The Quest for 7: Patriots draft talk heating up, Montana advises Brady, Big anniversary, Links 1.28.20

Morning! Welcome to The Quest for 7, where volunteer writer, Steven Viner, scours the net for seven Patriots related articles from other sites offering different points of view on the six-time champs. Paid subscribers not only get to read all seven, but they also get to check out his always fiery "Steve's Soapbox" at the end.

1. Many are predicting Tom Brady could go Hollywood with L.A. seeming like a natural fit. Boston Sports Journal's own Greg Bedard digs deep into the Chargers' cap space, soon-to-be free agents, and offensive scheme to see if TB12 is really the best option.

2. Just save yourself the time and scroll all the way to the top-10 of this bad boy, (Especially to avoid the 1986 Patriots/Bears debacle.) Will Brinson of CBSSports ranks every Super Bowl ever and as you can imagine, there's a lot of Patriots' sweet, loving, magical, goodness to feast on. But! Did they make #1?

3. Our beloved Drew Bledsoe may know his wine, but he's clearly not a quarterback evaluator connoisseur. Tzvi Machlin of The Spun gets old #11 to admit what he initially thought of Tom Brady. Hey, you know he's not the only one. With that shirtless combine pic, I would have picked Brady last for my 4th-grade kickball team.

4. As if the Great Bill Belichick orchestrated this himself, a pretty big event happened 20 years ago, and it's quite Belichick-ish that it has quietly flown under the Foxboro sky's radar. Mike Reiss of ESPN would like to remind you of this little piece of news that barely made headlines two decades ago, but altered New England's history forever.

5. I've never been a big fan of the way Brady grovels over his boyhood idol Joe Montana, only to have the former Niners' QB act bitter toward Tom surpassing him as the GOAT, but this one crinkled my brow. Alex Barth of 98.5 The Sports Hub' s column explains the former GOAT's jarring advice for Brady on his big upcoming decision.

6. Bryan Fischer of Athlon Sports gives us his 2020 NFL mock draft. With the exception of running back, I believe there's been multiple mock drafts that have predicted the Patriots to take every position. Which means no one likely knows what the heck Belichick is going to do. And in case you missed it, here was some scouting by BSJ's Greg Bedard when he gave his potential Senior Bowl picks for the Patriots with plenty of TEs available.

7. Mike Masala of Patriots Wire touches on an amusing tidbit shared by Patriots safety Devin McCourty. One of the twin brothers tells his funny story of his job interview with Coach Belichick. Sounds like young Devin needed the therapy couch after leaving the Hoodie's office.

STEVE'S SOAPBOX

The place where Steve gets to give his take of the day from the perspective of a Patriots fan.

Most NFL fans believe the quarterback is lobster dipped in warm butter, and every other position is Fish-N-Chips from that sketchy place down the street. There are teams that back up this theory: Bears, Dolphins, Bills, Dolphins, Jets, Dolphins, Browns, Dolphins, Buccaneers, Dolphins, Raiders, Dolphins. These teams are trash, and their QB’s have been the Arizona sun, creating a stank of dumpster juice and losing seasons for almost twenty years.

So, besides the occasional tanking franchise, why don’t GM’s go to more extremes to nab this vital position?

Iffffff the Patriots lose the GOAT, Belichick should do what has never been done in NFL history. The Patriots own one 1^st round pick and three 3^rd round picks. Trade their 4^th, and 10,000 6^th and 7^th round picks to move these top 4 up… and take four quarterbacks. Waste a season letting five QB’s (Include Stidham) duke it out for the job. Take a year to see who works and studies the hardest, and if it translates into game action, there you go. Next year, trade the rest and recoup some low picks. Haven’t these teams proved that the next guy is that important? Belichick has shown that if he has a top-5 QB, he can whiff on an entire previous draft and still reach the Super Bowl. If you’re thinking, “Pfft! Bill will just go out and get the next Garappolo!” Ya sure? Remember, for every Jimmy G., there’s a Ryan Mallett, Kevin O’Connell, Rohan Davey, Kliff Kingsbury, and Zac Robinson. (No I didn’t make that last name up.)

Or!... just tank for Trevor Lawrence and let all the Haters’ heads explode.

Be on the lookout for more The Quest for 7 features. Want more Salty Tears and Soapbox? Click on my name above and scroll down for previous Quests!