Patriots Rewarding Their Best
The Patriots extended Rhamondre Stevenson on Thursday. The running back will get $17M guaranteed from the deal and gets paid as if he’s the seventh best RB in the game. And, of course, there were lots of reactions to the extension. Some, if not many fans, didn’t like the decision.
Some of those fans continue to have an issue with Eliot Wolf deciding to retain a number of guys from last year’s 4-13 team. “They stunk. Yay, let’s run it back!” they say. Meanwhile, we still don’t quite get that “point.”
Was the assumption that the team would allow everyone to walk, because they weren’t a good football team last year? Is the theory that because the team’s record was bad everybody stinks? We hate to be the bearer of “bad news,” but there are good football players on bad teams. It actually happens all the time!
Whether a team is good or bad, is it not smart to keep Mike Onwenu? When you have a rookie QB who is likely to start at some point this season, is it not a good idea to keep good and productive vets to surround him? Why is it a bad idea to retain Hunter Henry and Kendrick Bourne, while extending Stevenson, in order to give Drake Maye some semblance of help whenever he steps on the field?
The franchise wasn’t going to release 53 guys and start from scratch. It’s not possible. A first-time top executive and Head Coach weren’t going to fill the roster with a bunch of unknowns or bad players, so they can start a five-year rebuilding process.
The Pats are doing exactly what they should be doing; retaining the good players and trying to replace the bad ones via draft capital and free agency.
By extending Stevenson, Wolf & Mayo decided to retain another good one.
Self Awareness Led to Dominance
This writer was watching NBA TV’s postgame coverage of Game 5, when Brad Stevens was brought onto the set for an interview. Stevens made it a point to note that the Celtics look for players that are self-aware.
Here is the AI overview's definition of self-awareness: The ability to understand your thoughts, feelings, values, beliefs, and actions, and how they align with your internal standards. It also involves being aware of how others perceive you.
In other words, someone who understands their weaknesses. Not only do they understand their weaknesses, they are so aware that they work on them in order to improve.
Moreover, when you’re self-aware you are less prone to try to do too much. You know your limits. You’re also aware of how others perceive the way you approach everything regarding your career - Your practice habits, your selflessness, and more. This theoretically drives you to become a better teammate.
When you think about this group that delivered Banner 18, there might not be a better reason as to why they were capable of delivering it, than self-awareness.
Jaylen Brown recognized his left-hand and rim reading weaknesses, which led him to work on both of those issues and improve on them. Jayson Tatum realized what went wrong in the 2022 Finals and improved on his playmaking by leaps and bounds. And, when your leaders are self-aware many of the others will fall in line.
That leads this space to the acquisitions of Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday. Porzingis seemingly lacked the self-aware gene during his time in New York and Dallas. The sad state of the Wizards will do that to a man! This version of Porzingis absolutely understood this mission and did everything asked of him. By the way, is there a player with more self-awareness than Holiday? Talk about subjugating your ego for the greater good of the team.
The idea that teams will attempt to follow the “five out blueprint” is a logical one when trying to figure out how the league will react to this kind of dominance. But, the ability to execute the blueprint is not as easy as the Celtics made it look. You need a team that not only has the talent to play five out, but also the humility and self-awareness to do it.
That is why Stevens put emphasis on the latter during that NBA TV interview. As a former coach, he understands the delicate nature and psyche of athletes. Stevens understands that athletes tend to trust themselves much more easily than trusting someone else. The top executive appreciates the character of a team and not just its talent.
This iteration of the Celtics provided countless examples of sacrifice. They played selflessly on offense, while giving every inch of their body on defense. Especially, when it mattered most. Guys played and scored less, but gave more. All because they were unequivocally self-aware.
The Red Sox Are…Fun?
There was so little expectation for this Red Sox team, maybe we’re all just overreacting to how entertaining they’ve been. Or, maybe not.
The Sox enter Friday night’s game in Cincinnati five games above .500. They are one game back of the Twins for a Wild Card spot, while holding a 4-game lead on the Rays. And, the way they’ve gotten here is fascinating.
They began the year with unbelievable production from their pitching staff. Then injuries started to accumulate all over the clubhouse. Now, in June, their bats have unexpectedly woken up. Enmanuel Valdez is raking. Ceddanne Rafaela is scorching. Meanwhile, the team has stolen roughly 350 bases over the last two weeks.
Through the first 75 games, at different points, they’ve shown the ability to pitch, hit, and run as good as any team in baseball. Defense? Let’s not go there, we’re trying to be positive!
The bigger picture point is that this team is competitive. Somehow Alex Cora has gotten more out of this collective so far than many of us thought would be possible. And, that’s when we thought they’d have Triston Casas, Trevor Story, and others.
This all leads us to the trading deadline. IF the Sox continue to play above .500 baseball, will John Henry actually step up and invest to make this team better at the deadline? Will the owner actually acquiesce and give Craig Breslow the OK to help that dugout truly contend? To give them the opportunity to make an unexpected run?
One can only hope.