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WHO FUCKING GIVES A FUCKING RATS ASS ABOUT ANY OF THAT FUCKING HAPPY FUCKING HORSESHIT?!? THAT CRAP IS WHAT FUCKING MAYONAYS WOULD FUCKING DO.

FUCK MIKE VRABEL AND THE FUCKING NEW ENGLAND FUCKING PATRIOTS.
I'm not a fan of that stuff either.
 
There’s no question the New England Patriots’ roster is much better today than it was on the final day of the 2024 regular season.

In that time, the Patriots have acquired defensive tackle Milton Williams, cornerback Carlton Davis, linebacker Harold Landry, linebacker Robert Spillane, right tackle Morgan Moses and several other quality players in free agency. These are meaningful upgrades, particularly on defense.




It’s a strong step in the right direction, and it’s enough to get many people excited about the Patriots potentially winning more than four games next season — something they haven’t done since 2022.

One person who is riding the Patriots hype train is Colin Cowherd. The FOX Sports 1 personality revealed his 2025 NFL predictions on his show, The Herd with Colin Cowherd, last Friday. One prediction that stood out was the Patriots making the playoffs as a wild card team that finishes second in the AFC East division.

“The Patriots (are) one of my surprise teams in the league,” Cowherd said. “I think they have the second-most talented quarterback in the division, and I don’t think it’s particularly close, in Drake Maye. They’ve got to get him weapons in the draft, but it’s a very good tight end, running back draft.

“They upgraded with Mike Vrabel at (head) coach from Jerod Mayo, who just didn’t work. They spent a lot of money. This is going to be a different team. I think they will double their win total, no question.”



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It’s one thing to predict the Patriots will be a better team next season. It would be pretty surprising if that wasn’t the case considering the roster and coaching upgrades made in the offseason. But predicting a playoff appearance is another level of boldness.




That said, it’s not totally inconceivable. The defense should be much improved. And if Drake Maye is the real deal and makes a Year 2 leap in his development as a franchise quarterback, the Patriots could absolutely be in the wild card mix late in the season.

The key for the Patriots in the short term is, as Cowherd alluded to, surrounding Maye with more talent on offense. They still don’t have a legit No. 1 wide receiver, and the offensive line is still a lackluster group with huge question marks at left tackle and center.

With the initial wave of free agency over, the most effective way for the Patriots to make upgrades is through the 2025 NFL Draft. They have four picks in the top 80, including the No. 4 overall selection in the first round. They should be able to get a starting left tackle (Will Campbell) or talented wide receiver (Travis Hunter, Tetairoa McMillan) with that first-round pick.

The Patriots have made only one playoff appearance (2021) since Tom Brady left the franchise in 2020. With a couple more roster upgrades, important football in January could be coming back to New England fairly soon.
 
Boutte, Polk and Baker are all just turning 23, Baker did in Feb, Polk/Boutte B-day's are soon. They are still so young... Boutte showed enough last year that he can play in the NFL. He could still take a step forward and improve, and if he played Y/Z opposite a good X WR I think he'd be productive. Remember Boutte did jack shit his rookie season.. so all is not lost on these guys

And this is gonna be Tyquan's year!
 
LS beat me to this in another thread, and thanks to him for posting it:



It didn’t take veteran center Garrett Bradbury long to find a new team.

Bradbury has agreed to a two-year deal with the Patriots, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. The contract has $3.8 million guaranteed...

Patriots sign former Vikings center Garrett Bradbury
 
While they were busy introducing their first group of free agency signings to the media, the New England Patriots made sure to keep the pipeline open. On Friday, just before and after wide receiver Mack Hollins and defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga held their first press conferences at Gillette Stadium, two more players were added.

Interior offensive lineman Wes Schweitzer and safety Marcus Epps were both signed to one-year contracts. Let’s analyze what the pair brings to the table, and the moves consequently mean for the Patriots.

OL Wes Schweitzer: Signed to 1-year deal​

Center question still unanswered: With the Patriots signing Schweitzer one day after releasing longtime starting center and team captain David Andrews, it would only be natural to see the two moves as connected. They very well might be — more on that in a second — but not necessarily because of the intention of installing the free agency pickup as a 1-for-1 replacement.

Schweitzer has played center extensively in just one of his first nine seasons in the NFL (2022) and only 440 snaps total at the position on his résumé. He will factor into the mix until further notice, but he should not be considered as a shoe-in to take over Andrews’ former role.

Veteran in the room: Even if he does not end up replacing David Andrews on the field, Schweitzer still can be of value to the team. He will take over the title as most experienced interior offensive lineman upon entering the room.

The total group as currently constituted, after all, looks like this:


Schweitzer’s 65 career starts are fewer than Michael Onwenu’s 73, but he is the elder statesman in the room and could therefore help serve as a leader for the young talent around him. While not as established a presence as David Andrews, he has experience with the coaching staff through his time with the New York Jets — who at the time had Patriots RB coach Tony Dews and WR coach Todd Downing on staff — and just generally seen a lot of football in multiple different places.

Positional versatility: Schweitzer may or may not end up earning a starting role up front, but what we do know is that the 31-year-old brings some flexibility to the equation. Out of his 4,779 carer snaps on the offensive side of the ball, 2,201 came at left guard (46.1%), 2,118 at right guard (44.3%), and 440 at center (9.2%).

Besides the possibility of earning a starting spot, Schweitzer could also simply become a seasoned do-it-all backup along the interior — something the Patriots lacked before signing him.

S Marcus Epps: Signed to 1-year deal​

Centerfield range: There are questions about his injury status only six months removed from an ACL tear, but a healthy Marcus Epps could play an important role in the Patriots secondary. In case his knee injury does not negatively impact his range, Epps could be a candidate to play the centerfield role that neither Kyle Dugger nor Jabrill Peppers are suited to play on a full-time basis.

Looking at his tape, we can see instances of him successfully defending the deep parts of the field:


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Over the course of his six-year career in Minnesota, Philadelphia and Las Vegas, Epps lined up as a free safety on 63.4 percent of his defensive snaps (2,201 of 3,469). For comparison, that number stands at only 21.1 and 35.1 percent, respectively, for Dugger and Peppers.

The closest the Patriots currently have to a player like that is Jaylinn Hawkins, who re-signed on a one-year deal earlier this week. Hawkins did have some success in that role in 2024, but there is room for improvement and a healthy Epps could provide just that — both due to his aforementioned range and his ability to diagnose plays and come downhill in run support.


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Injury questions: As noted above, Epps suffered a torn ACL half a year ago; he went down in the Las Vegas Raiders’ Week 3 game against Carolina and missed the remainder of the season as a result. That makes him a bit of a projection, but the outlook is positive when it comes to his eventual availability.

According to a report by Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, Epps is “expected to be cleared well before training camp.” That does leave his participation in the offseason workout program up in the air, but is an encouraging sign nonetheless.

Logjam at safety: With Epps in the fold, the Patriots now have eight safeties under contract for 2025. That includes the projected top 2, Kyle Dugger and Jabrill Peppers, as well as recently re-signed Jaylinn Hawkins:


How the Patriots will use their safeties in 2025 will be fascinating to watch. Dugger and Peppers are established players in the league who, at their best, are borderline Pro Bowlers capable of solidifying the backend of a defense and providing leadership on and off the field (although Peppers was stripped of his captaincy last year in light of his since-resolved legal issues).

However, with a new coaching staff coming in there is no telling the two veterans will continue playing the same roles they previously had, or even remain on the roster when all is said and done. The same is true for the rest of the group, with Hawkins and Brenden Schooler really the only exceptions due to their special teams usage.

As a consequence, all players listed above might be fighting for a finite number of jobs — even the just-signed Marcus Epps.

Leadership considerations: The Patriots are putting an emphasis on strengthening their culture under new head coach Mike Vrabel, and Epps is another acquisition that fits into that mold. Besides being a veteran of six NFL seasons and 87 combined regular season and playoff games, he also was a one-time captain with the Raiders in 2023.

Whether or not he will earn a similar honor in New England will be seen. There is no denying, though, that Epps does have leadership qualities that likely made him an attractive target for the Patriots.


THE most fucking CLUELESS fucking organization in NFL fucking History.
 
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