Such a strange couple of weeks for the Patriots — they haven't even had a practice yet this week — so I figured it'd be a good time to roll out a meaty mailbag to hit on a variety of topics.
Questions this time touch on:
- Le'Veon Bell
- Patriots' skill position deficit in the AFC;
- The state of Julian Edelman;
- Will the bye week change affect the Patriots?
- More receivers over adding a tight end?
- Future of Thomas Dimitroff.
Does Bell have anything left and will the Patriots be interested? — John T.
Aside from the reports today that the finalists for Bell are the Chiefs, Bills and Dolphins — and that grouping could cause the Patriots to jump in even just to drive up the price — Le'Veon Bell certainly has something left and would be an upgrade over anything the Patriots have.
UPDATE: Bell signed a one-year deal with the Chiefs. The Bills and Dolphins were a finalist. The Patriots were not believed to be heavily involved.
https://twitter.com/LeVeonBell/status/1316882234155147264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1316882234155147264%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3%2Ccontainerclick_0&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.espn.com%2F
However, there's another side to this.
There's a financial and practical side. For one thing, the Patriots have invested heavily (first and third picks) at the position, along with signing Rex Burkhead to a ridiculous extension. They are already crowded when Sony Michel returns — are they really going to keep five running backs? So you might already have to release J.J. Taylor and hope he gets back to the practice squad. Are they really going to find a trade partner for Sony Michel or Damien Harris? I doubt it but funnier things have happened.
Plus, Bell is good and you can get him for cheap because of his offset with the Jets (if others don't offer more). But how much better does he make the Patriots' backfield? Ten percent? Five percent? I don't think it's enough to upset the apple cart, especially when this isn't a situation like with Josh Gordon, Aqib Talib and Antonio Brown where the Patriots were basically desperate to improve every one of those positions.
Plus, Bell is a very hard back for offensive linemen to block for because he runs at his own pace. The Patriots' system calls for a straight-ahead, one-cut runner. That's not Bell's game. He's a bob and weave guy. Still, he's damn good and probably one of the finest receivers as a back in league history.
Do the Pats have a single skill position player who would start for KC? The answer is no, right? I can’t think of one. — Rob M.
Well, let's go to the spreadsheet:
James White is the only one I can make an argument for, and you could argue that Clyde Edwards-Helaire is close, especially if they sign Bell.
Thank goodness there are two other sides to the ball, along with the offensive lines.
Should we be worried about Edelman making it through the season healthy? Also, has he completely bought in this year? — Aaron J.
I don't question whether or not Edelman has bought in this year — I think what you're seeing is a guy whose body is failing him and that leads to less confidence, not in the whole operation.
Yes, you should absolutely be worried about him making it through the entire season. His knee was an issue in training camp and caused him to take some days and reps off. It's continued to be an issue to the point that a) he's not starting (that's on purpose), b) his snaps are being cut (was at 87 percent last year and is now down 68 percent), c) affecting his cutting, d) affecting his receiving.
The old NFL adage is when a receiver's legs start to go, his hands follow. I think that's what we're seeing with Edelman. He's playing with less confidence because he knows his body is betraying him. If anyone could use this time off, it's Edelman.
What will the impact be to the team's health given they didn't really get a full bye week? — Brad P.
They've basically been off their feet for almost two weeks. That will be great short-term for their health, but I do worry about the body not building up those callouses as far as contact and regular movement. And I'm more worried about their mental health. They didn't get a bye week just to get away from football completely. That could also be an issue.
Here is a multi-layered comment/question. I can’t get over the NFL decision to send the Patriots on a plane the day after Cam’s positive test. When that decision is compared with the Tennessee decision, to reschedule, it appears to have been influenced more by business than concern over health. This is even more notable given how things blew up in Tennessee after their initial positives. — JP
Welcome to the NFL, where every decision at the league level is about business and not health.
It was beyond dumb that the NFL made the Patriots go to KC, and we said that at the time. The NFL has acknowledged that mistake by now implementing a five-day waiting period for close contacts.
Given the lack of production from the TE position in the passing game, could we see the Pats go to more 4 receiver formations to try to spread the defense out and create more room I the running and option game (once Cam is back)? — Andy W.
Sure, that's on the table but the Patriots obviously love having a TE and/or a FB on the field for blocking purposes. To this point, their rankings by personnel groups (RBs-TEs):
11: 60 percent (16th)
12: 9 percent (31st)
21: 25 percent (3rd)
22: 4 percent (14th)
10: 3 percent (4th)
Patriots have only put four receivers on the field six times.
Greg do you think Dimitroff will get another shot somewhere? He could really make the eyes roll when blathering on about clean eating + biking around the foothills of Boulder, CO (he’d have done really well up in the Bay Area tech world), but he did have a pretty good track record of fielding playoff to fringe playoff level (talent-wise) teams over his tenure in Atlanta.
Not likely anytime soon. It's not often that personnel execs get a second chance for some reason. His best course of action is to become a No. 2 and work his way back. I'm sure he will have some offers. He's easy to get along with and is very smart and thinks outside the box. People value that. Or at least the smart ones do.
He'd be an ideal person to take over for Nick Caserio should he move on at some point, but I'm not sure Dimitroff would be up for that. I'm not sure how much he liked it here because he's more of a worldly free spirit. He did it to get somewhere the first time around, but I don't think he loves the idea of working around the clock of Belichick again.
I could see him, like Scott Pioli, pursuing other interests to help certain groups of people or the environment. He'd also be great at television.