The Quest for 7: Patriots defensive fate, Sanu hope, Payback for Brady, Links 2.6.20

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. With headlines of Tom Brady's impending free agency, lack of weapons, and offensive solutions clogging Patriots news feeds everywhere, it's easy to overlook the potentially shocking changes that could be coming to the defense. Mike Dussault of Patriots.com wonders if New England can build a new defensive foundation this offseason? How confident are you in the next wave of these young players possibly taking over for longtime pillars like Devin McCourty and Kyle Van Noy?

2. These can be fun, and like always, the Patriots are mentioned more than the temperature on a warm New England day in January. The SBNation Staff gives us their 10 way-to-early predictions for the 2020 NFL season. Is it too early to predict Florida Steve will be at his pool when it's 80 degrees this Sunday?

3. Boy I hope these two are right. Taylor Kyles and Bernd Buchmasser of Pats Pulpit have their own film session to determine if Mohamed Sanu can still become a contributor in the Patriots offense. A full offseason and training camp will certainly help, but Mr. Sanu needs a monster year to justify the high price it took to trade for him.

4. So ... apparently this guy is famous? Gabby Guerard of NESN tells us about this Max Kellerman/Rob Parker wannabe, Nick Wright, and all of his "Hot Takes" that disrespect Brady. Gabby also includes a couple links at the end where Nick Wrong leaves Brady off of his "Top Playoff Runs" list and names Patrick Mahomes the most clutch QB ever. Hack Kellerman, Yawn Parker, and Nick Wrong. Nuk, Nuk, Nuk.

5. Draft, Free Agency, Training Camp. Curious as to what the NFL calendar has in store over the next few months? Eli Boettger of Sporting News gives us all the crucial dates in the upcoming NFL offseason. Only date I need to know is when the Patriots first game is.

6. Ian Wharton of Complex jumps in with the rest of the prognosticators and gives his 2020 NFL mock draft. Gennaro Filice of NFL.com also hands out his AFC East draft grades from 2019. and let's just say he doesn't hold back on our beloved Patriots. Wish I could argue with Mr. Filice, but a fact, is a fact.

7. You'd think Brady has given millions of black eyes to senior citizens instead of the actual millions of dollars to charities over the years. With the way TB12 is portrayed outside of New England, I don't mind him one bit messing with the 31 other fan bases and media. Chad Finn of Boston.com raises a legit question about Brady: Has he become an internet troll? Do I dare say the GOAT has done some GOAT trolling recently?

STEVE'S SOAPBOX

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

In this Part 4 of 5 Series, I'll be forcing myself to select the person MOST responsible for the Patriots winning or not winning the Super Bowl out of Belichick the Coach, Belichick the GM, and Tom Brady the QB. So far, 2000 to 2003, 2004 to 2007, and 2008 to 2011 have been featured. Today is 2012 to 2015. Fight me in the comments if you disagree — but no biting!

2012 Tom Brady the QB: -1. Tough one. Team had enough talent, but Gronk went down. Belichick the Coach almost deserves it for playing Stevan Ridley so much. He had 5 fumbles that season and one was a back-breaker in the 2nd half of the AFC Championship game at home against the Ravens. So that leaves Brady. In that same AFCCG, TB12 had a butt-fumble-ish moment. At the end of the 1st half, he cost the Patriots 2 shots at the endzone from the 7-yard line by not calling a timeout. In the 2nd half, he went 16-of-31 for 184 yards, with 2 interceptions, and on 2nd and 4, threw 3 incompletions in a row for a turnover-on-downs. (Field goal wouldn't have helped.)

Belichick the Coach: +1 and -2 … Belichick the GM: +1 and -3 … Brady the QB: +1 and -3

2013 Belichick the GM: -1. Patriots went into the year with 4 rookies as offensive weapons, (TE Zach Sudfeld, WRs Aaron Dobson, Josh Boyce, and Kenbrell Tompkins.) So when injuries hit, and no rookie had better than 52% of passes thrown their way completed, Coach Belichick and Brady didn't stand a chance against Peyton Manning on the road in the AFCCG. Plus the defense still had holes that showed from the prior year.

Belichick the Coach: +1 and -2 … Belichick the GM: +1 and -4 … Brady the QB: +1 and -3

2014 Belichick the GM: +1. Similar to 2007, Belichick the GM reloaded after a bad previous year. Patrick Chung was brought back, Brandon LaFell moseyed into Brady's Circle of Trust instantly. Darelle Revis and Brandon Browner brought toughness and a defense that was below average for years back to elite. Arguably the GOAT Patriots team with Gronk, Amendola, and Edelman in their prime.

Belichick the Coach: +1 and -2 … Belichick the GM: +2 and -4 … Brady the QB: +1 and -3

2015 Belichick the Coach: -1. This one's as easy as Tacko Fall dunking on a Fisher-Price hoop. Up 14-0 at home against the Eagles, Belichick tries a funky onside-kick used back in the leather helmet days, lighting a fire under a ready-to-quit Philadelphia team, who comes back to win. Then Belichick wins the coin toss in overtime against the Jets, decides to kick off, and watches the Jets march down the field for a touchdown and Brady never touches ball. Oh, and against Miami, Coach decides to run the ball 19 of their first 21 plays, keeping the game close in the first half, and ultimately losing. If the Patriots win one of these games, that AFCCG against the Broncos is at Foxboro, and I'd bet my Patriots Fanclub decoder ring that they win that game and get back to the Super Bowl. No, Bill, we are not onto 2016!

Belichick the Coach: +1 and -3 … Belichick the GM: +2 and -4 … Brady the QB: +1 and -3

To be continued tomorrow with 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019!

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!