The Patriots aren’t perfect. Far from it. That fact is news to absolutely no one…
But what the Patriots (finally) are is fun to watch again. In the four full seasons since Tom Brady’s departure, the moments of joy in Foxborough have been fleeting. There have been some positive blips on the radar along the way, but watching the Pats play football has mostly been an activity (chore) devoid of pleasure.
Not anymore. Ever since a certain 22-year-old from Huntsville, North Carolina burst onto the scene, it’s been a different ballgame. Truly, Drake Lee Maye has transformed the Patriots from unwatchable to watchable.
Not only that, but you truly feel like they have a chance to win every time they take the field.
Of course, they’re not going to do that every week. They didn’t do it on Sunday against a superior Rams team, albeit in a winnable game. They’ll still probably do more losing than winning down the stretch. That’s just the reality of this poorly-constructed — and often poorly-coached — roster.
It’s a work in progress, and so is Maye. He’s had his rookie moments, for sure. In the wise words of Robert Frost (and co-opted by Under Armour), the only way out is through.
But the difference is stunning, isn’t it? It’s taken Maye next to no time to surpass the ceiling of Mac Jones, who started with a higher floor than most but proved to be incapable of elevating his game. When the Mac Jones Patriots played, it often felt like pulling teeth (with some help from a past-his-prime Bill Belichick and his out-of-position, over-their-heads coaching staff) and an exercise in futility.
Not Maye’s Patriots. The progress from his first start to now is off the charts. Not only is he playing so much more confidently and in command, but he’s also assuming the leadership role that comes with being a starting quarterback in the NFL.
New England’s offense, once perpetually stuck in the mud, has become more streaky — in a good way. Each drive doesn’t feel like it will inevitably end in a punt by the team’s early-season MVP Bryce Baringer. You really feel like there’s a chance the drive might end in six.
And that’s fun, the way football is suppose to be. It’s nice to watch something with positive momentum that feels like it’s building toward something.
Of course, the architects of that build — Jerod Mayo, Alex Van Pelt, Eliot Wolf and Robert Kraft (from a bankroll perspective) — have their work cut out for them yet. It’ll ultimately be up to them to put Maye & Co. in the best position to succeed.
But for now, watching football in Foxborough is fun again.
Hot in Cleveland
When the Celtics and Cavaliers met in the second round of last season’s playoffs, it never felt like the result would be in doubt. And indeed it wasn’t, as Boston took advantage of a shorthanded, under-seasoned Cleveland team in an easy five-game series victory.
Now the stakes are different. Off to an NBA-best 15-0 start — and one win shy of becoming just the second team to win 16 in a row to start a season — the Cavs are coming to town looking like a much more formidable threat.
Nothing a championship-tested winner like the Celtics shouldn’t be able to handle, right?
The 15-0 Cavaliers.
— NBA (@NBA) November 18, 2024
The defending champion Celtics.
What a matchup we have to lead off Tuesday night's #EmiratesNBACup action! 🍿
Donovan Mitchell and the Cavs look to become the 2nd team ever to start a season 16-0 as they visit Jayson Tatum and the 11-3 Celtics in East Group… pic.twitter.com/kJl6KKQzTd
Win or lose, the Larry O’Brien trophy won’t be handed out on Tuesday night. But this is a golden opportunity for Jayson Tatum’s and Jaylen Brown’s Celtics to make a statement with the basketball world at large watching.
The Celtics have had the success they’ve had because they’ve been able to replicate their winning process on a near nightly basis over the last 100-plus games. Consistency and stick-to-itiveness should be the name of the game, but human nature is also inevitable.
It’s exactly the kind of opportunity that I’m sure Joe Mazzulla is relishing. For one night, at least, some might see his Celtics as the “underdog.” That, of course, isn’t true in the slightest, but it’s just enough of an angle to be able to light a fire under his players.
At any rate, I’d like to see the Celtics come out with the intensity of a must-win playoff game. Whether it comes in the form of elite team basketball or an All-NBA caliber performance from Tatum or Brown, it doesn’t much matter.
This is a game a team of the Celtics’ caliber should be able — nay, expected — to win.
(Oh, and I guess this game also “matters” because of the NBA Cup. Please… it’s stupid and dumb from a local perspective. I have successfully avoided covering any Celtics games involving the In-Season Tournament/Cup. That streak ends tomorrow when I’ll be at TD Garden.
It’s one thing to treat the Cup like it matters if you’re the Detroits, Charlottes, Portlands and Utahs of the world — places where that represents your only shot at winning something in a given season. But here? Where you just raised your league-record 18th championship banner? It’s such a joke. Why would you want to play more games during the regular season if you do well in the thing, when staying healthy is among the most important factors for this Celtics team to be able to repeat?
And the fact that the Lakers even dignified the thing by raising a banner of their own last year is so far beneath a championship organization. I guess it’s no surprise they’re now in second place again in championships that actually count…)
Pedey’s place in Cooperstown?
Dustin Pedroia and Julian Edelman have a lot in common.
Both were integral to their teams’ success in winning multiple championships. Both were fan favorites who were fun to watch, whose effort was always on display on a nightly basis and who are deserving of their spots in the storied lore of their franchises.
And both do not belong in their sport’s respective Hall of Fames.
Dustin Pedroia and Hanley Ramirez have made their debut on the @baseballhall Hall of Fame ballot!
— Portland Sea Dogs (@PortlandSeaDogs) November 18, 2024
Former Sea Dogs teammates...future Hall of Fame inductees? https://t.co/tnS8gOGiQS pic.twitter.com/EyACm8ra8a
I loved watching Dustin Pedroia play baseball. Talk about tough. Pedey personified it and was everything you wanted in a “captain” of your infield — who should have succeeded Jason Varitek in being captain of the team.
But now that Pedroia will officially be on the Hall of Fame ballot, a right he earned by his longevity in the game, we’re reminded of the sad truth that his numbers just weren’t good enough.
We’re talking about a player with a sub-.300 bating average (albeit barely at .299) who finished well short of 2,000 hits, only topped 20 homers once, never drove in more than 91 runs in a season and is tied for 290th all-time with a 51.9 WAR (if you’re into that kind of thing). Yes, he won an MVP, was a four-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glover and a Silver Slugger winner among other honors.
Like it or not, the Hall of Fame often comes down to stats — and Pedroia doesn’t have ‘em. Was he among the best players of his time? Sure. Was he ever looked at as THE best player of his era? No, not even close.
Maybe he could have gotten there had it not been for the (Manny Machado-enhanced) knee issues. But ultimately, Pedroia will go down as a deserving Red Sox Hall of Famer even when Cooperstown doesn’t come calling…
Swaying in the wind
The Bruins have a franchise goalie in Jeremy Swayman.
It’s long past time he started playing like one…
Ever since agreeing to his eight-year, $66 million extension just before the season began, Swayman has been mediocre at best, and downright bad at worst.
The 25-year-old netminder had another bad showing in Monday’s lackluster loss to the Blue Jackets, including letting in two soft goals during a three-goal Columbus first period (in fairness, he was screened on the third). Swayman’s — and his team’s — performance earned plenty of rightful boos as the B’s exited the ice with a three-goal deficit against a Blue Jackets team that had lost seven of eight.
Now the B’s are back under “.500” (even though they already technically were with eight wins and 11 losses including overtime setbacks) and are continuing to teeter. This time, it isn’t on Jim Montgomery alone…
While Montgomery’s coaching continues to be ineffective, the lackluster performance of his No. 1 goaltender has become too glaring an issue to ignore.
Coming in, Sway’s 3.35 goals-against average and .884 save percentage are easily the worst marks of his four-plus year career — and they’re coming at the worst possible time. The confidence we saw him build last season in tandem with Linus Ullmark and as the team’s No. 1 goalie in the playoffs just isn’t there right now.
To his credit, Swayman is owning up to it. In his words, the struggles have come from a lack of attention to detail and not leaning on past lessons as much. Asked if his contract-related absence has played a role in his struggles, Swayman insisted he’s had enough time back with the team to overcome his lack of training camp prep.
Nevertheless, it’s evident he’s still confident in himself — as well he should be.
Sawyman has the talent. We’ve seen it first hand. That’s not something that is going to completely abandon you in your mid-20s. In your mid-30s? Yeah, Father Time catches up to us all (with the exception of Brady). That isn’t what’s happening here, though.
There have been times when interviewing Swayman feels like walking on eggshells. He’s not an overly chatty person with us in the media when he wins, and certainly not when he loses — and that’s A-OK in my book.
One of the most endearing traits of Swayman to me is that he wears his heart on his sleeve. You should be upset when you lose.
It’s part of what rubbed me the wrong way sometimes with Tuukka Rask, and to some extent Ullmark. When they won, they were even-keeled. When they lost, they were even-keeled. I’m not suggesting one needs to have an on-ice meltdown or change everything they’re doing when something goes wrong, but fans like to see a little frustration when the results aren’t there.
It’s a good sign that Sway is bothered. Now’s the time for him to do something about it, and he plans to.
“Tough times don’t last, but tough people do. So that’s my mindset,” Swayman told us after Monday’s loss. “Tomorrow’s a new day, and I’m gonna win it.”