The New England Patriots will try to play against Grinch this holiday season.
Buffalo Bills is tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers and is in the driver’s seat for second place in the AFC playoffs. A loss to the Patriots on Monday night would decrease the Bills’ chances for second place, although they shouldn’t be eliminated in the first round, regardless, this season, as only one team (probably the Kansas City Chiefs) will win this one. distinction thanks to the expanded playoffs.
If the Steelers ended the season with a better record than Bills, Buffalo would be in third place. If all Bills, Steelers and Chiefs end in 13-3, then Bills would get seed # 1. If Bills and Chiefs end in 13-3 and Steelers end in 11-5 or 12-4, then the Chiefs would get seed # 1.
The Patriots, of course, are out of the hunt for the playoffs for the first time since 2008.
Happy holidays to all our readers. See above and read below for this week’s mailbag:
@ scott_waddell87
Will Julian Edelman be in Tampa Bay next year? My money says yes.
Edelman missed training on Thursday, which means there is a possibility that we saw the wide receiver in the Patriots uniform for the last time. Edelman’s absence does not bode well for his status on Monday night against Buffalo Bills, and puts his availability for Week 17 in question, too.
Edelman’s future is a really interesting topic for a number of reasons. Personally, I think he’ll be back with the Patriots next season, as long as he doesn’t want to retire.
Edelman has only a $ 6.7 million limit next season. That’s 32 in the NFL. He has a salary of just $ 4 million. This is the 34th place in the NFL, behind players like DeSean Jackson, Randall Cobb, Golden Tate, Adam Humphries, Marquise Goodwin and Jakeem Grant.
The Patriots don’t desperately need space on the edge, and Edelman is an accessible wide receiver that could play a role similar to what Danny Amendola occupied as a wide receiver No. 3/4 in obvious passing situations.
Here’s another take on the longtime Patriots receiver: Edelman’s lack of production this season really helped the Patriots’ search for a No. 1 wide receiver this season.
If Edelman had another season at No. 1 and continued his trajectory after week 2, then the Patriots would be in another dilemma in which they would not want to pay a wide receiver more money than he did. Now, with Edelman coming out of a season in which he is unlikely to win 400 yards of reception and no longer seems like a top-notch option, the Patriots can bring a wide receiver and pay him as much as they want to spend. For a long time, the Patriots were kind of paralyzed by how much they could pay for wideouts, because it would be unfair for Edelman to win much less than a player who probably wouldn’t produce as much. This is outside the window now.
@ patzcrew11
Looking back on the situation we are in now, would you be on Bill’s side for Tom’s switch or Kraft’s side for Jimmy G’s switch
I don’t think it was that black and white.
That said, I will always be on the side of negotiating Jimmy Garoppolo and keeping Tom Brady. The Patriots won a Super Bowl in 2018. Technically, teams shouldn’t win Super Bowls more than every 32 years. This move worked for the Patriots, and they shouldn’t be questioning themselves, especially since Garoppolo can’t keep himself healthy and doesn’t look like a well-defined franchise defender. He also lost a Super Bowl since that exchange.
Furthermore, if the Patriots repurchase Garoppolo in this off-season, trade really It worked. That means the Patriots kept Brady, negotiated with Garoppolo, won a Super Bowl and even managed to get their partner just a year after Brady left.
@theMattKC
In addition to Trevor Lawrence, who is your favorite QB in the draft.
I trust the PFF guys, and they still have Justin Fields as option number 2 behind Lawrence. I wouldn’t be shocked if Zach Wilson was the second quarterback off the board this spring, however. There is a lot of hype around Wilson now.
It seems like a good year to need a defender. Trey Lance is an intriguing option, Mac Jones has been good this year and Kyle Trask has also been highly efficient.
I know it didn’t work for Florida, but I thought Trask showed some courage in losing the SEC Championship to Alabama. If Trask had won that game, I think he would have won important brownie points with Patriots coach Bill Belichick. He may still have helped himself even in the loss, however.
@ ChefdDds89
What are your thoughts on Jennings this year and in the future? It looks like Duggar and Uche have bright futures, the TEs we don’t know yet, but I don’t know what to do with Jennings, who probably played more snaps than any of them
Dave, this is a great question.
I’m kind of there with you. It looks like Kyle Dugger will be the strong / small supporter of the Patriots of the future. Josh Uche is probably the Patriots’ best pass rusher, looks comfortable on the cover and may be able to grow and become an early role.
Jennings didn’t show that much potential. I still think the Patriots are using him out of position on the internal linebacker, but they may be forcing him to do this because they don’t have large bodies outside the line of scrimmage.
Jennings played 120 snaps on the scrimmage line and 134 on the box. I would like to see him used primarily as a forward defender advancing. I don’t think he has the necessary lateral to lateral speed in the linebacker, even though these players are moving downhill in defense of the Patriots.
Let’s shoot fast.
@ DanielF29405641
Will they switch Gilmore during the draft to move up to a better team as a quarterback?
If the Patriots change Stephon Gilmore in the off-season, then I hope that will happen before the draft. However, it could be a way to obtain much-needed draft capital without a third round choice (Spygate 2.0).
@ ADub93877414
2pac or Biggie ??
2Pac.
@JefFullerMyself
No doubt, Doug, just a thank you for another season of coverage. I know your family has been through some difficult months, we are sending our best wishes and thanks for continuing your excellent coverage of the Pats. Happy holidays to you and yours.
Thank you very much, Jeff. Happy holidays to you and all our readers.
@Damon_Morris_
You agree that Bill is likely to destroy everyone’s excitement for Pitts or a QB by making Bill’s obvious move to write a first round of DT.
I mean, it’s definitely a possibility.
@cote_phil
Favorite punk album of 2020? Favorite hardcore album of 2020? Favorite 2020 album?
My favorite album this year was The Menzingers – “Hello Exile”.
I really just heard a lot of 1970s country rock this year, though. A lot of bands and albums that included Gram Parsons, Chris Hillman and JD Souther.
By the way, here’s a cool Christmas song that I didn’t know until a few weeks ago:
@zach_liu
Which beat player, coach or fellow writer would be the best Santa Claus in the mall?
My mind first went to Deatrich Wise. He needed to gain a few more pounds first, however.
@NE__Nation
Has there ever been a draft in which analysts got Belichicks first choice right? #maildoug
Not wanting to pat myself on the back, but I have been very good with the Patriots draft over the years. I had Josh Uche and Dalton Keene in 2020, Joejuan Williams, Chase Winovich and Jarrett Stidham in 2019 and Dominique Easley in 2014.
@esdawt
Egg nog – yay or not?
What is the only need that the Pats have for the coming year that no one is talking about?
– Not.
– Cornerback.
@thisryanjackson
what’s up? Happy holidays 🎄
I’m only working on Christmas Eve so I can spend the rest of the day with my family. Fortunately, my daughter, Olivia, asked Santa Claus for anything that requires a lot of editing this year.
Miniature photo via Brian Fluharty / USA TODAY Sports Images