New England Patriots Midseason Forum - Part 4: Tight End Stable Gets Major Boost By Re-Signing The "Black Unicorn"

"I could run all day. I'm kind of like a black unicorn out there. It's amazing to watch. You go out there and see a big black guy running down the field, it's usually me." - Martellus Bennett

One would think that some team - any team - would have claimed tight end Martellus Bennett off waivers from the Green Bay Packers just to keep his former employer, the New England Patriots, from doing so.

But no one did except those crafty Patriots, who pulled a LeGarrett Blount-style mid-season dumpster dive to pick up a legitimate tried and true weapon that won't take much time getting up to speed since Bennett is only nine months removed from being an integral part of a Patriots' offense that won a World Championship in February.

The self-proclaimed "Black Unicorn" played in all sixteen regular season games for New England in 2016, toughing out shoulder, knee and ankle injuries to put together the third-best statistical season of his career, his 55 catches for 701 yards and seven touchdowns eclipsed only by his first two years in Chicago, where he earned Pro Bowl honors in 2014.

In addition, Bennett was a force in the post-season, catching five balls in the AFC Championship Game against Pittsburgh, then five more in the Super Bowl against the Atlanta Falcons, as well as drawing a pass interference call in the end zone against the Falcons' De'Vondre Campbell to set up James White's two yard touchdown run that sealed the title.

He was dismissed by the Packers for failing to advise the team of a shoulder injury, and while that is the official story, it could be speculated that Bennett wore out his welcome with his infamous rants, especially recent ones in which he told the press that he was considering retirement at the end of the season.

Whatever the case, Bennett's return to Foxborough couldn't have come at more fortuitous juncture, as the Patriots have more pass catchers on the shelf than they do on the field.

In addition to losing top receiver Julian Edelman for the season, both Chris Hogan and Danny Amendola are battling injuries, with Hogan expected to be on the shelf for a couple of weeks - that leaves just Brandin Cooks and Phillip Dorsett - two players that weren't on the roster last season - as the only healthy options among wide receivers for quarterback Tom Brady to target.

The good news is that Bennett joins All-World tight end Rob Gronkowski and a backfield full of versatile playmakers to form what has become the most unique collection of weapons in the league.

The best part to the waiver claim is that the Patriots now control the final two years left on his Packers' contract, with the only stipulation being a $2 million roster bonus due at the start of the 2018 league year, which is essentially a team option. The only guarantees on his contract were a series of prorated signing bonus payments totaling $6.3 million, $4.2 million of which the Packers had to eat as a dead money hit.

The irony here is, of course, that the Patriots had reportedly offered Bennett a contract extension upon acquiring him from the Bears last season, similar to the one that the Patriots absorb in picking up the Packers' contract, his cap hit for 2018 - one that includes the aforementioned roster bonus - is $6.45 million and then $6.5 million in 2019.

Those are affordable numbers, as is the remainder of his 2017 salary of just $724k, not only for the insurance that the durable Bennett provides at the position, but also for the serious 1-2 punch that New England can unleash upon their foes in tandem with Gronkowski.

How serious? Well, when you consider that in the five games that the two played together last season in which Gronkowski wasn't under any snap count restrictions, they combined for 47 catches for 786 yards and six touchdowns - that averages out to nine receptions for 157 yards and one score per game...

...and if you spread that over a full season, you get a completely ridiculous stat line of 150 receptions for 2,512 yards and 19 touchdowns.

It's not tangible to expect that kind of production from the two tight end set - even though the Gronkowski-Hernandez tandem gave the team a similar stat line in 2012 - but Bennett's range and blocking prowess is a part of the total package that goes unnoticed by the casual fan and adds to the intrigue.

Both Gronkowski and Bennett - as well as free-agent pickup Dwayne Allen - are devastating blockers in the running game and are able on the edge in pass protection, adding a layer of versatility that is rare in professional football, and along with their well-documented skill in the pattern makes them almost a requirement as the Patriots will certainly turn to more 12 personnel (one back, two tight ends) looks...

...an alignment that will now require defenses to dedicate safeties and linebackers to coverage which, in theory, will lighten the box against the running game and force single high safety formations that will strap the coverage on the vertical game.

Bennett's presence will certainly cut into Allen's snap count (not to mention send rookie Jacob Hollister to the practice squad), but will also allow him to operate in the background, which may jump start his production in the passing game and also make Jumbo sets (two backs and three tight ends) so versatile that it would be nearly impossible to stop in short yardage and in the red zone, as defenses would have to keep the box light in the event Gronkowski and/or Bennett peel off the edge and into the pattern.

Make no mistake, if Bennett is motivated and reasonably healthy, the Patriots' waiver claim on him could be the piece to the puzzle that gets the offensive juggernaut rolling.

The Patriots' 53, Part 1: The "Losing Edelman" Edition

James White should be the biggest beneficiary of Edelman's absence...

In the New England Patriots' concept-based offense, every single player knows exactly where his teammates are supposed to be.

For the linemen, that means that they know what direction the play is going, whether or not a combination block is called for and when they can release downfield to block on screens.  For the backs in the running game, they know what direction the play is going and where to look for the cutback lanes.

That is by no means a comprehensive list, but it illustrates a point that every player has a hand in the success or failure of the unit.  It's not like the Patriots are unique in that regard, as many teams utilize a zone blocking scheme with assigned direction, downfield releases and cutback lanes, but how many of them employ a group of pass catchers who can all play in every spot along the line of scrimmage reserved for the "skill" positions?

How many of them employ tight ends that can do the same, and take their mirrors right up the seam to be the team's deep threat or cross the face of the linebackers and move the chains just as easily? How many of them employ a kennel full of running backs who can split wide , jump into the slot or remain in the backfield as elite blitz barriers?

Only the Patriots, and we're about to see why Belichick builds his team the way he does.

Make no mistake, part of Patriots' head ball coach and defacto general manager Bill Belichick's mantra is depth at every position, to the point of gleeful overindulgence.

Why? A visit back to 2015 provides us with an answer.

The 2015 season was an unmitigated disaster on the medical front for New England, losing left tackle Nate Solder in the fourth game of that season to a torn bicep, which started a string of injury that incrementally sapped the effectiveness of the offense to the point that they entered the AFC Championship game that year with names like Austin Collie running the wrong routes and Steven Jackson falling forward to pick up two yards.

Both were signed out of desperation to fill up a depth chart that looked like a triage roster from a M*A*S*H unit, and turned out to be present in spirit only.

Solder going down against the Cowboys started a slow leak to the sidelines that turned into a tsunami during the team's stretch run as receiver Julian Edelman suffered a Jones fracture in his right foot in week ten against the Giants that shelved him for the remainder of the regular season - then fell Danny Amendola, who was on-and-off  New England's active 46 for the rest of the season...

...before that, running back Dion Lewis was lost for the season with a bum knee, then tight end Rob Gronkowski took a shot to the knee against Denver that left him a shell of his usual dominant self, then running back LeGarrette Blount was lost for the season in week 12 with ligament damage in his hip.

The result is that a team that managed a 10-0 start and looked like they could run the table all the way to the Super Bowl instead went 2-4 down the stretch to lose homefield advantage to the Denver Broncos, where they would eventually lose the conference title game, ironically, on poor coaching decisions and play calling in the final moments of the game.

Edelman returned for the playoffs and Gronk was there as well, but the Broncos had Edelman wrapped up like a baby swaddled in a warm blanket for one very big reason: The Patriots had no running game to counter the passing game.

With Edelman out for an extended period and Amendola and Gronkowski nursing manageable nicks and bruises - and even with losing Lewis for the season - the Patriots' offense suffered very little in points scored per game (dropping from 34 ppg to 31) and in completion percentage (73.2 to 69.2) - and that was due to the team being able to mix in Amendola and Gronkowski in spot duty while James White started find his legs in the passing game.

But where the drop off and eventual demise of the offense occurred was when Blount was lost for the season.

Not just because it was Blount, mind you, but because Blount was their running game, averaging 4.3 yards per carry and on a pace for  1000 yard season when the injury occurred - and once he went down, the Patriots lost their ability to balance their offense.

That had an expected, yet oddly curious effect on a team known more for their passing game than their running game.  Without the threat of a running game, teams were able to load up their pass rush and come after Brady, as well as dedicate their game plans into stopping whatever receivers the Patriots could muster on a weekly basis.

Without a solid running game for the last three weeks of the season and their two playoff games, the Patriots' rushing average went from 90 yards per game and a combined average of four yards per carry to 60 yards per game, that number brought down precipitously by stout defenses in the playoffs which held New England to 2.8 yards per carry...

...and made Brady their top rusher in the post-season with nine carries for 20 yards as he ran for his life to try and keep plays alive - and that was with Edelman and Gronkowski in the lineup.

The lesson learned is that the running game is much tougher to replace than it is to replace a receiver, or even a group of receivers, because without the running game, the team becomes one-dimensional and opposing defense can then effectively neutralize the passing game.

The real kicker was, however, that Brady was somehow able to get his Patriots to within two points of going to the Super Bowl, and had it not been for errant play calling and decision making by the coaching staff, the would have won that game and gone on to meet the Carolina Panthers in the big game, whom the Broncos beat despite having a clearly washed up Peyton Manning at quarterback..

So is it any wonder that this past offseason Belichick loaded up on running backs with multiple tools in their repetoir, a delightful mix of power between the tackles and grace in the pattern?

Quarterbacks:

Tom Brady
Jimmy Garoppolo

Both Brady and Garoppolo looked and sounded somber in their post-game pressers on Friday night when asked about Edelman, but they both know how stacked this offense is - it's just when you lose a guy like Edelman who was, as Brady put it, a "Gladiator", it does take away from some of cohesion on the unit.

That aside, both are unquestioned locks on the roster, while Jacoby Brissett's time may be approaching the end.  It was curious not to see him play even one series in the third preseason game, but Belichick left us to stew in speculation.

Running Backs:

James White
Mike Gillislee

Dion Lewis
Rex Burkhead
D.J. Foster
James Develin

White showed some power in running against the Lions, trending from his running in the Super Bowl and proving that he can be an all-purpose back if called upon to do so - which is pretty much Belichick's mind-set as mentioned in the screed above.  It does the team no good to have backs with set and determined roles in the offense as it makes the offense just as one-dimensional as does not having a running game at all.

Foster makes this list for that very reason, as he is explosive out of the backfield, but also has tons of experience from being  a receiver in college.

Receivers:

Brandin Cooks
Chris Hogan
Malcolm Mitchell
Danny Amendola
Matthew Slater

Weird not seeing Edelman here.

Rumors abound about who is going to replace The Squirrel's production, but the truth of the matter is that this team is loaded down with move-the-chains playmaker types who are money when the chips are downand the lights are the brightest.  Losing Edelman hurts, yes, but just like in 2015, the team can't spend any time grieving, and must move on.

Tight Ends:

Rob Gronkowski
Dwayne Allen
Jacob Hollister

Hollister has been "inactive" for the past two games after posting a monster stat line in the first preseason game - and what exactly that means we can't be sure of until Belichick tells us.

All we can do is speculate.  We already know what Gronkowski brings to the table, and Allen showed his blocking prowess against the Lions and will contribute in the passing game.  But while those two were showing what we already know about them, James O'Shaunnessey took a step back on Friday night, whiffing on downfield blocks that took away from the effectiveness of the screen game.

Offensive Tackles:

Nate Solder
Marcus Cannon
Cam Fleming
Antonio Garcia

The depth behind Solder and Cannon is concerning in that Garcia hasn't played a down in preseason and Fleming is a matador in pass protection without help on his shoulder.  Rookie Conor McDermott loses a numbers game in this list, though this is perhaps the most volatile position on the depth chart and could swing any number of ways.  For now, let's put him on the practice squad.

Interior Offensive Line:

Joe Thuney
Shaq Mason
David Andrews
Ted Karras

Solid, solid group.  Beyond these four, however, is a festival of nothingness.  The Patriots would do well to snag some waiver wire types to plug into the practice squad, just in case of injury. Karras has improved from last season and can fill in at all three interior positions, but that's about it for depth.

Big Plays, Patriots' Gaffes Help Jags to Preseason Win

All Matt Patricia could do is shield his eyes against the debacle unfolding in front of him.

Granted, it was his New England Patriots' defense's first preseason game, and hardly any of the players he had available to him had any sort of impact during last season's championship run, and most were still in college - but it goes without saying that he had to have higher expectations than what he actually got.

The bane of his existence on a warm, mid-August evening in Foxborough, Massachusetts wasn't the second and third team offensive units of the Jacksonville Jaguars, who put up most of the Jags' total yards, rather, it was his own players who gave up the chunk plays that the Patriots are usually so good at avoiding.

As a result, backup quarterback Chad Henne went 5 of 6 for 139 yards and third-year back Corey Grant carried the ball eight times for 120 yards, leading the not-as-explosive-as-the-Patriots-defense-made-them-look Jacksonville Jaguars to a 31-24 win over New England at Gillette Stadium on Thursday night...

...because if you take away the chunk plays - Henne's 97 yard bomb to rookie Keelan Cole and Grant's 79 yard touchdown run right through the heart of the Patriots' defense - their numbers were average and ordinary as Henne went 4 of 5 for a pedestrian 42 yards and Grant 7 carries for 41 yards. Even third string quarterback Brandon Allen got in on the fun, hitting rookie wide out Dede Westbrook with a 42 yard scoring strike to provide the winning margin.

Those chunk plays accounted for nearly half of Jacksonville's 447 total offense, and came at the expense of a secondary missing all of it's starters.

Both touchdown passes came with second-year corner Cyrus Jones in coverage with third-year safety Jordan Richards over the top.  Jones lost Cole in man coverage when he looked back for the ball, and didn't have the recovery speed to catch him, giving up at about the 20 yard line, then later looked as if he was releasing Westbrook to Richards in zone, but on both plays, Richards was nowhere near the play.

Even worse was safety Richards's form on Grant's touchdown rumble, buying an shoulder feign from Grant, getting turned around in the box and allowing Grant the sideline where he easily outran the entirety of the Patriots secondary.

But despite all of the issues with the defensive depth, the Patriots offense moved the ball well and matched Jacksonville score for score until a fumble by Patriots' running back D.J. Foster broke the pattern and gave the Jaguars the advantage, the only real surprise being quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo playing nearly three quarters of football before relenting to third-string passer Jacoby Brissett with less than five minutes left in the third frame.

Always the gamer, Garoppolo shined with a nearly perfect 22 for 28 performance for 238 yards and two scoring tosses while six different backs combined for 116 rushing yards on 29 carries.  Brissett went 8 of 13 for 88 yards in a little over a quarter of uneven work - not bad for an offense that, like the defense, was giving it's starters the night off in order for the coaching staff make some initial impressions of their depth players.

Two players that made immediate impressions were tight end Jacob Hollister, who flat owned the seam against a Jags' safety corps that had just as rough a night as the Patriots' blue liners did, putting up a seven catch, 116 yard stat line that was a game high for either team, while wide receiver Austin Carr hauled in five balls for 44 yards, one for a touchdown in which he elevated in the back of the end zone and came down with the tough grab.

K.J. Maye also found paydirt, taking a bubble screen from Garoppolo and showing good vision in traffic, weaving through a maze of defenders to go five yards for the score, while running back D.J. Foster found the edge on a three-yard touchdown run after previously putting the ball on the ground and ending a Patriots drive inside the red zone.

There were few bright spots on defense, though strong safety Damarius Travis had a strong game in the box, contributing three tackles and a pass defended.  The linebacking corps was the best unit on the field all evening with solid performances by veteran Jonathan Freeney, second-year load Elandon Roberts and versatile rookie Harvey Langi, all of who were flying to the ball.

The teams exchanged field goals in a measured performance for both, but after a beautiful coffin-corner punt by Ryan Allen that pinned the Jaguars inside their own five yard line, Henne went right after Jones on the first play - Cole baiting Jones to look back for the ball, then angling him off to gain separation, then taking the pass in stride and easily outdistancing Jones to the end zone.

After the next Patriots possession stalled, Ryan got off a flat punt that was returned to midfield, four plays late rookie back Leonard Fournette finding paydirt from one yard out to give the Jags a 17 - 3 lead,

Garoppolo responded on the next series, running off nine plays in less than two minutes and moving the offense 76 yards, capping off the drive with Carr's high-wire, trapeze catch in the back of the end zone to cut the Jacksonville lead to seven going into the room, then tied the score early in the third quarter on the screen to Maye.

Gordon's explosive run off left guard gave the lead right back to the Jaguars, then Allen took advantage of Foster's fumble, hooking up with Westbrook seven plays later to run the Jacksonville lead to two scores - and Foster's three yard scamper late in the game got the game close, but it couldn't make up for the turnover that ended what promised to be the tying drive earlier in the half.

Belichick is giving his charges a couple of days off to rest and recover before meeting up with the Texans for some joint practices next week leading up to the second preseason game for both next Saturday in Houston.

Patriots' Team Building Process On Full Display Against Jags

We've all heard it a thousand times.

When asked about the progress of any player at this point in the team building process, we usually get a canned response from New England Patriots head ball coach Bill Belichick, something to the effect of a combination of "He works hard", "He's a smart kid" and the ever popular, "We'll have to see."

But on Tuesday when asked about second-year quarterback Jacoby Brissett, we got something straight from the depths.

"He's a work in progress." Belichick deadpanned to the glee of bored beat writers.

When Brissett is in the game on Thursday night against the Jaguars, it will most likely be with all manner of position battles happening all over the offensive line, so we are going to be able to witness first hand if Brissett has made that essential second-year progression in regard to his mechanics.

You see, the North Carolina State alum has a penchant for throwing off his back foot when being pressured up the gut, a natural knee-jerk reaction that produces overthrows without much on them, especially up the sidelines, making them ripe for interceptions by centerfielders in the worst-case scenarios, and wasted downs in the best-case.

Thus far in camp, it's obvious that he still has the issue and has thrown the aforementioned high ball off of his back foot release and it seems as though he is trying to compensate for the poor mechanics rather than correcting them.  It will be interesting to see if Jacksonville makes it a point to pressure him up the middle to force those floaters, and also to see if they align a single-deep safety as a ball hawk to pick him off.

This is what camp and preseason are for.  Brissett has an absolute rocket for an arm when he can step into throws and does have good accuracy on the intermediate and short throws, making him an adequate short-term backup, but the issues with his mechanics make him a poor choice as a long-term fill-in, as teams would easily be able to game-plan against his weaknesses.

Needless to say, tonight's game is going to be important to his future with the team.

Other players we will be watching closely:

Dion Lewis - From all accounts the "Human Joy Stick" is back to his old elusive self, breaking ankles and causing would-be tacklers to grasp at thin air.  How much he used in the preseason - and even early in the regular season is anyone's guess, but it makes sense to limit the demure all purpose back's exposure to things that might rip his legs apart, so if he does play, we really can't expect it will be for very long.

Rex Burkhead - On the other hand, we will probably see plenty of Burkhead, who has a little bit of every type of running style known to man inside of him.  He can play the power guy, he can catch the ball, he can protect the passer - which may turn out to be a godsend to Patriots quarterbacks in the preseason - and once he's in the open field, he looks like a newborn fawn trying to find it's footing, with elbows and knees everywhere.  Regardless of how it looks, he's been effective with it in the past.

Devin Lucien - Lucien has generated plenty of press clippings the past few weeks, and now it's time to see if he's just a workout warrior or if his star rises when the bright lights come on.  You can read more about the Arizona State product here...

Jacob Hollister - The Patriots generally carry three tight ends, but the third guy is normally more of an inline blocking machine than what Hollister presents, but his receiving skills can't be ignored.  Of the candidates for the roster spot, the Wyoming product is far and away the best pass-catching prospect, but he offers little from a blocking perspective, certainly less than what the other candidates bring.

For that very reason, Hollister is going to have to bring the "Wow" factor in the preseason if he wants to make this team.

Conor McDermott - Does the athletic McDermott have the sand-in-his-pants anchor to play the blindside protector?  Either Brissett and/or Jimmy Garoppolo is going to find out on Thursday night when the UCLA product goes up against names like Yannick Ngakoue and Dante Fowler.

Blessed with a basketball player's size and slide step, McDermott looks every bit a tight end - but one can't help noticing that he is a far more effective blocker on the move in the running game pulling into the interior on a "wham" assignment, using a killer cut block to take down rogue linebackers while his set and slide technique screams "tackle" in pass protection, he just doesn't have the anchor - or does he?

We'll probably get to see tonight...

Deatrich Wise - The Jacksonville offensive line is a hot mess everywhere except at the pivot, so the Patriots coaches should reasonably expect to see their defensive linemen dominate - but in a preseason game in which the coaches are looking at form and technique, domination is not always going to be apparent to the naked eye, nor will it necessarily show up on the stat sheet.

With Wise, who has long arms and enormous hands, he should be rag-dolling tackles early in the game with a savage initial punch, and bull rushing him back into the pocket.  Like Trey Flowers before him, Wise dominated as a defensive end at Arkansas with uncommon strength, but unlike Flowers, he's not quick-twitch so a lot will depend on his pad level as the game wears on.

If he plays into the late stages of the game and he's still stacking up tackles like cord wood, it may be an indication that the Patriots have struck gold twice in drafting hogs.

Derek Rivers - Rivers was an All American defensive end at Youngstown State, but in the pros, his best destiny is at strong-side linebacker, as his size and skill set whispers "Jamie Collins".

Rivers has been working on his pegs on both sides of the second level all through camp, and when rushing in tandem with Wise, who has worked exclusively as a down lineman, they have been nearly unblockable.  Rivers' issue is that he has zero experience as a stand-up linebacker, so the learning curve is protracted - but if his production in camp is any indication, he's well ahead of that curve.

Cyrus Jones - Naturally, everyone in the civilized world and Canada will be watching with a blood-lust to see if Jones muffs a punt or makes some sort of crazy, knee-jerk decision of some sort that will result in a turnover, but Jones seems to have regained much of his confidence on fielding kicks, so in addition to his special teams play, he will be getting some reps at corner, perhaps a bunch.

Damarius Travis - strong safety Jordan Richards is in the fight of his career for a roster spot, but every kid in the mix that gets injured makes him closer to a lock to hold on to his spot for a this season.  The only player left in his way?  Damarius Travis.

Travis is an undrafted box safety with a reputation for going after the big hit, eschewing proper wrap-up technique required for run support.  He also is reported to have issues with handling tight ends on seam routes, which belies his extraordinary height (6' 2") for the position.  That said, we'll be looking to see if the Jaguars can cause those deficiencies to manifest, of if he has taken to professional coaching.