PatsPropaganda

The number is currently at 6 Patriots players opting out of the upcoming season. As it stands, Marcus Cannon, Dan Vitale, Najee Toran, Brandon Bolden, Dont’a Hightower, and now Patrick Chung have all made the decision to sit out this year due to Covid-19 pandemic concerns. This is completely understandable and a personal decision that I’m certain was not easy.

It obviously frees up tons of salary cap space and of course it will be fascinating to see what Bill Belichick does with that, but seeing what is happening right now in baseball with the Marlins as an example of what can go very wrong very fast makes even the most determined optimist question how realistic our hopes for an actual full NFL season really are.

My 15 year old commented “Tank for Trevor (Lawrence)”, the Clemson quarterback most are projecting as the top pick in next year’s draft, but I just don’t see it for a Bill Belichick team. He is way too much of a competitor and historian of the game, who I believe is chasing Don Shula’s record for most games won in his career. Bill knows he only has so many games left to accomplish this. Its hard to imagine him wasting a year of potential wins to maybe get a player of the future. Not to mention, what a challenge for a coach who loves to make adjustments. Is this not the ultimate test for a head coach, to somehow pull off a winning season under the worst possible conditions and the first post-Brady?

Its very much a fluid situation right now, so we’ll stay tuned and try to stay optimistic. We really need sports as a distraction from everything else going on around the country and globe, so everything crossed it can be done safely.

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.

I think its safe to say that Big Picture Real World 2020 has been, so far, kind of a bummer. Some are calling it a Dumpster fire, which is a descriptive image that’s not quite accurate for the current moment. A Dumpster fire is automatically self-contained, and with protective equipment and tools, the lid can be closed and the fire will smother itself out. That definitely does NOT seem to be the case for Big Picture 2020.

Here, though, its about football, where we go to escape from that real world stuff. But for Patriots fans, maybe the worst and seemingly longest off-season in team history CAN be described as kind of a Dumpster fire.

We knew there was some pretty flammable stuff in there. I covered my ears and closed my eyes like a kid in denial but still heard the rumblings and saw the signs. The Seth Wickersham bombshell piece. The body language and demeanor of “the most miserable 8-0 quarterback in the league”. The frustrating lack of rapport with the young receivers and balls in the dirt. The Brookline mansion listing. The looming free agency with no contract discussions. Even Tom Brady Sr. told us it would end badly years ago.

But still I felt gut-punched. I had held out hope that there would be a last minute deal and Tom Brady’s legacy would be that rare unicorn athlete who retired with his original team. I always try to guard my heart but just couldn’t when it came to Thomas Edward Patrick Brady. He could do no wrong in my mind. Always keeping it professional. Hardest working competitor and humble role model for the new guys. Team over individual accomplishments. Spotless image on and off the field. Someone I pointed to as an example for my boys in both sports and life. I’ve literally said “thank Tom Brady” after a crisis averted. He’s laminated on my celebrity hall pass.

When the deadline for free agency passed with no joyous announcement I smelled the smoke. I already knew March 17, 2020 was going to be a bad day before it even began. We’d just learned schools were closed for the rest of the year. My oldest hockey player’s small town team had their once in a lifetime, Cinderella story trip to Nationals in California cancelled, and our family vacation there for it was off. No recognizable St. Patrick’s Day, quarantine, bleaching the groceries, PANDEMIC.

So when I woke to the news of Tom Brady moving on, it made total sense for Big Picture 2020, and the Patriots Dumpster fire was fully ablaze and engulfed. I cycled through the stages of grief multiple times and I’m not ashamed to admit it felt like actual mourning. Like, “a grown adult woman with kids maybe shouldn’t be blubbering this way over a football player” kind of reaction in my weak moments. But this was someone I pretty much worshipped for 20 years. The 16-20 Patriots games per season are basically sacred in my house and he was an enormous part of that. And when we later learned he was reuniting with Gronk in Tampa, adding fuel to the fire, I’m not gonna lie, it felt a little like the husband running off with the nanny for a bit there. Irrational maybe, but we all have our “hobbies and interests”, right?

With time and distance comes perspective, and while we’ll probably never know all the factors that built and sparked the Dumpster fire of 2020, its not relevant here right now. I believe, until I’m proven wrong, that Bill Belichick has his flame retardant football hazmat suit on. He probably designed it himself and cut the sleeves off. He’s assembling the tools to get the lid closed and put that sucker out (maybe even using some of my favorite drink, Bill’s special Kool-Aid) because this is going to be an intriguing season, no matter what. Fingers crossed for the rest of both Big Picture and Patriots 2020.

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!