BSJ Daily Briefing 10.01.18: Patriots right ship, postseason/Sale's bullpen await Sox, Kyrie gets rolling

By Greg A. Bedard

Oct 1, 2018 • 5:11 am

Good morning! I know you all missed me. I missed youse too.

A few thoughts while I try to figure out if Ryan Tannehill and the Dolphins' offense actually got off the plane in Providence, or just stayed onboard...

So, the region can stop breathing into paper bags for at least four days after the Patriots avoided their first three-game losing streak since 2002 by laying the smackdown on the perennial pretender Dolphins on a gorgeous day at Gillette.

I have a column coming in the morning that breaks down the improvement by the defense, which featured some new/old tactics to throw off Tannehill and the Dolphins. Think you'll like it.

Oh, and by the way, Kyle Van Noy had a monster game that wasn't apparent in the stadium (did I tell you I like film?). I also talk about his emergence in the column.

Good to see Sony Michel have his first big game as a Patriot. I'm sure there will be a lot of talk about that while people ignore that James White averaged more per carry (5.5), which tells you the Miami defense was generally terrible against the run (and the Pats offensive line was a big factor). And that Brandon Bolden had 137 yards as an undrafted rookie in 2012, to say nothing of Jonas Gray.

In other words, people shouldn't have made too much of Michel's struggles (yeah, you Mazz), and you shouldn't make too much out of this game. His worth will be proven on a game by game basis.

Josh Gordon ... solid debut. Man, they're handling him with kid gloves. I'm not sure what to make of that.

Rob Gronkowski's ankle injury doesn't seem serious, but it figures to be wise to sit him out Thursday and give the Big Fella a double bye this season. Something in my sizeable gut tells me this might be a little more serious, but that's probably just the worrywart in me.

Good to see guys like Malcom Brown, Danny Shelton and Dont'a Hightower get off blocks and make plays.

The long, hard slog of the baseball regular season is finally over, and the Red Sox can get on with the postseason.

Now that the Patriots' crisis has been averted, New Englanders can pray the rosary in advance of Chris Sale's bullpen session today. Sale's shoulder takes its place next to Pedro's back (1999) and Schilling's ankle (2004) as the most worrisome postseason pitching ailments in recent Red Sox history.

From the sound of B-Robb's report, Kyrie Irving is ready for the regular season, while Gordon Hayward still has a lot of rust to work off.

I didn't get to see much of the Ryder Cup (Mrs. BSJ was all over it — it's her favorite event), but it doesn't sound like I missed much. Color me shocked the vaunted U.S. team spit the bit in Europe. That never happens (sarcasm intended).