Patriots Slow Roll: Will Everyone Be Patient?
Eliot Wolf, Jerod Mayo and the New England Patriots are doing this right. What is “this?” The slow roll. Let’s explain.
Since the rookies have been in town, there’s been a clear objective: Let’s NOT throw these guys into the deep end, unnecessarily. The tedious and strenuous work on Drake Maye’s dropbacks, throwing motion and everything in between. Maye getting QB3 reps during the first OTA. The deliberate nature of that OTA observed by the media. And, the messaging from Mayo, like saying Maye has “a lot to work on” during his meeting with the media at rookie minicamp.
This is exactly how the process should be handled. Baby steps. The slow march towards mandatory minicamp, followed by training camp, and then “let’s see who wins what job.”
But aside from us thinking about how the process has been going about the right way, we’ve also seen and/or heard some of the conversation. There was a hitch that Captain Bedard mentioned. There’s the football tap. There’s the Bailey Zappe taking snaps from Maye “controversy.” This conversation is more likely to ramp up then slow down. Which makes us wonder…
Will the fans be patient enough to allow this offense, this QB, and this coaching staff to grow?
It’s easy to say rebuild. It’s easy to understand that this team is very unlikely to contend this season. It’d be a glorious surprise for them to make a playoff appearance.
But, it’s not so easy to watch the growing pains. Watch the mistakes. Especially, after the team has gone 12-22 over their last two seasons.
If the Patriots start 1-4 through the tough first five weeks of the schedule, will there be unease? Will there be screams for Maye to start, even if he’s not ready to do so? Will the fans stop showing up and will that push the owners to directly or indirectly start putting pressure on the coaching staff to show off the shiny new toy? Or, will a first time head coach feel the anxiety of not winning “enough” and out of desperation pull the trigger on a Maye start?
This writer hopes not. That’s the worst thing that could happen. The fans need to show patience. Ownership and Mayo need to do the same. If not, an already expectedly tough rebuild could become indescribably painful.
Jaylen Brown: The Overlooked Star
This week, Jaylen Brown fell just short of landing on an All-NBA team. Some, if not many, saw that as a snub.
Brown certainly seemed to agree with that assessment after he decided to wax the Pacers last night in Game 2. Brown finished with 40 points, five rebounds, and excellent defense. He played under control all night, while shooting 51.8% from the field and 40% from three. Statement made.
In our humble opinion, Brown had his best season as a Celtic this year. Yes, his scoring was down, but shouldn’t that be expected with the additions of Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday, as well as the offensive improvement of Derrick White? Jayson Tatum had almost the same exact impact on his scoring this past season.
Meanwhile, Brown shot better from the field and three this season than he did last year. And, he also had arguably his best defensive season of his career.
All this for the team with the best record in the game.
One could wonder if Brown would have had a different fate from voters, if he wasn’t a Celtic. If he wasn’t Tatum’s teammate.
It’s just one of the sacrifices that Brown has given. And, it’s just the latest example of Tatum (1st Team All-NBA) being the focal point of the organization, while Brown just goes about his job.
Even after a dramatic Game 1 win in the Eastern Conference Finals on Tuesday night, the national talking points were about Tatum’s late 4th quarter failures, OT heroics, and the Pacers “choking.” Meanwhile, anyone watching that game would quickly tell you that Brown was at the heart of the win.
The forced Pacers turnover in the final seconds of regulation. The three that sent the game into overtime. The pivotal OT steal, while defending Pascal Siakam. His fingerprints were all over putting the Celtics up 1-0 in the series. Yet, he was a footnote.
Brown has consistently kept his head down. He has improved every single year of his career. To our recollection, we don’t recall Brown ever complaining about shots or complaining about Tatum consistently getting the final shot. That should not be taken for granted or overlooked.
IF the Celtics reach the ultimate goal this year, Brown’s sacrifices need to be appreciated much more than they have been over the last seven years.
Bruins Bringing Back Montgomery
Charlie Jacobs made it official on Wednesday, when he told the media that there would be no changes in terms of management or coaching this summer.
There had been some wondering if Jim Montgomery would be susceptible to getting “popped.” That apparently will not be the case.
However, this brings up another interesting question: Will the Bruins allow Montgomery to walk into a lame-duck season, much like the Red Sox have let Alex Cora do?
Montgomery is set to walk into the final year of his three-year agreement and it’s tough to believe that he’s done enough to earn a long-term lucrative contract extension. In the first year, he helped author an epic collapse with his awful goaltender handling and a few other head-scratching decisions. In year two, we’d say his team met expectations.
Certainly seems like a “prove it” year is needed before continuing the marriage.
Which, if that is the decision by the organization, sets up a fascinating 2024-2025.
The expectation is that there will be plenty of changes on the ice, with the Bruins having a projected $21M in cap space and multiple holes to fill. Next year is also Brad Marchand’s final year on his current agreement. Ipso facto, Marchy’s final season could be in the hands of a lame duck coach.
We’ll see if the Bruins decide to keep it that way.
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