{"id":56999,"date":"2025-01-03T11:30:42","date_gmt":"2025-01-03T16:30:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?p=56999"},"modified":"2025-01-03T11:30:42","modified_gmt":"2025-01-03T16:30:42","slug":"morse-to-tank-or-not-to-tank-preview-of-patriots-week-18-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2025\/01\/03\/morse-to-tank-or-not-to-tank-preview-of-patriots-week-18-game\/","title":{"rendered":"MORSE: To Tank or Not to Tank – Preview of Patriots Week 18 Game"},"content":{"rendered":"

To Tank or Not to Tank<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Since we just did a preview of the Bills two weeks ago, writing a preview of them again would be a waste of time and effort.\u00a0 Instead, I will concentrate on the significance of the game.<\/p>\n

This has been a lost season, and I will go into post season analysis next week.\u00a0 The game is meaningless for Buffalo.\u00a0 They cannot win the top seed in the playoffs and a loss means nothing to their standing.\u00a0 They will treat this game like it is a bye week and rest their starters.\u00a0 Sean McDermott has stated that Josh Allen will start but only for the purpose of keeping his streak of consecutive starts.\u00a0 One series and done is my guess.\u00a0 This will be like the 1st<\/sup> Pre-season game.<\/p>\n

The question for Jerod Mayo is whether he plays to win or plays to ensure they retain the #1 overall selection.\u00a0 If Mayo\u2019s job is in jeopardy, then he may want to play to win.<\/p>\n

Personally, I detest losing and some including Greg Bedard have argued that the Patriots should try to win.\u00a0 His argument is that Drake Maye is a fierce competitor and wants to play.\u00a0 He doesn\u2019t believe the players would like it if the Head Coach played to lose.\u00a0 On the other side Nick Cattles \u201cI hate this with the heat of a 1,000 burning suns, but the Patriots should tank\u201d.\u00a0 The Sports Betting line of over \/ under 4.5 Wins for the season won\u2019t be affected either way should the Patriots win on Sunday.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t believe I am saying this, but it is more important for the franchise\u2019s future to lose this game.\u00a0 Therefore, I would treat this like the 1st<\/sup> Exhibition game and play the younger less experienced players and see what they have got.\u00a0 \u00a0I would not play Drake Maye.\u00a0 He has nothing to prove and only risks getting hurt.\u00a0 We know what we have in Drake Maye, a potential Top 10 QB who will only get better with a competent Offensive Line in front of him. \u00a0You also know what Jacoby Brissett brings to the table, and quite frankly I was very disappointed in Brissett\u2019s performance this season.\u00a0 Let\u2019s see Joe Milton and find out how far he has progressed.\u00a0 Milton, like Maye, had many flaws coming out of college.\u00a0 This is a perfect opportunity to help make the decision if the team needs another QB in Free Agency or Draft.<\/p>\n

Start Caeden Wallace, Lester Cotton, Cole Strange, Layden Robinson and Demontrey Jacobs.\u00a0 Get Lecitus Smith and Tyrese Robinson in the game and see how they handle NFL players.<\/p>\n

Ben Brown, Christian Gonzalez and Ja\u2019Lynn Polk did not participate in Practice either Wednesday or Thursday. \u00a0\u00a0Rule them out for Sunday.\u00a0 Kyle Dugger has been playing all season on a bad ankle.\u00a0 Sit him out.\u00a0 Any player with a nagging injury should sit.\u00a0 Players like Davon Godchaux, who has been a rock on defense, is an older player and he should sit.\u00a0 Take a look at Javon Baker, call up a WR off the Practice Squad.<\/p>\n

Sit Rhamondre Stevenson and play Terrell Jennings.\u00a0 Sit Hunter Henry and let\u2019s see Jaheim Bell to determine if we need to draft a TE.\u00a0 Use this game as an evaluation tool for next season.<\/p>\n

Comings and Goings<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Yannick Ngakoue was released on Monday.\u00a0 Last week I posted that he should have been released immediately after the game because of his bonehead roughing the passer penalty.\u00a0 Finally, someone was held accountable for their actions!\u00a0 Oh, wait a minute \u2026 Jerod Mayo when asked about it at his press conference stated that they were giving a veteran a chance to hook on with a playoff team.\u00a0 Not because of accountability?<\/p>\n

DT Haggai Ndubuisi was signed on Wednesday off the Washington Commanders Practice Squad but was waived today with a Non-Football Injury designation. \u00a0The Patriots never officially announced the signing.\u00a0 This leaves the roster with two open spots.<\/p>\n

LB Curtis Jacobs has been a Full Participant this week in practice but has not been elevated to the Active Roster from IR yet.<\/p>\n

\"Brenden<\/p>\n
(PHOTO: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports)<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Pro Bowl Roster Announced<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Congratulations to Brenden Schooler for his selection as the AFC Special Teamer Coverage player.\u00a0 The immediate season after Matthew Slater retired Schooler is elevated as the #1 gunner in the AFC.\u00a0 Schooler was unstoppable this season, despite numerous double teams.\u00a0 How many Return men were mad because of Schooler bearing down and forced a Fair Catch?\u00a0 How many penalties did Schooler force, like the block in the back against the Chargers last week that brought back a Punt Return TD?\u00a0 The returner would have been dropped in his place if there wasn\u2019t a penalty.\u00a0 You can\u2019t judge a Special Team gunner just by the number of tackles he makes.\u00a0 Schooler is so good that opponents have to game plan on how they are going to contain him.\u00a0 I am very surprised that Christian Gonzalez wasn\u2019t selected as a Pro Bowl player.\u00a0 Week in and Week out, Gonzalez had the toughest matchups in the league.\u00a0 Also surprised that Marcus Jones was not selected as the Punt Returner.\u00a0 Marvin Mimms had the best return average, but he had 21 Fair Catches as compared to Jones 8.<\/p>\n

ESPN\u2019s Barnwell Projects Christian Gonzalez as ALL Pro<\/strong><\/h3>\n

ESPN\u2019s Bill Barnwell did a projection of the Top 50 players he thinks should be All Pro.\u00a0 He lists Christian Gozalez as the 3rd<\/sup> CB.\u00a0 Curious that all 3 CBs are from the AFC.\u00a0 Barnwell cites \u201cHe has given up a\u00a071.5 passer rating\u00a0in coverage. Opposing receivers have broken only 4.8% of his tackles, and he has committed only three penalties. Opponents have completed 51.9% of the passes thrown in his direction as the nearest defender in coverage, the third-lowest rate for a cornerback with at least 400 snaps on the outside\u201d.\u00a0 Look at the receivers that Gonzalez has had to cover this year.\u00a0 He got no week off.<\/p>\n

Barnwell recognizes that the majority of NFL teams are now playing the Nickle Package (3 CBs and 2 Safeties) as their standard defense and thus named 3 CBs to the Al Pro list.\u00a0 The Pro Bowl selected Baltimore\u2019s Marlon Humphrey over Gonzalez.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n
(PHOTO: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports)<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Jahlani Tavai Calls Out the Fans <\/strong><\/h3>\n

In a telephone interview on WEEI Friday morning, Jahlani Tavai answered Greg Hill\u2019s question.\u00a0 Hill asked \u201cWhen fans are booing and they’re calling for coaches’ jobs\u201d Tavai answered \u201cI don’t know. There’s a reason why they’re fans. Everybody can say what they think that we should be doing. In the long end, they’re not qualified to do what Mayo is doing, or whatever the Pats are doing. The fans, I appreciate them at times, but sometimes they just have to know their place<\/strong> and just understand that it’s a work in progress. Rome wasn’t built in one day\u201d.<\/p>\n

I included the entire quote, so that it wasn\u2019t taken out of context.\u00a0 That is absolutely the wrong answer son.\u00a0 You could have said it better.\u00a0 The fans pay good money to see these games and their investment in the team goes a lot further than that.\u00a0 The fans have the right to boo the players and particularly the owners for the product they are putting on the field.\u00a0 As a writer I try to be fair and report what is going on with the team.\u00a0 However, I am a lifelong fan first.\u00a0 I am very disappointed in Tavai\u2019s response to that question.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since we just did a preview of the Bills two weeks ago, writing a preview of them again would be a waste of time and effort.\u00a0 Instead, I will concentrate on the significance of the game.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":56968,"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":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-patriots-news"],"yoast_head":"\nMORSE: To Tank or Not to Tank - Preview of Patriots Week 18 Game<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Since we just did a preview of the Bills two weeks ago, writing a preview of them 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