Why Ryan Izzo was the most productive Patriots tight end in 2019 and should be a roster lock in 2020

In 2018 The Patriots selected Ryan Izzo in the 7th round of the NFL draft. Izzo was known as a blocking tight end coming out of Florida State. His last season he played in 13 games and put up 317 yards and 3 touchdowns on 20 receptions. His NFL comparison was John Carlson who played for the Seahawks, Cardinals, and Vikings.

Izzo spent the 2018 season on the IR after suffering a high ankle sprain. The same injury that Sanu suffered in 2019.

In 2019 Izzo suffered a concussion, this isn't 2001 when the league ignored side effects from concussions. So Izzo had to pass concussion protocol to get back on the field. Izzo was kept out weeks 7-9 due to the concussion. Week 10, Izzo was kept out with an undisclosed illiness, which still could've been from the concussion. Izzo was red shirted after week 10. During week 3, Izzo suffered a calf injury that he played with all season. 

Izzo was listed as tight end three all season. His position and production was a product of circumstance due to injury and being red shirted. If not for the injuries, Izzo may have exploded in 2019. I know people don't like to deal with circumstances excuses but we made them for why Brady's stats were down in 2018 and 2019. We also made the for why the run game struggled in 2019. Take a look at some stats and analytical data, which show it's not an excuse.

Tight end one, Ben Watson during 2019 played in 10 games. He caught 17 passes for 173 yards and 0 touchdowns. Tight end two, Matt Lacosse played in 11 games and caught 13 passes for 131 yards and 1 touchdown. Izzo who had less catches and targets, statistically was right between them.

Ryan Izzo played in 6 games. Caught 6 of 9 passes for 114 yards and a touchdown. Izzo averaged 19 yards a catch. If izzo had played in 10 games based off his average, he would've had 10 catches for 190 yards. If he had played in 11 games he would've had 209 yards. Before Izzo got hurt, he was starting to earn Brady's trust. He caught 4 of 6 passes in weeks 5 and 6 and had 70 yards and a touchdown. 

Izzo was averaging 5.1 yards after the catch. Izzo wasn't on Gronk's level but he wasn't going down on first contact either.

Izzo only played in 59.8% of the snaps, 40.5% were passing plays. Where he was targeted 4% of the time he was on the field. 88.9% of the passes thrown to Izzo were catchable. Izzo finished 2019 with a catch rate of 66.7%. With a true catch rate of 75%. 

Izzo had a target seperation rate of 2.78 and was 50% on contested catches. Izzo had a run blocking grade of 44.9, however as a whole the entire team had a down year on blocking.

Izzo was the best tight end statistically in 2019. If he had played the entire season, he was in pace for 18 catches for 342 yards and 3 touchdowns. Izzo's concussion set him back. Before he got his concussion, izzo was targeted 6 times by Brady over two games. He had just started earning Brady's confidence.

Izzo was on pace to be close or pass Hayden Hurst, Nate Boyle, and Jacob Hollister in yards had he of not gotten injured. He would've also tied Tyler Effriet, Eric Ebron and Hurst in touchdowns. Fans during the 2020 offseason wanted atleast four of those players to join the roster. 

Stats and production don't lie. Izzo is not elite but he is a good tight end. He could start 2020 as tight end one and be the veteran of the core before moving down to tight end two or three. Izzo may even be better than that.

At 6'5" 260+ pounds, Izzo is a big boy and he is only slated to make around $600k. And the Patriots have him under contract next year. There is no reason why Izzo should not make the 2020 New England Patriots roster, especially over Matt Lacosse.

Are The Patriots Better Off Without Tom Brady?

Tom Brady is currently the GOAT of quarterbacks and arguably the GOAT of NFL. He is a six time superbowl champion and nine time afc champion. In New England, Brady owned the AFC and NFL.

Brady was an offensive coordinator in New England and left a top ten or at worst a top twelve quarterback. His decline in stats were partially a product of circumstance. With that said, I am going to explain why the Patriots are better off without him.

Brady had luxuries other players and quarterbacks weren't afforded. There were things Brady did, that other players would've found themselves disciplined for, but Brady is "the Goat". I'll get into these things as I go.

As I previously said, Brady was a coordinator for the Patriots. The Patriots for majority of twenty years, benefited from Tom Brady reading a defense and changing a play at the line of scrimmage. In 2019, how many times did Brady check out of a run, into a pass and have the play shutdown because he audibled into a play the defense was waiting for?

How many times did it appear Josh McDaniels was getting away from the run game to pass and the pass wasn't working? If you go back and look at the 2019 season, there were several games the run was working but the Patriots got away from it. Too often while this was happening Brady was changing the play. Brady was upset over the past two seasons and made it known in 2019. He did not want to transition into a power run - run first team. If one looks at the Buccaneers, they're built to be pass first.

Brady had his circle of trust. Over the years, fans pleaded for Belichick to draft Brady a top receiver. Fans got their wish in 2019. It was well documented that Brady didn't want to train or mentor younger receivers. Brady did not feel it was "his job" to do such. With such, Brady never had a connection with Harry.

On top of that if Brady didn't trust a guy, he wouldn't throw them the ball. This is another thing Brady admitted to. How many times in 2019 did Brady have pass catchers open, like his tight ends, and not throw it to them? Over the past few years, how many times did he ignore Chris Hogan or Philip Dorsett? Brady's unwillingness to throw to younger players is why both Edelman and Sanu both played with season ending injuries.

Ask yourself, why couldn't Brady develop the same chemistry with Meyers as Stidham? Brady is the GOAT after all. How many of the Patriots receivers were actually wasted by Brady over the years? Guys like Aaron Dobson, Josh Boyce, Kembrell. Thompkins, even Matthew Slater; how much fault goes to Brady for their lack of production on the Patriots offense?

Brady's accuracy has been slipping over the 2018 and 2019 seasons. How many times would Brady put the ball where his pass catchers couldn't or struggled to get it? How many times did he throw it behind them.

There was one play that stands out in 2019. The Patriots had the ball in the redzone and Brady throws a pass to Sony Michel that should of been a touchdown. Sony had to do almost a complete 180 to catch the ball because Brady not only threw the ball behind him, he threw it closer to the defender instead of putting it to Michel's right. 

Brady is a good quarterback and his experience will be missed but there is no denying that Brady wasn't helping his pass catchers and his refusal to work with them hurt the Patriots offensive production. It's debatable how much Brady hurt the run game. 

The more Brady won, the more comfortable he became. With his comfortably, he took liberties that other players couldn't. One must wonder if those liberties had anything to do with Belichick wanting to move on from Brady. We all know Brady was getting older but Brady made it difficult to develop players and hindered the Patriots offense. There's no way anyone can say Tom refusing to work with teammates didn't hurt the offense.

The Pressure is on the Patriots quarterbacks to succeed. Ask if the Patriots are better off without Brady again in December but for now, there are several areas that benefit the Patriots by Brady's departure, and only one negative; his experience.

Patriots’ Jakobi Meyers wants to be ‘levels ahead’ next season

According to Cole McCauley of Clutch Points, 2019 undrafted receiver Jakobi Meyers was an impact player for the New England Patriots.

"While the former North Carolina State product finished the season with zero touchdowns, the Patriots rookie wideout did manage 26 receptions for 359 yards in 15 games played," wrote McCauley. However, McCauley failed to point out Meyers never really earned Brady's trust.

Meyers was one of two undrafted free agent wideouts to make the roster in 2019. Fans might not be the only one expecting big improvement from Meyers, at least according to Paul Perillo of Patriots.com.

Paul wrote "Bill Belichick often says a player's biggest improvement comes in their second year. With a season of NFL football under their belts, players are often more comfortable and allow their abilities to take over."

Meyers is expected to make the sophomore leap and to be a lock for the 2020 Patriots roster. Meyers displayed a connection with with Jarrett Stidham in the preseason and with Stidham looking to be the full time starter, Meyers is expected to continue where he left off last August.

Meyers had this to say. "Mentally, I want to be levels ahead of where I was last year," Meyers said of his goals for 2020. "Understanding not only what we're doing but also why we're doing it. Earning trust to make the right play. I want to build on last year. It was a nice stepping stone, but I want to keep building and growing."

Meyers hasn't been doing much this offseason besides the virtual training. With covid-19, that is probably the best thing Meyers can do at the moment. As everyone saw with the NBA, it only takes one player to shutdown the league.

Meyers continued ""I don't need a football field to know what my assignment is, I feel like I will be a lot further ahead. I didn't know if I'd even make the team or what role I might have or where I'd be playing. I still have chip on my shoulder, like will I even be here? I'm staying ready for my name to be called. I need to make sure I give them a reason to keep me around."

Meyers has one small advantage, Meyers is a former quarterback. That gives him the ability to read a defense that can take other receivers years to master. Meyers is built like a classic flanker, and looks like he's ready to take over that role completely as the last to claim it was Chris Hogan. Meyers stands 6'2" and weights approximately 200 lbs.

Meyers had a great preseason in 2020, showing a tremendous connection with Stidham. It's like they could read each other's minds. 

Perillo wrote, "He often showed his toughness between the hashes, where he made catches in traffic while also breaking more than his share of tackles to pick up extra yards. Those yards are critical in the Patriots passing attack, which often relies on the ability of the receivers to move the chains after making the catch."

Meyers said his mental preparation and processing ability is going to be key to him having a better 2020 season. But Meyers is ready to get on the field as soon as the Patriots open camp.

"That's the key for me this year, I want to be the best I can mentally. The more I understand what I'm doing the better I can play, the faster I can play. People will always be able to find you if you don't know what you're doing. You will be exposed Last season was a learning experience. It was a perfect chance for me to learn, and for me to figure out how I would learn from it.

I try to stay in touch as much as I can with everyone, There's going to be a time they call us back and we have to be ready to go at the drop of a hat. I'm doing the right things now to make sure I'm ready. It's a tough situation for any organization to handle, but I feel like they're doing a great job with us.

The whole process has definitely different. Last year I was in the building and my day was scheduled for me pretty much 24/7. Now I have a lot more free time than I did last year and I have to make sure I stick to my schedule. My head is 100 percent we're going to have a season," he said, "and I'm ready to go."

The situation Meyers and the rest of the players in the NFL is definitely hurting development. By now coaches have had a chance to evaluate players in an NFL camp and have an Idea of who has a realistic chance of making the roster. That's not an ability coaches had this year.

As long as Meyers performs well, he should be safe but this is the NFL. Julian Edelman is the only Patriots receiver that is safe, even N'Keal Harry will have to earn his spot in 2020. Meyers will have to give no less then 110% again this year.

Patriots Players have come out with others against Drew Brees

Few years back Colin Kaepernick started protesting the police brutality and the death of innocent Americans. A war veteran and former Green Beret, Nate Boyer suggested Kaepernick kneel during the anthem instead of sit on the bench. 

Boyer said the two came to an understanding as he explained why he suggested kneeling."Soldiers take a knee in front of a fallen brother's grave, you know, to show respect. When we're on a patrol, you know, and we go into a security halt, we take a knee, and we pull security. It's pretty powerful."

Boyer took a lot of heat and disrespect for supporting Kaepernick's cause to protest against police brutality, injustices and slaughter of American people.

"I got called a lotta things from both sides. I was told I was a disgrace to the green beret by a couple Green Berets, one of 'em I was friends with, and that hurts, you know? It really does. But then I also had a lot of people in the military and people in special forces that said, 'Man, I hadn't really thought about that before. And I think you're onto something." Boyer said.

Kaepernick opted out of his last year of his contract with the 49ers and has been blackballed out of the league since. Kaepernick came under fire from Americans who are either comfortable with the racism in this country, or choose to ignore it. Most notably President Donald Trump.

For some reason American's were against taking action to stop the racism and injustice going on in this country. They attacked the protests, even going as far to say racism ended in the 1960s and that Kaepernick and former President Obama brought it back; all while ignoring the problem or making it worse.

On February 23, Ahmaud Arbery was shot while jogging. Shortly after that, Breonna Taylor on March 13th was shot 8 times by officers who entered her home. May 25th, George Floyd was suffocated by 4 police officers. It is unknown how many unjust deaths truly have taken place since the start of the year.

This led to protests and riots across the country. Citizens spoke out and while others took the opportunity to loot their communities. There were even white supremacist groups trying to incite violence in the name of antifa, with Twitter taking down at least one account.This led to athletes asking if people understood why Kaepernick and other athletes knelt during the anthem.

@readdanwrite on twitter asked Saints quarterback Drew Brees his thoughts on the return of the kneeling protests. Brees made it clear that he is against the protests. Saying Veteran Nate Boyer and athletes all over are disrespecting the flag and our country by protesting the death and injustice of Americans.

Brees said " I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or Our Country."

So one could take it that Brees finds the injustices against American citizens, mainly of the African American community as American as apple pie and country music. It must be a staple of his America that he won't allow to be disrespected.

The sports world seems to agree with myself as it did not take too kindly to what Brees had to say. Several New England Patriots players spoke out against the comments of NFL golden boy and New Orleans hero Drew Brees.

Team Captain Devin McCourty and his brother Jason tweeted.

"This is a disgrace! To speak about your grandfathers as if there weren’t black men fighting next to them.Those men later returned to a country that hated them. Don’t avoid the issue and try to make it about a flag or the military. Fight like your grandfathers for whats right!

Patriots running back and core special teamer Brandon Bolden said of Brees, “dropped the ball”. Many including Ja'Whaun Bentley were shocked at how Brees viewed the Protests against the slaughtering of American lives, "That's not it at all" said Ja'Whaun Bentley. 

That's not the worst of it for Brees however, his teammates spoke out against his comments, in a several tweets.

Michael Thomas said "He don’t know no better." But than switched it up and said the following to his quarterback, "We don’t care if you don’t agree and whoever else how about that." 

While Thomas isn't the only saints player to speak out on Brees' comments, What makes Thomas special is that he is Brees receiver. The two have to share a huddle together, which could create an uncomfortable and hostile work environment.

Brees is going to have a tough time in his locker room, especially since his comments make it appear to the common person that he supports the brutality, injustice, and death taking place in this country. It will be interesting to see how this unfolds. For now Brees is pretty comfortable at home waiting for the league year to start.

No joint NFL practices will be permitted during team training camps

Matt Patricia was hoping to train with the Patriots in a joint practice this offseason. That won't be happening thanks to the coronavirus, and with all the protests and riots, the United States may see a second spike across it's borders.

Adam Schefter broke the news about no joint practices on Twitter. "And the NFL just sent a memo to teams informing them that they also will not be allowed to hold joint practices with other teams this summer either, per source. It had developed into a popular practice in recent years."

Joint practice has been beneficial because it allows coaches to learn from other coaches. It also helps develop players at an accelerated rate. 

The NFL and NFLPA to control exposure to the coronavirus, are requiring teams to actually use their facilities this summer to train in according to Schefter.

Schefter said "Last year, 10 NFL teams held training camp at least 10 miles away from their training facilities: Buffalo, Carolina, Chicago, Dallas, Indianapolis, Kansas City, the LA Rams, Oakland, Pittsburgh, Washington. This year, all teams will be required to hold camp at their facilities.”

Buffalo is a hop, skip and a jump away from me. The Bills hold their annual training camp about an hour away from Buffalo, at St. John Fischer college; in a suburb to Rochester, N.Y., and just across the lake from Toronto.

Joseph Nocco of Clutch Points  wrote the entire offseason has been hands off so far. Hopefully that changes but it looks like teams wont be training until late July, early August.

Nocco wrote "With the league already taking notable measures to limit contact between players, coaches and other personnel, the NFL hosted this year’s installment of the NFL Draft on a 100 percent virtual basis. Not only that, but every team’s offseason activities to date has been conducted virtually."

All we can hope is that the season isn't canceled or played virtually. The world needs sports to unite the People, the world needs the world's team; the world needs the Patriots.

4 QBs poised to break out in 2020 NFL season

In 2020 these four young quarterbacks have a chance to make a name for themselves and enter the upper echelon of NFL quarterbacks. Unless their teams self implode, these quarterbacks should have good seasons.

Daniel Jones was the sixth player off the board in 2019. Pissing off Giants fans who wanted another fifty years of Eli Manning.

Daniel Jones went 3-9 after taking the straps from Eli. He completed 61.9% of his passes, throwing for 3027 yards, 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions; finishing with a rating of 87.7. 

Skyler Carlin of Clutch Points wrote "While he needs to fix his turnover concerns (12 interceptions, 10 fumbles lost), Jones was a bright spot in New York’s offense a season ago. With weapons like Saquon Barkley, Sterling Shepard, Golden Tate, Darius Slayton, and Evan Engram — plus an improved offensive line — make Jones a prime breakout candidate in 2020."

Josh Allen led the Buffalo Bills to a wild card spot with help of his defense.  The Buffalo Bills got their game manager a big time weapon in Stefon Diggs this offseason to go with the ground game led by Singletary.

Allen led the Bills to a 10-6 record but still failed to complete sixty percent of his passes and has not thrown over sixty percent in his career. In 2019 he threw for 3089 yards, 20 touchdowns and 9 interceptions while only completing 58.8% of his passes. However he did add to his rushing touchdowns, running for 510 yards and 9 touchdowns; bringing his career total to 17.

Carlin wrote "There’s no doubt that Allen will need to continue improving his accuracy and decision making for him to reach his potential. But the addition of Diggs, along with John Brown and Cole Beasley, gives Allen zero excuses to break out in the upcoming season."

Kyler Murray the first-round draft pick of the cardinals and rookie of the year had a good year as a starter and was the best deep ball passer in the league. To help further develop the young quarterback going into his second season, the cardinals got the best receiver in the game to add to the offense alongside hall of Famer Larry Fitzgerald.

Murray went 5-10-1 as a freshman starter in the NFL. Murray completed 64.4% of his passes and threw for 3722 yards, with 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions; finishing with an 87.4 rating.

Carlin wrote " While Murray cemented his name as a potential superstar, he still has room for improvement to become even better in his second season and beyond."

Lastly, Jarrett Stidham. Stidham had an impressive preseason. Stidham went 61 of 90 for 731 yards and 4 touchdowns, with 1 interceptions. Out of all of Brady's former backups, Stidham had the best preseason. That includes the prodigal son Jimmy Garoppollo.

Stidham was arguably one of the most mechanically sound quarterbacks in the draft. He completed 63.3 percent of his deep balls last preseason. He finishes the preseason completing 67.8% of his passes.

Stidham also got put in a situation to practice with the first string offense against the first string defense. The quarterback coach and several defenders talked about how he'd get over the defense and help them improve for their upcoming games.

The Patriots have basically the same team returning in 2020. On offense they added two tight ends in the third round, a former second round draft pick pass catcher in Lee and brought in Will Hastings; whom was Stidham's go to guy in college. 

Plus Stidham will have his entire starting offensive line returning healthy; something the 2019 team lacked. That will greatly improve the run game and should see Sony Michel break the 1000 yard mark, taking pressure off the Stidham. As long as Stidham can manage the games, there is no reason the Patriots cannot match their 2019 success.

Buccaneers’ Rob Gronkowski loses WWE 24/7 belt

When WWE granted Rob Gronkowski his release so that he could return to the NFL and be signed by the Buccaneers, there was one problem. Gronkowski was the 24/7 champion.

Once signed, Gronkowski could not compete in a WWE ring as a professional wrestler. So everyone was wondering how would the WWE and NFL make this work. The 24/7 title had been one of the WWE'S most successful gimmicks and Gronk was going to hurt the WWE product.

Maximo Gonzales of Clutch Points broke the story that After 56 days of being the 24/7 champion and a few promos, Gronk finally lost the 24/7 belt to R-Truth.

Maximo wrote "R-Truth got the slip on Gronkowski to take back the WWE 24/7 title belt. It is fitting that Gronkowski had the title taken way in an unexpected fashion. After all, that is how he came to win the belt in the first place when he procured it under the guise of being a guest host for WWE WrestleMania 36."

Rob Gronkowski the longest reigning 24/7 champion in WWE history can now focus on his NFL career and continue to pad his stats as the greatest of all time to ever play the tight end position. 

It was reported by whatculture wrestling that Gronkowski had some back stage heat because he was afraid to perform stunts and that before he made the jump at wrestlemania onto the other wrestlers, that Vince McMahon had to perform the stunt and show him how to do it.

It's a good thing he lost the belt too. Bill Belichick is getting bored and we all saw that he knows how to party at Randy Moss's Halloween party. It was only a matter of time before Belichick threw a party with intent of claiming some more gold at the expense of his former tight end.

Check out WWE's twitter page to see how Gronkowski lost the belt.

The Patriots Players With the Most to Prove

The Patriots have offensive Players with pressure to perform this preseason. While being stacked at running back, tight end, and receiver, all three positions have players fighting for their jobs.

When the Patriots traded for Mohamad Sanu, Nobody expected the pick to be worth more than the number 60 pick in the 2020 NFL draft. It was thought that basically the Patriots traded an early third for Sanu, that was the consensus. The Patriots increased the value by losing in the wild card round.

Sanu suffered a high ankle sprain that should've seen him placed on IR. Instead the Patriots 30 year old wideout waited until after the season to have his surgery to repair the damage. Sanu still remains a possible trade candidate going into the 2020 season. Sanu was considered one of the best number two guys in the league.

Marquise Lee is a former second round pick from 2014. Lee has been dealing with injuries since his best season in 2016. Lee is in his prime and The Patriots are counting on Lee to perform like a second round pick. Anything less will see Lee back on the market come week one.

Matt Lacosse went into 2019 as tight end one. He performed worse than Ryan Izzo and was the reason the Patriots brought back Ben Watson after they previously cut the aged veteran.

Lacosse now has to deal with Asiasi and Keene and is the fourth tight end on the roster. Lacosse is going to have to show he developed chemistry with Stidham in 2019 or it's safe to say, this will be his last preseason in the NFL.

The Patriots signed former Bengals sixth round Pick Rex Burkhead to a contract in 2017. While Burkhead has shown potential, he has not been able to stay healthy. It's safe to say that Burkhead has not lived up to expectations.

With Daimen Harris, Brandon Boldon, and JJ Taylor on the Roster and James White looking like he'll be around another three or four years, Burkhead is going to have to show why he is worth a roster spot this preseason. Burkhead could be a trade candidate, especially to teams like Tampa who need a third down back.

My surprise player on this list is Will Hastings. Belichick is friends with Hastings high school coach and has been looking at his game film since then. Hastings has been in the Patriots locker room once every December since then, when coach Kelly asked Belichick to look at his film. Former Patriots coaches Matt Patricia and Joe Judge went to Auburn to personally scout Hastings at their pro day.

Hastings had his best season in 2017, where the slot receiver and onside kick specialist caught 525 yards and 4 touchdowns. Stidham quickly built chemistry with and became Stidham's go to man. In 2018 Hastings suffered an ACL injury which screwed up both his and Stidham's draft stock and is why both fell to the Patriots.

The Patriots are counting on the connection to still be there and Hastings to make an immediate push into the roster, challenging Sanu, Harry, and Meyers. If Hastings does not pick up where he left off in 2017 with Stidham he may find himself on another team in 2020.

It's going to be a preseason full of roster battles and the offense has to improve if the team is going to keep the division. The Patriots schedule could see them win anywhere from seven to eleven games this season but it all falls on the offense.

Jarrett Stidham Reminds NFL Analyst Of This Former Quarterback

Former NFL quarterback and son of Giants' legend Phil Simms has praise for the New England Patriots 2019 4th round pick. While not all will like the Praise, it's a compliment non the less. Simms told NBC sports, as transcribed by The Boston Globe.

“First off, I loved (Stidham) coming out of college. I saw a lot of him in preseason last year, and loved the way he looked. Really, when you look at him, there’s nothing to say or look at him physically and go, ‘Oh, there’s a weakness to his football game.’ He reminds me a little of Tony Romo. He’s a very pure thrower of the football. He’s got great mechanics, he’s natural that way. He’s smart, and we know he’s being well-schooled up there in New England."

When many people think of Tony Romo the player, they think of an Injury prone, choke artists who couldn't handle big games. Statistically, Romo was one of the best quarterbacks in Cowboys' history, after he stole the job with help from TO; away from Patriots' legend Drew Bledsoe.

Simms continued “He doesn’t have as strong of an arm as Tom Brady, but it’s not far off — it’s right there in that range. It’s a really good arm, and he’s a good athlete. Not an athlete that’s going to run for a ton of yards, but can move around the pocket and extend plays that way. That’s what I’m excited about with Jarrett Stidham: He’s got great feel. He’s a natural at playing the quarterback position, let alone, he’s got skills that can really shine and stand out as well.”

Chris Simms said this about Stidham in the 2019 according to NESN. 

Simms said in 2019 “This guy was a first-round talent, in my opinion, coming out of the draft two years ago. He killed it in the preseason last year. He absolutely, absolutely killed it. He’s a good decision-maker, he’s a very good athlete. He can really make plays within the pocket, moving around, throwing the ball in different ways. He’s a pure thrower of the football. It’s not a great arm, it’s a real good arm. He certainly can make any throw and has a variety of throws. Can throw the ball with touch, has timing, can drive the ball, has an aggressive frame of mind that I really like. He drops back and he’s looking to strike. He’s not looking to go, ‘Oh, let me throw a 4-yard completion and get my completion percentage up and get us to second-and-6.

He plays the position true to how he’s coached. Hey, if the first read is, like, the 20-yard comeback on the right side, he’s gonna sit there and give that 20-yard comeback a chance. I think all of those things, plus poise in the pocket — I’m just a big fan of Jarrett Stidham. I’m a believer. I would be more shocked if he’s not still the quarterback six or seven years from now than I am if he ends up not being the quarterback after this year. Yeah, I think he’s the future.”

(Simms Just named Stidham the 35th best quarterback in the league after giving him all the praise)

Chris Simms isn't the only former NFL quarterback to give praise to Stidham, Jordan Palmer also had things to say about the Patriots quarterback this offseason. Palmer had previously spoken with Jeff Howe of the Athletic.

"He's going to be a leader of New England for a long time, whenever that starts. To be clear, I think (Jarrett Stidham) is a star, and he is going to be a big-time franchise quarterback. I have felt that way for a couple years now. I’m totally fine saying that. I don’t care that he went fourth round (of the 2019 draft). I think he is legitimate. He is going to be the leader of New England for a long time, whenever that starts. Go ahead and jump on that bandwagon.” 

Back in 2019 after Stidham's pro day Palmer said this about Stidham.

“I’m not surprised at all, but that was probably the best — or right there with the best pro days I’ve ever been a part of, and I’ve been a part of some big-time pro days." “…That was about as impressive as I’ve seen.”

By now it's well known that Stidham was a victim of circumstance at Auburn in 2018, that saw Stidham fall from being one the top quarterback Prospects to a lonely fourth round prospect. Who's to say if the Patriots got a steal in the draft with Stidham.

The Patriots might as well give Stidham a chance. Drafting quarterbacks isn't a guaranteed success based off college success. For all anyone knows Trevor Lawrence could end up being another draft bust, just as much as Stidham could be a good quarterback in 2020.

Dante Scarnecchia believes Patriots are in good hands with OL coaches

Dante Scarnecchia’s been the fixture in New England since 1982. A time when Reagan was president, the Ford Escort was the number one car in the country and Physical by Olivia Newton John out beat Eye of The Tiger and I Love Rock and Roll to be the number one song in the country.

It's the end of the world as we know it is and Scarnecchia say's it will be fine. Scarnecchia retired for the second time in a number of years after the 2019 season completed. Belichick is replacing the legend with Cole Popovich and Carmen Bricillo, who will be sharing the responsibility. We saw Jerrod Mayo and Steven Belichick do this last year as defensive coordinator.

In an Interview with Mike Reiss Dante said “They’re both really good coaches and both really good people. Very, very smart guys. I know no one has been named, and there are reasons for that, but clearly those are the two guys that are going to do it, and I think they’ll do an outstanding job. The other thing is they know the players. It’s not like they’re new, coming in from the outside. They’ve both been around there — especially Cole, who has been in the system for five years. Carm for one.”

Providing the Patriots keep Joe Thuney whom they tagged, The Patriots will have a complete returning starting offensive line. The line was one of the best in 2018, before injury struck in 2019. The Patriots are currently loaded at the moment with offensive linemen.

Centers: Andrew's, Eluemunor, Woodard

Guards: Mason, Thuney, Froholdt, Onwenu, Toran

Tackles: Wynn, Cannon, Cajuste, Cunningham, Herron

Cajuste, Froholdt and Elumunor have the early edge on the depth chart over the other backups but that could change. Cajuste and Froholdt are 2019 3rd and 4th round picks, while Eluemunor is a 2017 5th round pick by Baltimore. Granted draft status doesnt mean a lot but it does put them a top as they're expected to perform better.

Both Popovich and Bricillo are 2019 understudies of Scarnecchia, which helps as he knows them very well. It's unclear why one person hasn't been given sole responsibility over the line but with two guys competing for the job, the line should benefit.

As for Scarnecchia, will he pull a Farve and return after 2020? Don't count on it.

“I look at the landscape that currently exists relative to this upcoming season, and more in particular now training camp, because OTAs aren’t going to happen, and say, ‘Oh my gosh, this as it currently exists is not for me. Virtual meetings with the players would be a nightmare for me because I’m not techno-savvy. I don’t like Zooming and doing all that. I’ve done it for 48 years. I think that’s plenty, and I’m really, really grateful for every day, every year of those 48, and all the things it’s provided us.”

Thanks to covid, Virtual drafts, meetings, and training may now become a permanent part of the NFL. In the NFL, people adapt and evolve or they retire.