Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

New England Preview 2022

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • New England Preview 2022

    Key FA and Trade Losses: QB Myron Herrlich (trade to ATL for three draft picks), LT Breno Giacomini (trade to JAX), LG Chad Rinehart (trade to JAX), FS Chip Vaughn (FA to PHI), MLB Scott McKillop (FA to ATL), WR Riddick Gomez (trade to GB), WLB Jordan Dizon (released, signed with STL).

    The Pats dealt off two of their more talented players in Herrlich (a franchise QB in the making) and Giacomini. The end result should be an influx of new talent next year, though, when New England will have three first round picks and six picks in the top three rounds. The team also parted ways with three-time, first-team All-Pro WLB Jordan Dizon, who hasn’t been the same since suffering a serious ACL injury in 2020.

    Key FA and Trade Additions: LT Jeff Thomason (trade from DEN), RG Lester Schokora (trade from JAX)

    Draft:
    New England landed perhaps the most talented player in the draft and had a second round pick cut after camp. Center Maurkice Pouncey should be an anchor for the Pats line for a decade or more and fell all the way to the 25th pick because of the position he plays. Plans for restocking the rest of the line, though, took a step back when LT Russell Okung was cut after a disastrous training camp that left the team questioning whether he had any potential in the league. In the middle rounds, New England added some potential contributors at cornerback, guard, kicker and a possible back-up quarterback. The jury is still out on WLB Perry Riley and SE Carleton Mitchell.

    1.25 C Maurkice Pouncey 58/94
    2.15 LT Russell Okung 26/30
    2.30 RCB Chris Cook 33/48
    3.17 LCB Patrick Robinson 26/40
    3.29 QB Jimmy Shellhaas 16/45
    4.3 WLB Perry Riley 24/29
    4.16 SE Carleton Mitchell 20/27
    4.32 K Stephen Wheeler, 38/52
    5.2 LG Shawn Lauvao 31/54

    Last Season:
    New England went 14-2 and won their last 10 games of the regular season following their only double-digit loss of the season (a 17-3 defeat loss at Houston. Sorry, had to get that in there...). The Pats captured the top seed in the AFC, but fell in the divisional round to a red-hot Kansas City team. It was their second straight exit in the divisional round following back-to-back Bowl victories.

    2022 Outlook
    The expectations in New England are the same every year. Win a championship. With the talent they have on the roster, anything less will be a disappointment. The 2022 schedule includes four straight road games early in the year and a tough stretch of five games to the end of the year including Denver, Chicago, Minnesota and a Buffalo team that should be improved.

    QB
    Joe Flacco has posted a QB rating over 100 in four of the last five years and remains one of the league’s elites. With the departure of Herrlich, though, there is reason to be nervous. Flacco has missed all or part of 15 games in the last two years due to knee injuries. The Patriots’ two back-up QBs are are two rookies, one of them, Emmanuel Lynn, is an undrafted free agent. The health of Flacco’s knees will be the subject of many Sunday prayers in the Boston area this year.

    Backfield
    Running back Ricky Peters rambled for 1,241 yards and 12 TDs last year, but he only averaged 3.91 yards a carry. Backup Richie Kresser had good success as a change-of-pace back (497 yards, 7 TDs, 4.40 ypc). Fullback Sam Nelson remains a solid receiver in his ninth year and is coming off his best seasonal yards per catch total (6.59).

    WR
    The receiving options available will give the Patriots a myriad of options this year. When Mike Smith, Adam Velevis and Rodney Lyons are all on the field, it will be exceptionally difficult for opposing secondaries to keep track of them all. Expect to see plenty of two tight end sets as well to take advantage of Brandon Pettigrew and Erik Bishop, both of whom are also dangerous receivers.

    O-Line
    The addition of Pouncey gives a big boost to a line that’s solid, but not spectacular. LT Jeff Thomason and G Lester Schokora are new additions and RT Winston Stokes (a two-time All-Pro) should return to the lineup in a few weeks. G Jeff Otah made the All-Pro team for the second time, this time as a second teamer.

    D-Line
    The strength of this unit is the depth of talent at defensive tackle where Deon Chandler, Corey Brilz and Edward Connell make a solid rotation of talent. Austin McDonald and Mike McCulley have spend their entire careers manning the defensive end spots for the Pats.

    LB
    New England has invested two first-round picks, a second rounder and a third rounder in linebackers over the last four years. The result is a young, deep, hungry group led by first-team, All-Pro Travis Ellard (10 sacks).

    D-Backs
    CB Malcolm Hardy is still going strong in his ninth year and just set a career high in passes defended (17) and pass defense percentage (89.2). Terrell Thomas likely starts on the other side when he returns from a knee injury. It will be interesting to see who emerges as the starting free safety which appears to be the weak spot on the defense.

    Special Teams
    Punter Patrick Hutton had a career year last season with career highs in net average (42.6) and punts inside the 20 (36). Three-time All-Pro Justin Medlock was cut after training camp and that job goes to Frank Schneider (8.4 yards per PR, 24.3 yards per KR) likely handles the return duties again this year.

  • #2
    Thanks for the write up and up if Flacco goes down for any extended period were in trouble. This is the most excited i've been about our passing attack. we have two very good receiving TE and three stud WR. Last year I was very close to moving Flacco to LA but it didn't make sense for Yoda to give up that much with a team totally lacking any other talent. Flacco basically won the job with his play in the second half of the season so keeping Herrich around as a pure backup didn't make sense and getting the picks I did I feel good about the trade.

    Comment

    Working...
    X