{"id":38634,"date":"2021-11-07T05:00:47","date_gmt":"2021-11-07T10:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?p=38634"},"modified":"2021-11-06T12:27:58","modified_gmt":"2021-11-06T16:27:58","slug":"patriots-news-11-7-players-to-watch-afc-east-notes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2021\/11\/07\/patriots-news-11-7-players-to-watch-afc-east-notes\/","title":{"rendered":"Patriots News 11- 7, Players to Watch, AFC East Notes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Good morning and we hope everyone has a happy Sunday.\u00a0 Here is your <\/span><b>Sunday Patriots news 11-07<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and AFC East Notes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gameday, the Patriots have another big game today against the Carolina Panthers with a chance to win their third game in a row and go over .500 since the first game of the 2020 season. We expect a tough, physical defensive contest this afternoon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This afternoon\u2019s game tips the scale for passing the halfway point in the season due to the 17-game schedule this year. November is usually the month that Bill Belichick\u2019s teams traditionally begin to come together and play good football.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not Patriots-related by MIAA high school football-related today. Big-time congratulations to Chris McMahon and the Grafton Gators for an undefeated regular season (with traditional Thanksgiving rival Millbury still on deck), Grafton had their first playoff game on Friday night and the Gators rolled 35-7.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I covered Grafton sports for about eight years for the Grafton News and was always greatly impressed with the professionalism with not only McMahon but his entire staff. They are tough, demanding, but always have the kids\u2019 overall development at heart, both on and off the field. The Gators have an outstanding program and had no easy games on their slate in 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I often said, that if I had a son in Grafton who wanted to play football, there is no one, I\u2019d rather have to coach him than the staff of Chris McMahon. I miss the fall games at \u201cThe Swamp\u201d and wish them the very best moving forward in the playoffs.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Gators even had a nice message from Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who wished them luck before the playoff game. Spagnuolo was a Grafton alum and still has a place in his heart for the team. Gator\u2019s outstanding QB Tyler Dimond tweeted out Spags message.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Huge thanks to <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Chiefs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Chiefs<\/a> defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo for the support on our playoff game tonight! <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/GoGators?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#GoGators<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/fQNl9l3OXy\">pic.twitter.com\/fQNl9l3OXy<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Tyler Dimond (@TylerDimond1) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TylerDimond1\/status\/1456592173911117832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 5, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Have you checked out our<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/new-england-patriots\/stats\/2021\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> PatsFans.com sortable stats<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for the Patriots? It is a great resource for all of the players on the roster.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Quick Hitters For the Pats, and the NFL:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><b>Aaron Rodgers: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Packers QB is out this week, due to a positive COVID-19 test, he was on The Pat McAfee Show and was trying to explain his reasoning for not getting vaccinated (which he has the right to refuse), but back in training camp he gave every indication that he was.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Appearing with McAfee, Rodgers said has followed <\/span><b><i>almost<\/i><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> all protocols for unvaccinated players and explained his reasoning for not getting one of the traditional COVID-19 vaccines claiming that he is allergic to an ingredient in two of the three approved vaccines &#8212; the ones produced by Moderna and Pfizer, known as mRNA vaccines.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;First of all, I didn&#8217;t lie in the initial press conference,&#8221; Rodgers said during the show on Friday. &#8220;During that time, it was a witch hunt that was going on across the league, where everybody in the media was so concerned about who was vaccinated and who wasn&#8217;t and what that meant and who was being selfish and who would talk about it, what it meant if they said it&#8217;s a personal decision and they shouldn&#8217;t have to disclose their own medical information.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you agree with Rodgers (and many do) or not, the issue now is\u2026 and abundantly clear is that Rodgers and the Packers repeatedly broke the league\u2019s protocol when it comes to unvaccinated players.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Every week, both Rodgers and the Packers\u2019 social media accounts posted pictures of Rodgers boarding the team plane for away games. That is verboten under the league rules. Unvaccinated players are supposed to travel separately from the team.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Other rules include but are not limited to:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unvaccinated players are not permitted to participate in in-person meetings at the facility.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unvaccinated players are prohibited from gathering in groups of more than three team-affiliated individuals outside the team facility (those in one of three Tiers outlined by the NFL) or during travel, including training activities unless otherwise approved by both the NFL and NFLPA.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unvaccinated players are not permitted to travel on the team charter, even with a religious or medical exemption, and must travel separately. They also must pass a COVID-19 test to rejoin the traveling party and must test daily thereafter during road trips. They cannot eat in the cafeteria. All players, regardless of vaccination status, wear a mask during air travel and on buses.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unvaccinated players cannot mingle with other members of the traveling party once they&#8217;ve arrived in a game city, including at the hotel. They also cannot use the pool or other common areas in the hotel unless the facilities are closed to other hotel patrons.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Those who are unvaccinated are designated as &#8220;high risk&#8221; close contacts when regarded as close contact to another player or staff member on the team who tests positive. Those players must remain away from the team for five days even if asymptomatic (if symptomatic, it&#8217;s the longer 10-day wait). This was the case for Allen Lazard when he was designated a close contact last week and missed the game in Arizona.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unvaccinated players are tested every day, with vaccinated tested once per week.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unvaccinated players are subject to fines for refusing to follow guidelines, including maintaining physical distancing or attending indoor events or gatherings of more than 15 people without masks.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rodgers has not worn a mask at his post-game press conferences which is also a violation. Now, it is up to Park Avenue to determine what (if any) consequences Rodgers and the Packers will face. And we all know how inconsistent they are. Stay tuned&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Trade Deadline Non-Moves: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While the majority of fans and media expected the Patriots to make a move or two at the trade deadline earlier this week, it wasn\u2019t really surprising that they did not.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While there were players out there for the taking, we don\u2019t know what the asking prices were. But even more importantly, while the Patriots spent a lot of cash in free agency, there remains a lot of holes that remain to be filled and there is little doubt that many veterans will no longer be with the team next spring.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And those holes will require a lot of their draft capital. So, while slightly disappointing, it wasn\u2019t a shocker that the team made no moves at the deadline.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>OBJ Unlikely to be Claimed on Waivers:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Prior to his release by Cleveland, Odell Beckham Jr., and the Browns reworked his current contract that will make it pretty much a given that he will pass through waivers and be able to pick his next team.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pending NFLPA approval, the Browns agreed to remove the final two years of Beckham&#8217;s deal, meaning he now is scheduled to be a free agent after this season.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Any team that claims Beckham, would be responsible for the remaining $7.25 million of salary for the remainder of the season, sources told ESPN. The cost is considered high for a player who now will be in the final year of his contract.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This makes it unlikely for any team to claim him and gives OBJ the freedom to choose his next team. Among the teams rumored to have interest, including New England, Green Bay, Seattle, Las Vegas (especially following the Henry Ruggs development), Buffalo, and Atlanta.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>4th &amp; 2 Podcast:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> If you haven\u2019t checked out our <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.stitcher.com\/podcast\/cottage-talk\/patriots-fourth-and-two-blog-talk-radio-feed\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PatsFans.com podcast, <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cPatriots 4th &amp; 2\u201d in a bit, please check it out. Derek and I spoke about the big win over the Chargers and the preview for the Panthers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Russ Francis\/Chuck Fairbanks:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The former Patriot tight end and head coach both should be in the Patriots team Hall of Fame&#8230;this will be on our Sunday posts until it happens.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Belichick With Another UDFA Gem in Bryant?\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Patriots coach Bill Belichick has taken a lot of heat with his drafting record, especially with their 2nd round drafts, where Belichick has said that he has taken plenty of risks, where several players didn\u2019t pan out. Although halfway through this season, the team\u2019s 2nd round pick Christian Barmore appears in early returns to be a steal.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But when it comes to UDFAs, the Patriots under Belichick continue to find gems that not only make the team but excel and play prominent roles with the team, especially at cornerback.\u00a0 And a UDFA from last year, Myles Bryant is beginning to turn heads with his play since he was elevated due to Jonathan Jones\u2019 injury.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bryant made the team a year ago and played well but sparingly in the slot in 2020. He had a very impressive summer and was signed to the team\u2019s practice squad. Since Jones\u2019 injury and subsequent trip to IR, lost for the season, Bryant was activated to the active roster and his play, although a small sample size has been impressive.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Belichick\u2019s mantra has always been that it doesn\u2019t matter where you were drafted, it doesn\u2019t matter how you got to New England, you\u2019ll be judged on how well you do with the opportunities given to you.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While still early, Bryant seems to be tracking towards being another UDFA who will shine with the Patriots defense. Some of the other recent corners who also fit the bill are Malcolm Butler, Jonathan Jones, and J.C. Jackson, who has taken over the #1 corner spot and who is primed to get a big payday this upcoming spring.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes&#8230;I know, \u201cBill can\u2019t draft and is terrible GM\u201d right? This list somehow is never part of the equation&#8230;hmm.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Patriots Players to Watch Today:<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Every week we look at the game within a game. Here are our players to watch from a Patriots perspective today.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Mac Jones \u2014 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0The Patriots\u2019 rookie QB is on this list every week and with good reason. He\u2019s now the leader of the offense and he\u2019ll have his work cut out for him this afternoon. The Panthers rank near the top of nearly every defensive category including pass defense.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jones must protect the football and still be able to make throws down the field. As we pointed out in our keys, the screen game and those short horizontal passes will not work against this Carolina defense. They\u2019ll have to push the ball down the field.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Christian Barmore\/Matthew Judon \u2014 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Patriots\u2019 defense may be facing an offense without Sam Darnold and Christian McCaffrey (as of Friday night). However, it doesn\u2019t matter who is playing for Carolina, the defense has to stop the run and get after the QB.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And Barmore and Judon have been the Patriots\u2019 best at disrupting both. Barmore has been a 2nd round steal and seems to be improving every week, while Judon has been a terror coming off the edge at opposing QBs. If it is indeed P.J. Walker at QB for the Panthers, look for Judon to be a movable piece in trying to pressure him into making mistakes in just the second start of his career.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Kendrick Bourne \u2014 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Patriots\u2019 wide receiver was benched after his fumble last week against the Chargers, but he\u2019s been a valuable addition to the offense this season and this could be a huge bounce-back game for him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With the passing game possibly looking to push the ball a bit deeper than normal this week, Bourne should see plenty of passes heading his way.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Adrian Phillips \u2014\u00a0 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The DPOW against the Chargers, should see Phillips revert to his hybrid role against the Panthers who like to keep things balanced. His role will be to cover Chuba Hubbard or McCaffrey if he\u2019s able to go.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Damien Harris \u2014<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Harris is the Patriots leading rusher and has been the hard-luck recipient of having several long runs including TD runs called back because of penalty.\u00a0 But this week, the Patriots have to get their running game going, and with improved offensive line play, it will be up to Harris to keep the offense balanced and the chains moving.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Week 9 Predictions:<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The slate of games for Week 9 and my predictions for this week.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Thursday Night Football <\/b><b>\u2014 <\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Indianapolis over NY Jets\u00a0 <\/span><b>1-0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Sunday &#8211;<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Raiders over the Giants<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New Orleans over Atlanta<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Buffalo over Jacksonville<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cincinnati over Cleveland<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New England over Carolina<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dallas over Denver<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Baltimore over Minnesota<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Miami over Houston<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">LA Chargers over Philadelphia<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kansas City over Green Bay<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Arizona over San Francisco<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><b>Sunday Night Football<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">LA Rams over Tennessee<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><b>Monday Night Football<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pittsburgh over Chicago<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Last Week:\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 11-4<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><b>Season: \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 84-38<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Last Season:\u00a0 \u00a0 169-86-1<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>2019 Season: \u00a0 162-93-1<\/b><\/p>\n<h3><b>Eastbound and Down AFC East Notes:<\/b><\/h3>\n<h3><b>Bills Down Three Starters Vs Jacksonville:<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Buffalo Bills travel to Jacksonville today without three of their starters, and two more are questionable to play this weekend. On the team\u2019s injury report. Dawson Knox (hand), Spencer Brown (back), and Jon Feliciano (calf) have all been ruled out. None of the three were able to practice this week.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In addition to those three, Cole Beasley (ribs) and Jordan Poyer (shoulder) are both questionable, able to practice in a limited fashion Friday after missing Thursday\u2019s practice. However, even missing those players, the Bills should still be prohibitive favorites playing the Jaguars today.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Parker to IR, Could Miami Lure OBJ to South Beach?\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Miami Dolphins have placed the very talented but oft-injured Devante Parker on IR. Parker\u2019s latest woes concern shoulder and hamstring issues. With his absence, the question now remains could Miami entice the talented but underachieving Odell Beckham Jr. to Miami.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With Parker out and Will Fuller on IR (his story is similar to Parker\u2019s) as well as Preston Williams out, the Dolphins need help. OBJ had a great start to his career with the Giants but since his first three seasons, he\u2019s steadily declined.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But would Beckham sign with the Dolphins? Despite the weather, no state taxes, and the nice living of South Florida, it is doubtful he ends up in South Beach.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Jets Crash Back to Earth After Upset Win over Cincinnati:<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Jets\u2019 feel-good story of last Sunday\u2019s huge upset win over the Bengals all came crashing down to earth on Thursday night in Indianapolis. QB Mike White made his first start and was excellent throwing for over 400 yards against Cincinnati, but early in the game on Thursday night, he hurt his forearm and gave way to Josh Johnson.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But the bigger story was the Jets\u2019 inability to slow down the running game of the Colts, which ran roughshod over the Jets defense. The Colts ran for 260 yards and passed for 272 more while running up 45 points. Just two weeks ago, the Jets gave up 54 to the Patriots. And after the big win over the Bengals, they looked completely unprepared for the Colts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">_______________<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThey have some different packages defensively. They mix their fronts. They do a good job of that, and that&#8217;s challenging for the offense just in terms of communication, identification, but they have multiple players play different things just based on what they have called with Coach [Phil] Snow. [He] calls what group they&#8217;re in, and then they have a couple of different fronts to go with each group, so yeah. Those seven guys can be in different positions, and then you have to decide whether you treat them as a down lineman or a linebacker. Not just Thompson, but [Brian] Burns, [Haason] Reddick, so they present a number of problems depending on what group they&#8217;re in, how you need to treat them. They do a good job of that.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bill Belichick\u2019s comments when asked about how the Panthers use talented linebacker, Shaq Thompson.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">_______________<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cSo, how was your week?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Follow me on Twitter @SteveB7SFG or email me at<\/span><\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/patspub.patsfans.com\/stevebpatsfans@gmail.com\"> <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">stevebpatsfans@gmail.com<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Listen to our<\/span><\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.blogtalkradio.com\/patriotsfourthandtwo\"> <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Patriots 4th and 2<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> podcasts on Stitcher and Streamyard as Russ Goldman, Derek Havens, and myself from<\/span><\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/\"> <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PatsFans.com<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> discuss the latest Patriots news and game analysis.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Belichick\u2019s mantra has always been that it doesn\u2019t matter where you were drafted, you\u2019ll be judged on how well you do with the opportunities<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":38293,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22712,1198,11,10],"tags":[34,155,22492,1562,121,288,22264,22237,44,47,70,22742,8,38,1782],"class_list":["post-38634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2021-patriots-season","category-nfl-commentary","category-patriots-commentary","category-patriots-news","tag-bill-belichick","tag-carolina-panthers","tag-christian-barmore","tag-christian-mccaffrey","tag-devin-mccourty","tag-jamie-collins","tag-mac-jones","tag-matthew-judon","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-new-york-jets","tag-nfl","tag-p-j-walker","tag-patriots","tag-patriots-edge-rushers","tag-sam-darnold"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - 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