Patriots News 12-22 And Players To Watch In Buffalo
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Good morning. Here are your Patriots news and notes for December 22. The Patriots are limping into this game after the debacle in the desert. And there’s no rest for the weary as the Patriots take on the Bills in Buffalo.
Josh Allen and the Bills are on an absolute tear right now. They’ve scored 90 points in the past two games: 42 against a good Rams team and 48 against an outstanding but beat-up Lions team.
Last season, the Patriots defense kept the score respectable. This year’s defense isn’t in the same area code as that unit. Buffalo still could land the #1 seed in the AFC, although it appears unlikely, so they won’t be resting anyone. In two weeks, in Foxboro, possibly.
Sadly, we learned of the news that Christian Barmore, the very talented defensive tackle who missed most of the season with blood clots, began suffering from the same symptoms and was shut down for the season. On Thursday, the Patriots placed Barmore on the NFI (Non-Football Injury List).
It’s been a tough year for Barmore, who really came alive last year for the veteran. He made 64 tackles, 13 TFLs, had 8.5 sacks, 16 QB hits, one FF, and six passes defensed.
He was the Patriots 2nd round draft choice, #38 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft out of Alabama. The 6’5, 315-pound defensive tackle signed a big contract extension in the spring, and then three months later, during training camp, it was announced that he was suffering from blood clots.
He missed 10 games, battled back from his illness, and was re-activated in time for the Rams game. Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo spoke to the media about losing Barmore but focused on his health and well-being.
“Yeah, I feel for Bar,” Mayo said during his Friday press conference at Gillette Stadium. “He did everything right, and for those things to pop back up, just unfortunate. Again, I look at these guys as men first before football players, and there’s nothing more important than the health of our individuals.”
Mayo is correct; football now comes in far second in priorities for Barmore. His primary focus should be getting his health back on track. Blood clots can be fatal in some circumstances.
With the rest of the winter to get well and hopefully be given a clean bill of health in the spring, he can prepare for the 2025 season. Again, this has been a tough year for Barmore, beginning well enough with him getting paid a four-year extension worth $92 million. But the health issues twice really pushed him back.
Terrell Jennings: The Patriots practice squad running back is now the current Patriots running back in the 53-man roster. Jennings, who joined the Patriots this season as an undrafted free agent, was signed back on the practice squad after the rosters were finalized in August.
He was elevated to the active roster for the Houston game and had five carries for 13 yards before reverting to the practice squad. The team has been going with a three-man rotation with Rhamondre Stevenson, Antonio Gibson, and JaMycal Hasty. Hasty didn’t practice this week and is out for the game.
Chris Price of the Globe posted on X, “Per a league source, PS RB Terrell Jennings is set to be signed to New England’s 53-man roster for the remainder of the 2024 season, and next year as well.”
Mike Vrabel: The former Patriots’ linebacker is still a very popular figure in Foxboro, with the rumor mill swirling that the Patriots may fire Jerod Mayo after one season. Naturally, Vrabel’s name became a hot topic.
But count one NFL insider as skeptical. Adam Schefter of ESPN doesn’t buy into the idea that the Krafts will jettison Mayo after one season.
“I think this year that basically just about every team with an opening will have some level of interest in Mike Vrabel,” Schefter said Wednesday during his weekly appearance on WEEI. “That’s what I believe will be the case. I think him and [Lions offensive coordinator] Ben Johnson will be the belles of the ball, so to speak.
“All we can go by with New England is, I think the Krafts have been pretty clear that they have not been planning a change, they don’t want to make a change, they’re not looking to make a change. So, it’s moot with Mike Vrabel and New England right now… unless it’s not.”
Patriots 4th & 2 Podcast: Derek and I recorded this week’s podcast. We discussed the embarrassing loss to Arizona and predicted the Patriots’ game against the Bills and other games. Please check us out and give us a listen on YouTube, Apple, or wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Russ Francis/Chuck Fairbanks: The former Patriot tight end and head coach should be in the Patriots team Hall of Fame, and the fact that Francis isn’t is an absolute travesty. Francis and the Raiders’ Dave Casper changed how teams used the tight end position. This will be discussed in our Sunday posts until it happens. Casper is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Francis’ numbers stand up well against Casper’s, yet he isn’t even in the team’s HOF.
The Patriots are in Buffalo this weekend and facing a Bills team that has been on a roll offensively, scoring 90 points in two games. Josh Allen is having an MVP season and has been playing on a different plane. Defensively, Buffalo is having a solid season (despite the last two games) and is ranked 10th in DVOA.
The Bills don’t have a game-plan type of defense. They play the same 4-3 nickel with two deep safeties. But despite moving away from several veteran defenders this year, they are a very talented group. They rarely blitz or play man coverage.
So, if the Patriots are to pull an upset today in Buffalo, other than a massive blizzard, these are the players to watch against the Buffalo.
Maye has been playing well, but he needs more support from the players around him, mainly the offensive line and the wide receivers. This is Maye’s first game in Buffalo, which is a difficult place to play, especially in the winter with the wind factor thrown in.
Given the state of the roster, Maye can’t be expected to beat Josh Allen in a shootout, but the defense will have to stop that from happening. Buffalo’s defense is very solid, and they have explosive players up front who can disrupt and sack quarterbacks. Maye must be as aware as a B-17 pilot over Germany in WWII.
On Wednesday, Jerod Mayo kind of gave away where a big part of their offensive focus will be. His comment, “It really starts with Ed Oliver,” was a not-so-subtle hint that Oliver is a key to the offense’s game plan.
Oliver is an explosive interior pass rusher, and Robinson will have his hands full today. Robinson recently had a penchant for being flagged for holding calls at inopportune times. This game will be a tough test for the left side of the offensive line against a stout Buffalo defense. Soooo, with that in mind
After a horrible week in Arizona, the Patriots’ left tackle will face Buffalo’s edge rusher, Greg Rousseau. Rousseau is playing well, leading Buffalo with 59 pressures, 22 QB hits, and 7.5 sacks. He’ll be looking to attack Lowe, who has a bad habit of starting really slow in many games. This matchup is a bad one for New England. In the words of the immortal Dick Enberg, “Oh My!”
With Marcus Jones ruled out this week, the Patriots will have to play Jonathan Jones against the Bills’ talented slot receiver Khalil Shakir, who came into his own in 2024. Shakir has 71 catches for 774 receiving yards and four touchdowns, averaging 10.9 yards per catch, which leads the team.
Jones will have to stay close to Shakir to limit his catches and yards after the catch (YAC). Allen likes to get the ball out quickly to Shakir and let him cook after he catches it.
Jabrill Peppers and Kyle Dugger are questionable this week, but the Patriots must be acutely aware of TE Dalton Kincaid. Buffalo certainly saw the tape of Trey McBride, who torched the Patriots LBs and safeties for 9 catches and 87 yards in Arizona.
Until they can show that they can stop tight ends and backs out of the backfield (James Cook), they will have a long afternoon. Again, Jerod Mayo’s own words are something to key in on. “Cook, they got some good backs as well,” Mayo said. “They try to exploit the backs on the linebackers (emphasis mine) and even sometimes the safeties, but definitely a very explosive player.”
The Bills take on the Patriots this afternoon, but the rest of the division also has some intriguing matchups. Miami heads to Houston to take on the Texans, but it looks like they’ll be without LT Terron Armstead this week.
Armstead didn’t practice all week, including Friday, and is listed as doubtful about playing. Last week, he was designated a DNP and had a questionable rating to play. In his stead will be the intriguing rookie LT Patrick Paul. Paul is a massive 6’7″, 333-pound tackle out of Houston. I had him as a possible Patriot target during the draft lead-up this spring.
The Jets’ dysfunction continues to grow as the media digs deeper. In a story by the Athletic, Jets owner Woody Johnson was excoriated with some awful stories relayed to the Athletic by inside Jets’ sources.
The Jets and Broncos were nearly set on a deal to trade Jerry Jeudy to New York. But Johnson nixed the deal because Jeudy’s Madden rating wasn’t high enough. Jeudy was traded to Cleveland and has 1,000 yards receiving in 2024.
Apparently, Johnson allows his teenage sons to accompany to meetings at the Jets’ facility. And they are not content to sit and listen. They are influencing decisions (Jeudy ex.). They frequently reference social media posts, including “The Jets’ X-Factor.” Former GM Joe Douglas lamented, “I answer to a teenager.”
Johnson’s sons frequently bring male and female friends into the locker room and openly criticize players. But perhaps the worst episode was after a game on Halloween weekend. The Jets had won their first game under Jeff Ulbrich, and the mood was high after the win. Aaron Rodgers held onto the game ball to ensure Ulbrich got it, a tradition in the NFL.
But before Rodgers could speak, the eldest son took another game ball and awarded it to wide receiver Garrett Wilson in a profanity-laced tirade, which he later posted to Instagram (Of course he did). Woody Johnson then gave Ulbrich the ball Rodgers had been holding. Multiple players said he sapped all the positive energy out of the room.
“It was the most awkward, cringe-worthy, brutal experience,” one player said.
There were far more examples of dysfunction at the nth level in the Jets front office. I encourage any readers to check it out in its entirety. It is a long piece but will answer many questions about the Jets.
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Thursday Night Football:
LA Chargers over Denver 1-0
Saturday, December 21
Kansas City over Houston
Baltimore over Pittsburgh
Sunday, December 22,
Atlanta over NYG
Detroit over Chicago
Cincinnati over Cleveland
Indianapolis over Tennessee
LA Rams over NYJ
Philadelphia over Washington
Arizona over Carolina
Minnesota over Seattle
Buffalo over New England
Jacksonville over Las Vegas
San Francisco over Miami
Sunday Night Football:
Tampa Bay over Dallas
Monday Night Football:
Green Bay over New Orleans
Bye Week: None
Last week: 14—2
2024 Season 168—56
2023 Season 178—94
2022 Season: 178—92—2
2021 Season: 183—88—1
2020 Season: 169—86—1
2019 Season: 162—93—1
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“Talking about the Bills, it starts with the quarterback. He’s playing at an unbelievable level right now. He’s doing a good job, seeing the field has always been dangerous with both his legs and his arm. I would say, just from watching him, the way he’s seeing the field and going through his reads and the ability to extend plays and turn to street ball is definitely a problem.
“It’s going to take all of us on the field to try to slow him down first and foremost. In saying that, [James] Cook, they got some good backs as well. They try to exploit the backs on the linebackers and even sometimes the safeties, but definitely a very explosive player.
“Obviously, the receivers, even with the rookie, he’s playing well for them. Big, fast, strong, can do a bunch of different things. Don’t forget about [Dalton] Kincaid, who, especially after coming off last week, is definitely going to be targeted in this game. We have to do a good job, whether we’re talking about zone or man, limiting that connection between the quarterback.
“Defensively, to me, it starts up front. A couple of good edge rushers in [Greg] Rousseau and [A.J.] Epenesa, very good players. To me, it really starts with Ed Oliver. I think I’ve been a fan since he was in college. He’s a very disruptive player, and you can tell he’s really coming to his own and making this defense go.
“Good players in the back end as well. Talking about special teams, these guys are physical in the special teams world, and we got to match that physicality and go out there and win that battle.”
Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo discussed the Buffalo Bills and why the team’s task ahead of Sunday’s game is tough.
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“Talent sets the floor; Character sets the ceiling.” Bill Belichick
Follow me on Twitter @SteveB7SFG or email me at [email protected]
Listen to our Patriots 4th and 2 podcasts on Apple and YouTube as Russ Goldman, Derek Havens, and myself from PatsFans.com discuss the latest Patriots news and game analysis.
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