free for the Pats, who in that case, are assuming Tommy Ben Button Avocado Ice Cream Brady will keep going for a handful of seasons. The Pats angle here is obvious. Leak it to Shefty, get the ball rolling. Privately, they love Brissett and are grooming him to be the primary backup. He was activated from the IR for a reason and that’s certainly not to get game action anytime soon. It’s to practice, grow, and develop, every day. My take? The current play of most QB’s is repugnant, and the draft class offers little hope. Trade Jimmy Handsome for a King‘s ransom, draft two impact players, and ride the GOAT into the sunshine.

New Years Bonus link:

• Sports Illustrated and frequent Felger and Mazz guest Greg Bedard takes on a coaching musical chairs of sorts, predicting potential vacancies and the like.