Some random thoughts going into the offseason:
1.) I tired of people saying that Pats need an elite QB. Anyone who says that have to be willing to give the Pats at least two to three decades to get one because that is the likely timeframe we are looking at for that to happen. Fact is that if the Pats are going to compete for a title again in a lot of our lifetimes is with a good QB with a lot of pieces around him. Fact is the Pats won't be getting an elite QB anytime soon.
2.) I see zero chance that Matt Patricia will be calling offensive plays next year. Kraft was never on board with that idea as he stated last March. After the disaster of the season, there is no way Kraft will allow Belichick give Patricia year two even if it means Belichick walks.
3. ) Speaking of Belichick, if I was Kraft, I would at least be considering whether it was time to move on from him. I have been known as a Belichick apologist in the past, but this year makes me wonder if he is just holding on to get Shula's record. Everything that made him the GOAT were the opposite this year. Belichick coached teams were always the smarter team on the field, but not this year. He was always about attention to details, but the Pats were very sloppy and mistake prone this year. He was always about situational awareness, but the Patriots have been a disaster in handling red zone situations, timeouts, clock management, etc. He was always about playing all 60 minutes, but this team has fallen apart at ends of games. He has always been about all three phases of the game, but except for Marcus Jones and a few others, the special teams have been miserable.
Maybe this year will be a wake up call for Belichick and he will refocus, but he could be like a player on the verge of retirement who just doesn't have the fire anymore.
4.) The Patriots need a true #1 WR. They don't have Brady anymore. Only elite QBs can function with a bunch of decent #2 and #3 receivers and no go to guy. But even most of Brady's career, he always had a go to guy from Troy to Moss to Welker to Gronk to Edelman. Jones doesn't even have a reliable guy he knows he can go to in a pinch. Unfortunately, the free agent market is bare of #1 WRs. So the Pats will have to trade or draft one. I would say potential trades could be DeAndre Hopkins, Mike Evans, and Tee Higgins.
5.) I saw something about Doug Peterson last night where he said he meets with his QB and the rest of the offense and tries get their strengths and weaknesses and tries to gear his offense around that. It has done wonders for Trevor Lawrence this year. It is the opposite of what Patricia seems to have done with deciding what offense he wanted and tried to force the talent to run it. Whoever is the OC next year, they need to be more like Peterson and less like Patricia.
6.) Anyone who has watched the Pats play the Bills the last few years, one of the free agents this offseason the Pats should be chasing is Tremaine Edmonds. Every list of free agents I see have him outside the top 20, but I think he is the lynchpin of the Bills' defense.
7.) The Pats need a true third down back. I know injuries/retirement took away their options this season, but they never tried to replace them. Damien Harris likely gone in free agency, they cannot over use Stevenson like they did this year.
8.) The Pats will end up giving Jones one more year to prove himself. This year was a wash because of Patricia. Jones has shown enough from Thanksgiving on that he might be a good starting QB with a real OC and more talent around him.
