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Patriots Latest Moves and Rumors 3/23

Let’s take a look at the latest some Patriots moves and rumors that were surfacing this week. Belichick and the Patriots have been pretty quiet this offseason. However, a few stories this week could help shape this team for next year and years beyond.

Move: The Stephon Gilmore Contract

Stephon Gilmore and Tom Brady on the field after the 2018 AFC Championship game.

Thursday, the Patriots reworked Stephon Gilmore’s contract for 2019.

Gilmore, who was originally scheduled to have a cap hit of $14,837,500, saw $8.5 million dollars worth of his contract get converted into a signing bonus.

Doing this frees up $5.67 million dollars for the Patriots in cap space. The current cap for the Pats is now $8,332,763.

This move should not be the only one for the Patriots as more money will need to come their way. The Patriots still have key free agents like Stephen Gostkowski and Chris Hogan, who remain unsigned.

The Patriots also must compensate for the projected $8,970,997 dollars it will take to sign all their draft picks.

With their cap as it is, expect the Patriots to move some money around with players like Devin McCourty, Tom Brady, and maybe even Rob Gronkowski, D’onta Hightower, and Lawerence Guy.

Many expect Gostkowski to be back and Hogan looks more likely to return by the day. The Patriots will need at least 6 million in cap for those two signings alone.

Expect them to restructure some contracts, resign some players, and trade a couple of draft picks.

Rumor: Patriots Schedule Meeting With WVU Quarterback Will Grier

Will Grier playing Texas Tech during his time at West Virginia.

The Patriots lack of attention to the quarterback position in this year’s draft might hint what they have planned for next year’s.

Although, one quarterback prospect who they have scheduled a meeting with is former West Virginia quarterback Will Grier.

Grier, who was in the Heisman conversation for a brief time last year, seems to be moving up draft boards each day.

After his very impressive pro day, several teams have called to meet with him.

In fact his pro day was so impressive that he has potentially moved up into late first-round consideration.

Grier makes sense as a potential fit in the Patriots system. In addition, some other quarterbacks that scouts think could come to New England are Daniel Jones of Duke, Brett Rypien of Boise State, and Ryan Finley of North Carolina State.

Rumor: Stephen Gostkowski Resigning Reports

Stephen Gostkowski waiting on bench with the Patriots.

It seems inevitable that the Patriots and veteran kicker Stephen Gostkowski will reach an agreement to reunite.

Now it appears that after the readjustment of Stephon Gilmore’s contract that the Patriots now have the money to resign their long-tenured kicker.

Tom Curran reported on Thursday that the Patriots and Gostkowski are making progress and are actively talking about a return.

Curran also reported that other teams are interested in Gostkowski. Almost any team would kill for a kicker like Stephen. Although, Gostkowksi’s interest in other teams seem very small and he obviously holds the Patriots as his top destination.

Gostkowski will be entering his fourteenth year in the NFL and will not consider retirement at this time.

Most expect Gostkowski’s contract number to be in the $3mil to $4mil range.

Losing a kicker like Gostkowski would obviously be bad news for New England. Replacing his production would certainly not be an easy task.

Potential Patriots: Dre’Mont Jones

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The combine has officially ended and now everyone can start to get a better sense on where each player will land in the draft. The value that a scout should hold in the combine is an age old debate that should be left for another time.

Not a good day for Mr. Jones

Dre’Mont Jones was on my mock draft and big board before the combine. Jones, the Ohio State product, dramatically underwhelmed scouts and evaluators. However, that could be a good thing for Patriots fans, as Dre’Mont could now slide further down draft boards.

Sliding down mock drafts

Before the combine, Dre’Mont had some saying that the Patriots would pick him with their 32nd selection. Now, it seems more likely that he will be available for one, if not both, of their second round selections.

Familiarity with Schiano

The idea of drafting Dre’Mont with a second round draft pick would certainly be worth the Patriots while. Dre’Mont was a dominant force at defensive tackle during his time at Ohio State. With Greg Schiano, one of his former coaches, becoming the defensive coordinator for the Patriots, trying to recreate some of the success he had with Schiano would make a lot of sense for the Patriots.

What makes Dre’Mont Jones so good?

Dre’Mont made a career at Ohio State for getting into the backfield quickly

Great physical traits that should translate well to the pro level
Good jump off the ball, quickly fires into gap
Disruptive interior force, can rush the inside of an offensive line well
Quickly gets into the chests of offensive lineman
Good athleticism
Good hands and footwork
Finds success by getting upfield quickly
Has worked with Greg Schiano before and the familiarity from both sides would benefit each other and the team
Strong pursuit
Head fakes and jab steps help him get into backfield
Has potential to be a strong three down starter in the three technique
Demonstrated good ability to turn corners with dropped shoulders
A difficult player to move off the ball
Displayed good run defense

The negatives in his game

Some of his negatives can be corrected but might take a bite into his game. Jones definitely has to improve on his size. He weighed in at 6’3, 295lbs at the combine.

Although that may sound like a lot to some, he could stand to benefit from a few more pounds. A couple fast food trips would not hurt Jones’ draft stock, but might hurt his quickness and pass rush abilities that really make him who he is.

Another problem for Dre’Mont can stem from his pad level at times. Some issues with winning battles against offensive lineman stemmed from his size and his pad level. This combo sometimes made Jones susceptible to losing one on one matchups against blockers. Which if a lineman could be quick enough to beat Jones and overpower him, Dre’Mont was virtually removed from the play.

Jones can still be a very good player

Dre’Mont Jones seems to be worth a second round pick and could provide a lot of value to a Greg Schiano defense. Although Dre’Mont does have some negatives, if he takes enough time to focus on himself and his craft, some of those problems can be minimized.

If it worked for Gerald McCoy, could it work for him?

The size versus speed debate on whether Jones should value one over the other will be a tough one that will probably follow Jones throughout his career. One of the better defensive tackles in the league, Gerald McCoy has faced similar struggles throughout his career. If Jones can duplicate the path that McCoy took and work on his craft in this very familiar system to him, Jones can be a very good Patriot for many years to come.

Kyler Murray and the Patriots Do Not Mesh

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Kyler, the Heisman-winning quarterback from Oklahoma, remains the biggest question of this year’s draft. His future landing spot remains completely unknown. And although Murray will certainly be picked in the first round, the question of when remains to be seen.

Untraditional Quarterback

Murray might be the hardest quarterback some scouts have ever been asked to evaluate.

His decision-making and judgement can be so blatantly wrong at times, yet he will still make a play or get a completion.

He is the farthest from traditional one could find, yet the most successful out of his class.

Kyler Murray holding the Heisman Trophy he won for his phenomenal performance this last season

The Positives of Kyler

The Oklahoma quarterback can only be described as a paradox.

Some parts of his game should make him the undisputed QB1 of the class, yet other parts defiantly scream risk. Murray’s strong suits are listed below:

Fantastic runner, potentially one of the faster QBs to ever enter the NFL
Incredible arm strength
Great touch and anticipation
Ability to extend the play with his feet, evades pass rushers with ease
Quick release
Tremendous poise
Elite physical skills
Has displayed pin-point accuracy on several occasions
Relatively good ball security
Relatively good pre-snap adjustments

The Negatives of Kyler

The issues in his game glaring, just like his strengths. His strengths and weaknesses pop right off the screen.

Kyler’s biggest struggles are listed below:

Untraditional, not sure what offense he could fit into
Sometimes looks confused or lost out on football field, seems unprepared for certain defense schemes at the college level
Only a one year starter
Sloppy mechanics
Overthrown footballs a problem at times
Sometimes relies too much on his legs and playmaking ability, struggles to understand his limits at times
Stares down receivers
Mechanics and attention to detail do not appear strong
Makes some completions that would not happen at a Pro level
High risk and big investment for a Pro team
Durability for a player of his size and potential work load might be a problem at Pro level

Most television personalities are saying that Kyler will be a top ten pick, however, I personally would not take that so seriously.

What makes him such a risk for a pro squad?

The biggest concern out of that whole list for NFL teams will be the “High risk and big investment for a Pro team” point, but not his size. The size argument on him being able to see over his line will be something that will be heard more but will not hold much of a solid argument.

One throw that Kyler consistently impressed on this year was a short shallow cross, which is a difficult throw for shorter quarterbacks.

Kyler’s height will not be the issue for pro teams, however the time, energy, and resources that a team would have to put into a boom or bust product like Kyler are incredible.

Luckily for Murray, more pro teams are starting to adopt some college concepts in their offenses, but that may not be enough.

An offense would have to fully commit to Kyler, and have the resources to build around him. The first mistake for a pro team would be plugging him into an already established offense.

Just throwing Murray into a system of such nature would fail him from the start and basically cripple an extremely bright future.

Kyler + Patriots = Potential disaster

Patriots fans might want Kyler Murray, but he just simply would not work at this time.

Murray’s career being put on hold for Brady would be bad for both the Patriots and Kyler.

The Patriots would be benching one of the faster quarterbacks to ever enter the draft. That speed would only last at that level for so long.

The potential of Murray turning to baseball if put on hold would be very high, which the last thing the Patriots would need is a John Elway-like situation.

Kyler Murray was a first round draft pick for the Oakland Athletics

The Patriots also have too many pressing needs that taking a risk like Murray would be way to dangerous and could cost jobs.

Patriots would not be able to invest in Kyler becuase of Brady’s longevity and while McDaniels could potentially make Kyler work in New England, Brady gets in the way.

Kyler can work for other squads, but not the Patriots

Kyler might slide farther than the TV personalities think due to his high risk and the big investment required.

While Kyler might be a top ten talent, many pro scouts do not know that Kyler is a trendsetter or a game changer.

The boom or bust product out of Oklahoma seems to have a lot of promise, and could potentially get over some of his negatives with the right team and supporting cast. The right team could turn Kyler into a pro bowl caliber quarterback.

Unfortunately for hopeful Patriot fans, your team will likely not be one to swoop in and take on this extremely risky and expensive project.

Potiential Patriots: TJ Hockenson

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The more film watched on TJ Hockenson, the more it seems he will be long gone before the Patriots pick 32nd. However, one never knows these days as players get injured in practice (like Jeffery Simmons), poor combines or pro days hurt their value, and sometimes guys just slide due to demand.

Although historically the Patriots never really trade up in the draft, this Iowa tight end might be worth breaking the trend for. That is of course assuming he doesn’t miraculously fall into their hands at the end of the first round.

Here is what makes Hockenson so good:

Good jump off ball, quickly gets out of three point stance
Gets hands inside and doesn’t overextend, dominant blocking technique
Lowers pads
Keeps ball high and tight, protects the football
Nice awareness
Can outrun Big Ten linebackers and corners, making him hard to one on one with good RAC (run after catch)
Always gets lower than his man when blocking, gets good leverage on his guy
Really nice hands
Extremely athletic and agile for a man of his size
Fundamentally sound
Polished
Disciplined route runner
Physical
Good balance and control
Can adjust to the ball very nicely
Phenomenal focus and ability to get his feet down in bounds, great awareness of his surroundings

Hockenson is a future Pro Bowler. One of the easiest prospects to evaluate in this class. Good at pretty much everything. The only weaknesses I can come up with are that he doesn’t always high-point the ball and he can sometimes be too aggressive as a blocker at the 2nd level.
-Evan Lazar, CLNS Media

Hockenson just continues to demonstrate that he is the complete package in film review. His potential really is something to marvel over.

Cons:

There is very little to complain about in his game. The aggressive blocking and high-pointing, as mentioned in the quote by Evan Lazar, were somewhat of a concern, but not enough to not draft him for it. He seemed to always improvise during some minor mistakes.

Another con to mention was his hands when catching the football were sometimes spread too far apart, but like the other problems, he improvised and did not let it become an issue.

On this play versus Indiana, Hockenson high points the ball, adjusts his body and makes a leaping grab. Scoring the touchdown in the back of the endzone, with a defender draped on him, showing excellent awareness to get both feet down in bounds.

His teammate Noah Fant gets more coverage for his more flashy ability. Although, Hockenson will be a far better NFL player and it may not even be close.

TJ might just be the best tight end to come out of the NFL Draft since Hunter Henry or George Kittle.

Player Comparisons:

Hockenson has drawn comparisons to former Iowa tight end George Kittle before. Kittle just came off a phenomenal stat clinic of a season. Hockenson has also been compared to Dennis Pitta and a mini Gronk (A stretch but I have heard it). The one that suits him best would be Dennis Pitta, who when healthy was a very good tight end for Baltimore.

If the Patriots could get their hands on this guy, not only would a combo of Gronk and Hockenson be hard to stop in 2019, but Hockenson himself would be a deadly force for years to come.

Patriots Top Three Draft Needs Might Surprise

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Note: Pre-draft scouting reports on potential Patriots are on their way and will be posted regularly as the draft comes even closer.

A stockpile of picks, a bunch of needs, and a much needed injection of youth should make this draft interesting for all Patriots fans.

The most interesting aspect of this whole draft for the Patriots will be the direction they take. Do they aim more for day one contributors that can provide value at a second or third spot on a depth chart? Do they aim more for developmental pieces that may take longer to develop but better the team after the Brady era ends? This decision will greatly dictate how the Patriots draft and who they draft.

Obviously, the more valuable picks are the players that can provide some immediate value and can also continue to get better overtime. Let’s take a look at which positions the Patriots should find themselves emphasizing this year and how high up on the totem pole each one should be.

1. TIGHT END

Iowa’s TJ Hockenson is certainly on the draft board for the Patriots

Look for the Patriots to address tight end extremely early. TJ Hockenson should be their main priority going into the draft, as he can provide short-term and long-term benefits. Player comparisons for TJ span all the way from Dennis Pitta to a baby Gronk.

Adding Hockenson would provide immediate benefit to a team that loves their two tight end sets. He also has an extremely high ceiling that could answer the Patriots potential problems at tight end once Gronk retires.

Hockenson being available at #32 might be a stretch. Which if it so happens that his name gets called before the Patriots selection, plenty of options will still be available at tight end. This tight end loaded class features many potential options, however none as appealing or exciting as TJ.

Gronk will not play forever, therefore the time has come to find his eventual replacement.

2. FRONT SEVEN

Mississippi State’s Jeffery Simmons remains the wild card

Do not let the great play by this group in the playoffs overshadow the regular season and regular seasons prior. This front seven still needs a major revamp.

Linebacker happens to be less of a need than expected, due to the emergence of Van Noy and the glimpse everyone received of Ja’whaun Bentley. Yet, Hightower gets no younger and carries a tremendous cap hit next season. Adrian Clayborn did not live up to his unreasonable expectations and also costs a pretty penny next year. Flowers needs to be resigned to a ground-breaking deal. Shelton and Brown also appear set to at least hit the market, whether they return remains unknown.

Harsh reality here, the Patriots front seven has been inconsistent and has struggled in countless areas. Much turnover looks likely for the group and defensive coaches are leaving this team left and right.

The best strategy would be to draft quality front seven players that fit the ideology of the new incoming coaches. Therefore, the Patriots should bring some much needed youth to a core that needs a new direction.

Keep an eye on Jeffery Simmons, who has his red flags and also just tore his ACL but if he slides enough, the Patriots could potentially snag him on day two. Simmons being a top ten talent in most people’s minds, would certainly be worth the risk if available on day two.

3. OFFENSIVE TACKLE

With the right coaching for Northern Illinois’ Max Scharping, he can be a deadly force in the NFL

Expect the Patriots to at least think about grabbing another offensive tackle to eventually pair with Isaiah Wynn.

The future remains unclear on whether the Patriots will resign Trent Brown but regardless the Patriots will have to choose between either Brown and Wynn or Cannon and Wynn.

Brown will not be cheap to resign and the Patriots will have to take a look at Wynn’s recovery from the Achilles injury that sidelined him this season. Wynn should be ready to go for week one but might see some drawbacks in his game. If Wynn for some reason really does not appear like he should be starting week one, well then, a Greek tragedy arises. A travesty occurs. Shakespeare would call this play Isaiah of Foxboro (Timon of Athens reference).

If Wynn’s health does not seem up to par, that would mean the Patriots would likely have to sign Trent Brown to a huge contract and retain Marcus Cannon’s cap hit as well. Meaning the first round pick would be struggling, the Patriots would pay a king’s ransom, and they would also likely forfeit a potential third round comp pick that they would likely acquire if they let Trent Brown go.

Bottom line is that the Patriots will look at Wynn’s health and likely look to dump either Brown or Cannon. This would inevitably require them to find a tackle that could backup for the meantime and later step into a full role.

The guy to watch out for here is Max Scharping. His draft stock entirely depends on his combine and Pro day. He could end up falling anywhere between rounds one through four depending on his combine and Pro day. Assuming he falls a bit, he would be a perfect developmental player for New England. Max is someone who could end up starting for them for a long time under Scarnecchia’s influence and guidance.

The Genius of Sean McVay and his Upcoming Chess Match with Bill

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Watching Sean McVay call plays on offense is like watching someone paint. True art, beautiful design, Sean McVay is a true innovator. All someone needs to be a head coach these days is have a cup of coffee with him. Let’s take a look into what McVay does best and how Flores and Belichick can stop him.

McVay and his misdirections

To start, McVay makes a living off of misdirections and different offensive line shifts. This freezes the second and third levels of the defense. Against the Saints, he called play actions and pulled his guards to one side of the field, then had Goff throw to the opposite side. This froze the linebackers and forced them to go up and play the run, while his receivers quickly got open. This will be hard for the Patriots to defend against as they will be looking to stop the rushing attack early. Expect these tricky play action passes early in the game to try and create uncertainty for that Patriots defense.

Stop the run

One key for the Patriots will be stopping the Rams in 11 personnel (one runningback and one tight end). The Rams run out of that personnel at the highest rate in the NFL, and will look to find success out of that formation early. The goal is to unleash their play action pass, which is their forte, and a weakness of the Patriots. The Eagles early establishment of their run game last year was extremely detrimental to the Patriots defense, and ended up deciding the game. That defense could not stop a nosebleed. Hopefully history does not repeat itself. Expect the Patriots to take the ball to start the game if they can. They want to dictate the game and make the Rams play catch up with them. Both teams will want to start fast, put points on the board, and expose the other team’s defense early.

Belichick’s starting alignment

Belichick will likely start the defense by lining up one defensive tackle in the A-gap and then another in the B-gap. Look for the defensive starters to look something like Flowers, Butler, Guy, and then the surprising Adrian Clayborn. Belichick will likely line up both ends in a seven or nine technique off the very edge of the tackles to establish the edge. This will force Gurley and Anderson inside. This will also keep Goff in the pocket and give him struggles, as he has struggled identifying edge pressure before.

Fighting against the misdirections and nifty play action McVay calls will not be easy. Although the Bears and Lions had success with the strategy of straight up ignoring it earlier this season.

Will McVay be enough?

The key will be stopping the run early to prevent Los Angeles from really digging into their playbook in that first half. Winning the first half will be key for the Patriots to win as getting into a shootout with this Rams team is not something anyone wants to do. The good news is the gameplan has been similar for the Patriots in both playoff games. If the Patriots can stick to the gameplan on defense and start hot, McVay and his genius mind will not be enough to finish on top.

How Did it Happen? Patriots are Atlanta Bound

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At almost every turn this regular season, the Patriots found themselves doubted. Constantly counted out and disregarded, teams went to play them with a higher level of confidence than years prior. Now, they head to Atlanta where they are currently three point favorites against the Los Angeles Rams.

Gameplan

Yesterday was a marvelous performance and featured phenomenal execution. The gameplan on offense was really no secret. The plan going in was to establish the run game, create unpredictability in the playcall, and most of all dominate the time of possession to keep the ball out of the hands of Mahomes.

Coaching

The coaching was stupendous however not flawless. Some questionable playcalls and decisions almost cost them the game on both sides of the ball, but that happens in the NFL. On the flip side, the coaching staff for Kansas City appeared blatantly unprepared for this game. The Patriots game plan came as no surprise to even some of the most casual fans, yet Kansas City struggled to stop the run on almost every try early in the game. Virtually every run in the first and second quarter broke for nice gains into the second and third levels of the defense.

Defensive Line

The Chiefs failures to stop the run early on killed their chances to get anything going in the first half. Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs might want to look at the tape from this game and look at how one dimensional their offense became. The depleted running attack forced Mahomes to throw. Andy Reid and the staff did him no favors by calling almost exclusively medium to long ball plays. This only made the job easier for Patriots pass rush, who was steamrolling an offensive line, going after a quarterback holding onto the ball for too long. Trey Flowers and the crew had big games attacking a offensive line that was pretty solid this season.

Long Drives

The long, sustained drives that the Patriots put together early in the game were just pure football art. The mix of run and pass had the defense guessing wrong almost every time in the first and second quarter and allowed for the Patriots to hold the Chiefs offense to zero points in the first half. Complementary football at it’s finest.

Tommy Boy

Also, of course, how can anyone forget? Tom Brady. How does Brady continue to put together these wins late in the game, seemingly by himself. Sure the offensive line was spectacular and Edelman and Gronk played big roles in the final two drives, but Brady put on a clinic by marching down the field twice to go ahead on both occasions. Name another quarterback who deserves to even be mentioned in the same sentence as him. It might take a while.

Chris Amendola

It was encouraging to see Chris Hogan make some of the plays he did late in the game, which only inspires hope for Patriots fans that he can take on the Patriots’ Playoff Amendola role.

Offensive Line and Running Game

The offensive line as mentioned before was marvelous. They did a great job, paving the way for Michel, White, and Burkhead to run where they wanted at will. The question remains to be asked of where this offensive line and team would be without re-hiring Dante Scarnecchia back in 2016.

Roberts and Kyle Van Noy

The last real encouraging performance was the performance of Kyle Van Noy and Elandon Roberts. Two frequently unappreciated linebackers went and put together some nice plays and tackles to make things difficult for Mahomes and company. Van Noy’s performance was especially impressive and very encouraging going into the Super Bowl against a very good running game.

Stage set in Atlanta

Now, Brady and company will head off to Super Bowl 53 in a highly anticipated matchup versus the Los Angeles Rams. Hopefully, the Patriots can follow the pattern of the Red Sox and themselves, who both beat LA teams earlier this year (Dodgers and Chargers). Regardless of the outcome of this Super Bowl bout, it is hard to see the Patriots going down without a fight.

Tune in: Sunday, February 3rd, 2019

6:30PM

Mercedes-Benz Stadium

#BEATLA

The Patriots and the Pony Express

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Some remember the famous “Pony Express” from Southern Methodist University. This was when Craig James and Eric Dickerson dominated the college football world.

Rumblings have indicated the Patriots will unveil their own Pony Express, due to the Chargers weak linebackers, and inabilities to cover running backs in the passing game.

The Patriots Pony

When saying pony, this means something a little different than just two running backs splitting time. A pony formation entails a two running back set, meaning some combination of Michel, White, and Burkhead.

The expectation is that the Patriots will use running back heavy sets to exploit the weaknesses in the Chargers defense.

James White & Rob Gronkowski

The Patriots have had great success this season with James White. He seemed to be a key to victory in several games for them. This leads many to key in on his involvement Sunday, as he could draw more attention from Chargers defenders. This will lead to more opportunities for Michel and Burkhead.

The beauty of the Patriots offense is the Chargers do not have the personnel to match up against the running backs and Gronkowski. Gronk had an uninspiring season, but the Chargers lack the personnel to cover both Gronk and the running backs. This could lead to either the backs or Gronk finding themselves open in Sunday’s game. The Chargers do not have four Derwin James clones at their disposal, the likely match-up with Gronk.

Danger For The Chargers Defense

With the concerns of Gronk and James White for the Chargers, the pony formations could be too much to handle. The possibility of the Patriots breaking out those two running back sets ,with the emphasis on Gronk and White, leave another running back matched up against a linebacker. The danger this Chargers defense is playing with is unprecedented.

A defensive adjustment to take care of the running backs out of the backfield would take away some of the best Chargers pass defenders. This could free up Gronk and Edelman, or even dark horse characters like Chris Hogan or Phillip Dorsett.

It is yet to be seen what the game plan will be going into the game Sunday, but the Patriots will have many ways of creating mismatches against the Chargers’ defense. Be fully prepared for the Patriots to unleash their version of the Pony Express on Sunday.

DFS Fantasy Notes

Also, for those DFS fantasy fans, I would call the Patriots running backs potential plays for this weekend. White is priced at $7,500 on FanDuel and $5,100 on DraftKings. Michel is priced at $6,600 on FanDuel and $4,700 on DraftKings. Burkhead is priced at $5,500 on FanDuel and $3,600 on DraftKings.

If you have any comments or questions, feel free to message me on Twitter @maxleemcauliffe

Is a new rival emerging for New England?

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As the Steelers appear to be a dilapidated, down the pan team, headed for a fiery, violent crash, it is time to question wether they will be considered a rival of ours next year. Of course, the Patriots’ run should come to a close once their older veterans leave, like Brady, Gronk, Belichick. However, different from the Patriots, the Steelers main problem is keeping their younger stars happy. We all know about the Bell debacle that developed over a two year period. Now, the Steelers are considering exploring the trade market for Antonio Brown this offseason. Big Ben is not getting any younger and although he would still have Juju Smith-Schuster as a target, life without Brown for an older quarterback like Roethlisberger would be a painful and embarrassing season for him. Life without Antonio Brown, who holds a spot in every discussion of the best receiver in the league, would almost force Big Ben to hang up the cleats. The locker room in Pittsburgh is toxic and out of control, leadership is flawed, and teammates turn on each other faster than rats abandoning a sinking ship. Tomlin might have his moments as a good football mind but relying on him to control his team’s behavior or even his own is a dangerous risk.

***Andrew Luck*** by Keith Allison on 16 September 2018

Out with the old, In with the new

Meanwhile, watching Andrew Luck pitch to a receiving corps lacking any huge star is scary. TY Hilton is pretty good, but not a guy who scares the living daylights out of defensive coordinators. The Colts put together fantastic performances versus the Titans and Texans, both divisional opponents with good defenses. The Colts are the future. Their whopping projected 118 million dollar cap space in 2019 is scary for a team that is currently making a playoff run. The Colts may not win it all this year but they will be a daunting force to any team not prepared for them in 2019 and beyond. With their main needs being a running back, defensive linemen and defensive backs, there is no better year to grab one of each through either the draft and or free agency. Discussion and rumors already link Le’Veon Bell to the Colts, which would make a huge difference to their already thriving offense. I will assure you, every running back on the free agent market is salivating at the sight of Indianapolis. A team with a boat load of money, a great offensive line, and an indoor stadium is running back paradise. If the Colts check off all the needs on their shopping list this offseason, that team would be a group no one would want to face.

So, New England, forget Pittsburgh, they are as dead as a maggot in a freezer. The Colts, who we hated during the Manning years and after the whole Deflategate saga are the guys to hate again. Which is convenient because they already hate us back. A marque matchup of Brady vs Luck is something that Pats fans should be accustomed to over at least the next one or two seasons.