By: Mike Rifkin
For two decades the New England Patriots ran the NFL winning six Super Bowls. Which led to this question: were the Patriots this good because of quarterback Tom Brady or coach Bill Bellichick? Last season Brady hoisted the Lombardi trophy with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers while Bellichick and the Patriots were at home watching the playoffs after a 7-9 record. Fast forward to Thanksgiving 2021 and the New England Patriots are back in first place in the AFC East and a true Super Bowl contender thanks to their head coach.
Let’s start with Bill’s bread and butter which is the defense. The Patriots defense ranks third in yards allowed, seventh in sacks and tied for fifth in the NFL with a +6 turnover differential. Last season the Patriots were middle of the pack in yards allowed, had a +3 turnover differential and were 27th in sacks, so what changed? Bill Bellichick did something people aren’t used to, he was aggressive in free agency. The big fish was signing Matthew Judon from the Baltimore Ravens to a four year 56 million $ contract. That has paid off this season as Judon has 10.5 sacks on the season which is tied for third in the NFL. They also brought back edge rusher Kyle Van Noy who was cut by the Miami Dolphins. Van Noy signed a two year 13.2 million $ contract to go back to New England. He has 4 sacks on the season but provides a nice combination with Judon. Dont’a Hightower returned to the Patriots after opting out of the 2020 season. He has 41 tackles and half a sack but his presence alone helps this defense. They traded All Pro Cornerback Stephon Gilmore to the Carolina Panthers earlier this season, the play of J.C. Jackson made that possible; he has six interceptions on the season which is second in the NFL.
One of the biggest issues the Patriots had last year was they didn’t have great weapons on offense. They are averaging a touchdown more a game than they did last season. Let’s start with the Mac attack, rookie quarterback Mac Jones who has played the best of all the rookies so far has a 70.2 completion percentage with 14 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Jones averages 236 yards passing per game. Bill spent a lot of money providing offensive firepower for his rookie quarterback. Kendrick Bourne who came over from the 49ers signed a three year 22.5 million dollar contract has 37 catches with a team high 562 yards and 3 touchdowns. Nelson Agoholor signed a 2 year 24 million dollar contract. He has 29 receptions for 396 yards and 3 touchdowns. Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith who came over from the Chargers and Titans respectively signed lucrative contracts. Henry signed a 3 year 37.5 million dollar contract. On the season he has 33 catches, 378 yards and 7 touchdowns. Smith signed a 4 year 50 million dollar contract. He has 22 catches for 210 yards and a touchdown. Having these two tight ends is something the Patriots hadn’t had since Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez.
The Patriots have won five consecutive games leading them to a record of 7-4. The rest of their schedule includes both meetings with the Buffalo Bills, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins and this week a showdown with the Tennessee Titans. One thing is for sure no team in the AFC wants to go play the Patriots in the playoffs. Yes they missed the playoffs in 2020 and watched their old quarterback hoist the Lombardi trophy but now the Patriots are back and it has to do with their head coach who is in the conversation for both coach and General Manager of the year.
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