Taking the season as a whole, who were the people most responsible for the successes and failures of the team?
2019 Season Goats and Game Balls
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Game Balls
Offense
Julian Edelman--he was basically a 1-man show while playing through multiple injuries. The ultimate Patriot.
Joe Thuney--great season, durable, and played next to uncertainty at LT all year. Hope he re-signs here.
James White--always there when you need him.
Defense
Stephon Gilmore--DPOY candidate. Best in the NFL at his position.
Dont'a Hightower--leader of the defense.
Lawrence Guy--stellar year anchoring the interior of the line.
Devin McCourty--the anchor of the secondary. Thought he had a really good year.
JC Jackson--stud #2 corner and would be many team's #1 option.
ST
Jake Bailey--playoff game aside, a great rookie year.
Matthew Slater--borderline HOFer who had his best year.
Offense
Julian Edelman--he was basically a 1-man show while playing through multiple injuries. The ultimate Patriot.
Joe Thuney--great season, durable, and played next to uncertainty at LT all year. Hope he re-signs here.
James White--always there when you need him.
Defense
Stephon Gilmore--DPOY candidate. Best in the NFL at his position.
Dont'a Hightower--leader of the defense.
Lawrence Guy--stellar year anchoring the interior of the line.
Devin McCourty--the anchor of the secondary. Thought he had a really good year.
JC Jackson--stud #2 corner and would be many team's #1 option.
ST
Jake Bailey--playoff game aside, a great rookie year.
Matthew Slater--borderline HOFer who had his best year.
Very hard to argue with RO on the game balls.
On the goat list, I don't think that any single guys really warrant mention, aside from possibly Sanu. Guys like Chung, JMC, Brooks, and Jones all got banged up on D. It wasn't Newhouse's fault that he became the starting LT in week 3. It wasn't Karras' fault that he became the starting C in week 1. It wasn't (can't even insert a name because we had no FB)'s fault that Develin got hurt in week 2. It wasn't Harry's fault that he got hurt, although he still might fall under the goat category. Hell I wouldn't even name Sony as a goat due to all of the issues at OL, FB, and TE.
The goats are the injuries, and possibly BB the GM for how the WR and TE positions were handled. And Gronk could be listed here too, not because he didn't play, but because the timing of his retirement announcement put them in a hole.
On the goat list, I don't think that any single guys really warrant mention, aside from possibly Sanu. Guys like Chung, JMC, Brooks, and Jones all got banged up on D. It wasn't Newhouse's fault that he became the starting LT in week 3. It wasn't Karras' fault that he became the starting C in week 1. It wasn't (can't even insert a name because we had no FB)'s fault that Develin got hurt in week 2. It wasn't Harry's fault that he got hurt, although he still might fall under the goat category. Hell I wouldn't even name Sony as a goat due to all of the issues at OL, FB, and TE.
The goats are the injuries, and possibly BB the GM for how the WR and TE positions were handled. And Gronk could be listed here too, not because he didn't play, but because the timing of his retirement announcement put them in a hole.
Biggest GOAT for me is the team's complete and utter failure to adequately fill the TE position. They went from the best TE of the decade (and still a top 5 guy last year) to literal replacement players. Even before Gronk, this team had placed a premium on TE talent, drafting both Daniel Graham and Ben Watson in the first round. I can't blame the players, as Watson/Lacosse/Izzo performed exactly as expected. I don't know if they expected the offense to excel in other ways, but they basically staffed what had been the team's most important [non-QB] skill position for the last 20 years with guys off the street. They've always known the importance of filling this spot, both in the run game and in the pass game, and they completely blew it.
As the team was 12-5 overall, there will be more Game Balls than Goats....
Game Balls:
Gilmore. He slipped a bit at the end, but was a shutdown corner that the team needed.
Devin McCourty.
JC Jackson. Great pairing with Gilmore kept the Pats pass defense among the league leaders all season.
Hightower.
Van Noy.
Edelman for playing through just about everything.
Thuney for being the one rock on the OL all season.
TB12. Yeah, he may have slipped a bit, but I will die on the hill that says the Pats record would have been worse if Brady wasn't there.
Matt Slater, the special teams ace.
Honorable Mentions:
Chase Winovich. Love his motor.
Jake Bailey. Unfortunately had one bad game, but that shouldn't detract from a decent year.
Adam Butler.
Nick Folk. He stabilized the kicking situation, hitting all of his XPs and hitting most of the FG's in difficult conditions.
James White. Seemed like good things happened when he touched the ball.
Gunner Olszewski. For his name, especially as Scooby Wright didn't stick around long.
Jamie Collins for his monster first half.
Belichick the Coach. Still want him coaching the team over any other coach in the league.
Goats:
Antonio Brown. Just put your damn phone down next time.
Newhouse for almost ushering in the Stidham era prematurely.
Tight Ends. All of them.
Michel. Disappointing season after a promising rookie year.
Phil Dorsett. Seemed to regress as the season went on.
N'Keal Harry. Expected a lot more out of their first round pick.
Sanu. Could have been injury related, but still was a costly acquisition.
Dishonorable Mention:
Belichick the GM. Maybe a bit unfair, as the Pats were the only team in recent memory to play in 3 Super Bowls in a row and 4 out of the last 5. And he did do everything he could to boost the offensive skill positions. And he did put together a decent squad on the defensive side of the ball, and that counts for something (12 wins in this case). But nothing seemed to work on the offense, and it ultimately goes back to him. I still trust him more than any other GM in the league to get the ship righted.
Game Balls:
Gilmore. He slipped a bit at the end, but was a shutdown corner that the team needed.
Devin McCourty.
JC Jackson. Great pairing with Gilmore kept the Pats pass defense among the league leaders all season.
Hightower.
Van Noy.
Edelman for playing through just about everything.
Thuney for being the one rock on the OL all season.
TB12. Yeah, he may have slipped a bit, but I will die on the hill that says the Pats record would have been worse if Brady wasn't there.
Matt Slater, the special teams ace.
Honorable Mentions:
Chase Winovich. Love his motor.
Jake Bailey. Unfortunately had one bad game, but that shouldn't detract from a decent year.
Adam Butler.
Nick Folk. He stabilized the kicking situation, hitting all of his XPs and hitting most of the FG's in difficult conditions.
James White. Seemed like good things happened when he touched the ball.
Gunner Olszewski. For his name, especially as Scooby Wright didn't stick around long.
Jamie Collins for his monster first half.
Belichick the Coach. Still want him coaching the team over any other coach in the league.
Goats:
Antonio Brown. Just put your damn phone down next time.
Newhouse for almost ushering in the Stidham era prematurely.
Tight Ends. All of them.
Michel. Disappointing season after a promising rookie year.
Phil Dorsett. Seemed to regress as the season went on.
N'Keal Harry. Expected a lot more out of their first round pick.
Sanu. Could have been injury related, but still was a costly acquisition.
Dishonorable Mention:
Belichick the GM. Maybe a bit unfair, as the Pats were the only team in recent memory to play in 3 Super Bowls in a row and 4 out of the last 5. And he did do everything he could to boost the offensive skill positions. And he did put together a decent squad on the defensive side of the ball, and that counts for something (12 wins in this case). But nothing seemed to work on the offense, and it ultimately goes back to him. I still trust him more than any other GM in the league to get the ship righted.
Season Balls:
- Edelman: super trooper
- Gilmore: best CB in the game
- Bailey: justified the high draft pick and being chosen Allen
- Father Time: too many older Pats got hurt, tired, or both as the games piled on
- Kraft: should have let BB make any and all personnel decisions no matter how unsavory they may be
- Sanu: not catching up to NE system is no sin but dropping passes at critical downs is
- A goat for every single fumble bouncing the other way vs Miami and Titans
- A goat for KVN for the "Boogeymen" moniker as the defense didn't quite live up to it facing tougher competition
- A goat for the media and (some) fans calling a 12-4 + AFCE winning season "failure"
- A goat for Jeremy Boger & his crew for perhaps the worst called Pats game in recent memory
- A goat for the law of averages that say Brady & company can't go to the SB every single season
So you’re arguing that we should have kept Antonio Brown after he threatened a woman?
And, if we're bringing up Brown, it should be noted he would have certainly been placed on the exempt list, or formally suspended, had he not been cut.
Yup. He would have been gone before we lost our first game.
My GOAT is whoever chose Mohammed fucking Sanu over Emmanuel Sanders.
The point is BB should always have full and complete roster control.
That applies to any player and/or staff member and not just to Brown. If Brown were to be suspended, that would have been the league decision.
Kraft would earn a goat from me if it is indeed true that he forced BB to keep Brady over JG, no matter how it would have turned out (Pats don't win a SB last year but JG is our QB for the foreseeable future).
I'm with you that Kraft shouldn't weigh in on football decisions ... but I think it's totally appropriate for him to have final say on what off-field character concerns are unacceptable for the organization. The public image of the team reflects on him and his family; he has ownership of that in a way that no one else really does.
AB is the goat for using up what little precious cap room this team had and delivering one half of a football game.
That move likely lead to them having to trade Bennett in a salary dump so they could take on Sanu for a 2nd. If AB isn't a piece of shit NE would have had a bonafide #1 to pair with Edelman, and likely a 2nd rd pick next season as they probably wouldn't have traded for Sanu. Not to mention Bennett who almost certainly would have helped the pass rush that faded considerably down the stretch. The domino effect of AB being bat shit crazy really can't be stressed enough.
That move likely lead to them having to trade Bennett in a salary dump so they could take on Sanu for a 2nd. If AB isn't a piece of shit NE would have had a bonafide #1 to pair with Edelman, and likely a 2nd rd pick next season as they probably wouldn't have traded for Sanu. Not to mention Bennett who almost certainly would have helped the pass rush that faded considerably down the stretch. The domino effect of AB being bat shit crazy really can't be stressed enough.
Bennett seems unrelated to AB. He wasn’t a fit and didn’t want to be here. Probably could have used him down the stretch though.
The AB stuff is certainly true. We all laughed at the Steelers during their stuff but AB basically single-handedly ruined this season. He would have destroyed defenses with Edelman. It would have been insanely entertaining, similar to 2007 and Moss/Welker. But we also shouldn’t have even gotten a chance at him so whatever.
I’m more bummed about Sanders. He could have been AB lite for us.
I'm not sure about Bailey. My impression was that he hadn't been punting well even before the playoff loss. He does get extra credit for doing a great job at handling kick-offs, though.
Not directly related, but they were really tight against the cap after the Sanu deal. They had to restructure Mason just to fit Sanu under. Bennett gave them some breathing room. Part of the reason they were so tight up against it was the Brown deal, and part was the Sanu deal, which was necessary because Brown flamed out.
I beg to differ. He was 2nd in the league in placing punts inside the 20 (right behind who BB calls the best punter in the game in Titans' Brett Kern):
https://www.footballdb.com/stats/stats.html?mode=U&sort=puntin20
He also took over the kickoff duties and generally handled the FG snaps quite well. I think he was a big part of the elite ST performance this season.
Not sure where best to put this, but when Houston went up 24-0 I couldn’t help but think the Pats had blown a huge opportunity.
However, it became clear quickly (to me at least) that these Pats weren’t going to beat KC - no matter the venue. The ending of this season sucked but I fear it would have been a slaughter vs KC.
However, it became clear quickly (to me at least) that these Pats weren’t going to beat KC - no matter the venue. The ending of this season sucked but I fear it would have been a slaughter vs KC.
For me, this weekend made me feel a lot better about the Pats actually. Tennessee destroyed Baltimore but the Pats played the Titans basically even. And the Chiefs showed how good they can be but the Pats held them to just 23 points and honestly should have won that game.
So woulda coulda shoulda and all that but it showed me that the Patriots this year were, despite the disappointing ending, a damned good team this year. And it’s ok that they didn’t win it all. Every year a lot of damned good teams don’t win it all.
TN would have gone to KC last weekend had NE beat MIA so there may not have been a KC game. KC is also the one AFC team this defense was constructed to beat.
Good point. They were built to handle good passing teams. But less built to handle good running teams. Well, who knew that the Ravens would be the greatest rushing team in NFL history? Who knew that Derrick Henry would become an absolute frigging monster and would pummel both the Pats and Ravens for nearly 400 rushing yards in two games? And yet the Patriots, as it turned out, did a pretty good job overall against Tennessee. Yes they ran for huge yardage, but the Pats' D held them to just 14 points, and got the ball back to the offense with plenty of time, just needing a field goal to win. Normally, you'd take that every single time with Tom Brady and the Patriots' offense.
But this year, the offense just wasn't up to the task. Take even a semi-normal Pats' offense and we laud the Pats' defensive performance against Tennessee, saying, "Sure, Henry piled up the yards, but they completely shut down Tennessee's passing game and held a team that had been averaging 33.4 points and 426 yards a game over their last 7 games to a mere 14 points, and a mere 272 total yards. Kind of a classic Belichick defensive performance against a high-powered offense." But alas, the Pats' own offense failed to show up and so it goes down as a loss and a failure, even for the defense.