Bedard's Daily Briefing 09.24.19: James Develin going on IR won't make any difference this season

Good morning!

A few random thoughts while I wonder if people who believe in fullbacks also believe in Puff The Magic Dragon...

• The "big" news out of the Patriots yesterday was that FB James Develin was placed on IR.


• Depending on how much you believe some narratives and that the plays the Patriots ran last year are the only play they can ever run, you must believe this could end any hopes of a Patriots Super Bowl bid.


• People will tell you he's the key to the running game ... that went nowhere when he was out there first two games.


• People will tell you Develin was the key to the postseason running game ... that beat up on weaker fronts that couldn't or refused to match personnel, but only averaged 3.7 yards rushing in the Super Bowl on 28 of their 30 carries. And on the two 26-yard runs on the final drive when the Rams were selling out, Develin was only on the field for one of them.


• Develin is a lot of things: a leader, good player, great teammate, totally unselfish, great special teams player (maybe the place he'll be missed the most) ... but he's not a difference-maker. The Patriots could put any number of players in there, including Jakob Johnson, and be just as good.


• If you don't believe that, I have some other fairy tales to tell you.

____________________

Eagles fans have no chill ?

In the middle of an eyewitness describing how people were saving babies out of a burning building, this fan brings up Eagles drops on @NBCPhiladelphia pic.twitter.com/RCLG5ZdNzw

— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) September 23, 2019