The Patriots Look to Respect the QB Position
When Bill Belichick “mutually parted ways” with the Patriots, we all wondered how different things would look with the operation, staff, and team. While it’s early, it’s clear that there’s one MAJOR difference between Belichick and the New Patriots Order (NPO - Does that work?): They appreciate the importance of the quarterback position.
Remember that quote from Ian O’Connor’s 2018 book “Belichick: The Making of the Greatest Coach of All Time” about Tom Brady and how important he was to the dynasty? No? Well, let’s remind you, here’s what an assistant coach told O’Connor:
"[If] you gave us any of the top 15 [quarterbacks in the NFL], we could do it. I don’t think the coaches view Tom as special as everyone else in football does. [Owner Robert Kraft] thinks Tom is the greatest gift ever, but the coaches don’t.”
Ah, that aged like a fine milk. I’d love to know who that assistant coach was.
It’s obvious when you consider that comment, the treatment of Brady at times, having no plan post-Brady, and the handling of Mac Jones, Belichick just didn’t believe that the QB position was/is as much of a difference maker or should be treated differently than everyone else, like the vast majority of us do. It’s also obvious that the new regime is focused on helping QB1 more than Bill would have been.
Ben McAdoo is well-regarded when it comes to his work with quarterbacks and his ability to evaluate the position. He turned Eli Manning’s twilight years around. He pounded the table for the Giants to move up and draft Patrick Mahomes. You want more detail? Our fearless leader, Bedard, wrote about that very thing this week. You can check it out here.
Meanwhile, Alex Van Pelt played the position in the NFL. His resume has over ten years of experience as a quarterbacks coach. Van Pelt, similar to McAdoo, has proven he can work with different types of QBs and adjust/adapt to those QBs in-season. AVP has been heralded as a damn good position coach and plenty of flowers have been thrown his way by former pupils.
Both McAdoo and Van Pelt are disciples of the West Coast offense. The West Coast offense is known for being supremely QB-friendly. The reads are easier. There’s not a ton on the plate at the line of scrimmage. The terminology won’t melt your brain. Everything is simplified.
The focus on the QB position doesn’t stop there - Eliot Wolf and Jerod Mayo have decided to hire someone that will coach the quarterback, but not also be the offensive coordinator. T.C. McCartney will devote his time to the QB room. Since 2012, the Patriots have had one season with one human being devoted to only the QB: Jedd Fisch in 2020.
Going beyond the coaching staff, the man who is reportedly in charge of the 53-man roster, Wolf, grew up in the Green Bay Packers front office. There’s no team that’s aced the quarterback eval test more than that organization over the past 30 years.
Does this guarantee that the Patriots will find the next great QB and everything will work? Of course not. But, it does mean that the NPO (bail from it?) appreciate the impact of the position and are doing everything they can to set up whoever will be QB1 to succeed. And, that’s a much better place to start from than the prior four years.
The Red Sox PR Circus Continues
Big Red Sox news this week. Did they add a front-of-the-rotation starter? Nope. Did they address the absence of a right-handed power bat? Nope. C’mon, what do you think we’re doing here, trying to improve the baseball team? That’d be silly.
No, you see, we’re talking about the 2024 Boston Red Sox coming to a streaming device near you! That’s right, the Red Sox are headed to NetFlix, as the streaming service will follow the team throughout the season. Think Hard Knocks starring Alex Cora and Company. I know, you can barely keep your excitement bottled up.
Here’s what Red Sox Chief Marketing Officer, Adam Grossman, said to Jen McCaffrey this week, “It truly is a marketing initiative. This is something that there’s no monetary component changing hands and this is really about getting more people under the tent through telling the stories in a way that they’ve never been told before on a really important and growing medium.”
Look, I get that Grossman has a job and that job is to market the team. But, I couldn’t help but laugh when I read “under the tent” within that comment. This entire offseason has been a circus and now NetFlix cameras will have the opportunity to film the traveling big top this summer!
But, don’t be fooled - There’s at least one person in that clubhouse that likely loves this idea: Cora. You know, the lame-duck title-winning manager who the Sox, for whatever reason, have decided not to extend. Cora must be salivating at the opportunity to show the world his leadership, baseball acumen, charisma and personality as he gets ready to walk into free agency. Did y'all see what Craig Counsell is making in Chicago? I’m sure the manager is very excited about a year-long infomercial on how he valiantly dealt with a team that was climbing up an impossible hill versus the mighty AL East.
On the other hand, could you imagine being Craig Breslow? Sorry about your luck, Craig! Breslow agrees to come in, eventually finds out that ownership wants to cut payroll and now has to deal with this season-long distraction. You think he wants a do-over? Do you think he is on the phone with Theo 10 hours per day discussing how to save the ship from sinking?
With all that said, of course I’m going to watch this damn thing…And, isn’t that the point? Ugh.
Brad Stevens: The Machine
A lot of you likely know about Bert Kreischer’s “The Machine” stand-up act. Shoot, it was made into a motion picture last year. Well, it’s time to dub Brad Stevens “The Machine.” All Stevens does is crank out trades in an attempt to make his team better. Stevens is all-in from the moment he wakes up, to the moment he puts his head on the pillow.
And, it’s not only that Stevens is really aggressive, it’s the fact that he’s really really good at his job. Honestly, there’s no other way to evaluate the deals that he’s made since taking over for Danny Ainge. Tell me the deal that he’s made since 2021 that has backfired. Tell me the deal that he made that failed to make basketball sense. Tell me any deal where he was fleeced.
Stevens traded Marcus Smart, Danilo Gallinari, Mike Muscala, and a second-round pick for Kristaps Porzingis and two first-round picks. That’s not a typo. That’s not a fantasy trade in your best friends’ league that got rejected by 95% of the owners. That's a real-life trade that happened. And, to think, some Celtics fans didn’t like it. Your fan card should be revoked for at least one month if you’re guilty of such a transgression.
This week, Stevens made another move. Now, the move wasn’t as headline-inducing as some of the other deals he’s pulled the trigger on, but it was your typical “Stevens did it again” maneuver. With the Celtics in need of some frontcourt insurance, considering Porzingis’ injury history and Al Horford’s age, they went out and traded for Grizzlies’ F/C Xavier Tillman.
Tillman is a top-notch defender with great length, positional versatility up front, and playoff experience. In other words, he’s a great fit. He’s also only 25-years-old and the Celtics now have his bird rights (an entirely separate column some day…Just trust me, that could prove to be big this offseason).
What’d Stevens give up? Lamar Stevens, no relation, who was lucky to get garbage time minutes and two of the EIGHT second-round picks the C’s had at their disposal. So, relatively nothing. Relatively nothing for a piece that could be in the playoff rotation AND address a roster weakness in the years to come. “The Machine” strikes once more.