Perry's Mailbag: Why Stevenson is in line for more catches than you think originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
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We're officially less than one week away from regular-season NFL football.
The Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Rams are set to kick off the 2022 campaign on Thursday Night Football. As for the New England Patriots, they'll begin their season on Sept. 11 vs. the Miami Dolphins.
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As we impatiently wait for the fun to begin, let's get to your mailbag questions...
This is always dangerous. But with Montgomery out for now -- I'm presuming he won't be able to go Week 1 as he deals with what looked like a serious ankle injury suffered in Vegas -- I'd anticipate Rhamondre Stevenson being on the field in obvious passing situations.
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Bill Belichick wants his backs to be able to play all three downs, but Stevenson is clearly the best receiver among the Patriots backs available. He should get some between-the-tackles work, too. If you're looking for fantasy advice, I'd rather have Stevenson than Damien Harris. But Harris looms as a goal-line option.
I'm ready to give the 2021 draft an A. If they landed a quality starting quarterback, which it appears they have, as well as a pass-rushing defensive tackle and a do-it-all running back, that's about as good as anyone could expect. They also got a roster-worthy strong safety in Josh Bledsoe and a couple of p-squad options in Cam McGrone and Tre Nixon.
The 2020 class has a number of potential starters in 2022, but the jury is out on how many of them will handle those roles. Kyle Dugger will start as a quality strong safety. Josh Uche and Anfernee Jennings look like they'll play real roles on the edge. The tight ends taken in the third round that year flopped. But Mike Onwenu is a starting guard found in the sixth round, and Justin Herron may end up as their swing tackle. Can't get that many rostered players and give it a failing grade, but until we actually see more of these guys play, I think you have to give it C+, carried by Dugger and Onwenu, who are proven starters if not Pro Bowl players.
Cam McGrone is back on the practice squad, but your point is a fair one. The Patriots were excited to see what he could add to that group, seemingly passing on the position in the draft at least in part because of McGrone's presence. And he didn't show enough to make the team.
The Patriots would tell you it wasn't the pressing need others felt it was since they'd added Mack Wilson prior to the draft, giving them some depth along with Raekwon McMillan and Jahlani Tavai behind Ja'Whaun Bentley. Still, in not drafting a 'backer, they missed an opportunity to not only add Nakobe Dean or Devin Lloyd, but by trading down to eventually land Cole Strange they also passed on adding a big, athletic and tough linebacker from Georgia in Quay Walker, who league evaluators considered one of the best fits for the Patriots at the position in this year's class.
You know the Patriots are pretty pleased with how they were able to avoid real disaster injury-wise during training camp. Bill Belichick acknowledged at one point in camp that the team was as healthy as it had ever been by the same date on the calendar. A change in approach there helped.
We saw, in my opinion, less conditioning work than we'd seen previously. The Hills behind Gillette Stadium did not get quite the action they'd seen in years past. The Patriots also opted not to run live tackling drills through August. No live goal-line periods, either. That may be because the team no longer has a fullback and felt as though its gap-scheme runs in the middle of the field will be about the same as what they do at the one-yard line this year. But it's clear sports science has more influence on how teams approach their seasons than ever before.
I believe Belichick has willingly bought into some of those changes and his team is relatively healthy as a result. No significant practice injuries. Tyquan Thornton's collarbone issue and Ty Montgomery's ankle issue both popped up in preseason game action.
No. Not from start to finish. But do you really believe they weren't/aren't a good team in the end? And they were 13 seconds from the Super Bowl. They're one of the most talented teams in the league, and I'd pick them to make the Super Bowl. The Patriots won just as many games against playoff teams last year, but theirs came against a Titans team that was missing both AJ Brown and Derrick Henry and a Bills team that couldn't handle gale-force winds.
Caley was the most logical coach to elevate. And he's a quality coach. Josh McDaniels wanted him in Vegas. Bill Belichick wanted to keep him in New England. He's widely respected for the work he's done in Foxboro since 2015. But if Belichick believed that Caley might be a flight risk after this season, perhaps that led him not to give Caley more responsibility.
Belichick, it seems, is wary of starting fresh two years in a row -- maybe one reason why Bill O'Brien isn't here -- which has led to leaning on the offensive brain trust as it's currently constructed with Matt Patricia and Joe Judge near the top.
Here's the logic, SE: Josh McDaniels is gone so why ask others to coach the complicated system McDaniels helped create? Additionally, perhaps a simplified system -- one like what's found success in San Francisco and Los Angeles -- could help young or new players adapt to what's happening in Foxboro more quickly. For instance, this new offense seems to be a better fit for Jonnu Smith. Additionally, rookie receiver Tyquan Thornton (before getting injured) showed more promise in camp than most rookies at his position have in New England lately. There are real reasons for trying to change.
How the offensive line adapts to everything that's new, though, bears watching. The health of the quarterback relies on it. And Belichick, I've been told, has no patience for negative runs. So if the run-blocking doesn't get ironed out quickly, the wide-zone runs may be scrapped.
Hey, Ashley. I'd anticipate James Ferentz getting bumped up. He's a ready-made NFL player for them who could serve as the backup to all three interior spots in Week 1. JJ Taylor would also make some sense. He's more ready to play right now than Pierre Strong, and if either Damien Harris or Rhamondre Stevenson were to suffer an injury early in Miami, they'll need another option at that position.
I'd go with Stevenson. And I think Taylor is a better fit there than Strong. Given what we saw from Strong this summer, which wasn't much, he looks like he could be on the James White rookie-year plan to be a healthy scratch until he's good to go.
Coaches are reluctant to call it a "new" offense. Same for folks in personnel. But the guys tasked with executing it call it "new" all the time. It's new. More zone runs. New language for some of the play-calls. Less communication at the line of scrimmage. For now, at least. Those are the highlights.
I think they have to win one of those games. As was the case last season, they could go 1-3 to start and still make the postseason. But then they'll probably have to win a difficult game or two late -- Vikings? Bills? Raiders? Dolphins? -- in order to get close to double-digit wins and the postseason. I went through the schedule, game by game, here. I see a 9-8 record, but there's a path to more wins than that.
I think part of the reason for Mac Jones' frustration has been that he hasn't been able to change at the line when he knows he should -- or that he knows he would've under McDaniels. Last year, Jones was encouraged to change the play almost whenever he wanted if he felt he could get them into a better look.
