Patriots Fall To Colts In Sobering Fashion

The New Egland Patriots had a long bye to prepare for the Colts, yet were shut out for the first three quarters. And still had the game in reach, as it was 20 to 07 shortly after the start of the fourth. The Patriots would make a game of it. That was until they allowed a costly run that sealed it. There was a somber post game but what the hell happened as the Patriots fall 27 to 17.

For starters two turnovers. It doesn't matter if it's a fumble or an interception, If you're turning it over you're going to pay for it eventually. Mac Jones had 2 interceptions. Compared to Wentz's 1. That's two extra drives the defense shouldn't of played and they lost the turnover battle.

Another area of concern is third down efficiency. The Patriots had 15, yes 15 third down opportunities. Yet the Patriots could only convert on 6 of them. I don't care that they were 1 for 3 on 4th down conversions. Their third down rate was unacceptable for a playoff team. 

The Patriots had 8 penalties. Again good teams don't make that many personal mistakes. That's 50 yards they gave to the Colts. Penalties were a problem in the preseason and early on. Penalties show a lack of discipline for the most part and that's not normal for a Belichick team but people have been bitching for him to change and saying he has changed since last year. Think about that when examining this team's flaws.

The Patriots gave up 226 yards on the ground. I don't care that 67 of them were on one play. It doesn't change anything. The Patriots weakness is their run defense. I like Christian Barmore, he might eventually be an Aaron Darnold light but he is not Vince Wolfork. Davon Godchaux is the closest thing the Patriots have to him. The Patriots run defense is their weak link. They might be able to stop a runner here or there but if teams keep hammering, they're gonna break thru eventually. Come the offseason, the Patriots definitely need to acquire run stopper before the 2022 season. The Colts ran the ball 39 times against the Patriots. That includes every time Wentz ran the ball.

And let's not get started on the offensive line. And I do not believe the answer is benching Wynn, instead get Onwenu to give him breaks as a swing for the rest of the year. Anyways Bills gotta do something with the line.

So what the hell happened Bill?

Bill Belichick, "Obviously we didn’t do anything well enough to win. We didn’t play well and we didn’t coach well. Too many penalties, fumbles, interceptions, over 200 yards rushing. We played from behind the whole game, so just nothing really good enough.”

And what did Bill see as the cause for those issues?

Bill Belichick, "We didn’t play well tonight. It is what it is. We didn’t coach well. We didn’t do anything well.”

At least Bill can take pride in the fact that the team made a comeback right?

Bill Belichick, "We have to do everything better than we did tonight."

Bill Belichick refused to take a moral victory and I don't blame him. The Patriots are still in a position to go to the superbowl, regardless of the odds. There is no room for moral victories. The Patriots had themselves back in the game at 20-17 with little over two minutes left. There is no excuse. There is only do your job and the Patriots failed.

The Patriots are on to Buffalo and need a win after this loss to help secure the division. Forget the top seed. The playoffs are still not a guarantee and what happened in Miami in 2019 can happen again. The Patriots can take no game for granted. The Patriots under Belichick have always had a corporate mindset. Bill has been said to be more player friendly this season. Even giving a few extra days off this bye. If this is what we can expect from Player's coach Billy B. than we need the uncaring hard ass back. L.F.G. !!!

Bill Belichick Is The Not "The Right Guy" To Rebuild The Patriots, He Is "The Only Guy" To Rebuild The Patriots.

Gary Tanguay wrote an article called, "Bill Belichick is not the right guy to rebuild these Patriots." In it he talks about Bill Belichick's failures as a general manager and how he thinks those failures will prevent Belichick from being able to rebuild the Patriots.

Tanguay talks about the players from the 1996 season. He mentions Charlie Armey who worked under Bill Parcells and how much of an impact that Armey had on the success of Belichick from 2000 to 2004, including losing to Belichick.

Tanguay wrote, "Troy Brown, Willie McGinest, Tedy Bruschi, Ty Law, Lawyer Milloy and Ted Johnson were drafted between 1993 and 1996. Oh yeah, how about that undrafted free agent kicker Adam Vinatieri?

This crew was the Armey 7."

I have wrote in the past about whether or not there was one Patriots dynastys or two. In my previous article I noted that if it was one dynasty, then I would start the dynasty at the 1996 season because of the number of players carried over from that superbowl team and the short span between superbowl appearances. It was way more than just the seven players Tanguay listed.

Tanguay talks about players wanting to come to the Patriots to win a ring. Taking away from Bill Belichick as a general manager or at least he tried to. Yes, there were players that wanted to come to the Patriots to win a ring but it was Bill Belichick that decided which ones were worth signing. Not all general managers are capable of making the right signings.

Tanguay basically gave all credit to former Patriot draft picks success to Tom Brady. Taking away from not only Bill Belichick as a general manager but the coaching staff's ability to coach up the players.

Tanguay wrote, "Of course, Belichick did have some successful picks, but he never had the success in a four-year span like Armey. There was Richard Seymour, Logan Mankins, Rob Gronkowski, Devin McCourty and Joe Thuney over a period of twenty years. Sorry Julian Edelman fans - love the guy but he is a product of Brady. Same for Deion Branch, Dan Koppen and a list of other names you're about call out."

Some of what Tanguay wrote is the mentality of Patriots nation. How many times have we as a fanbase said "Belichick gets his players from walmart?" This is probably because Bill Belichick is so good at finding undrafted rookies and no name free agents.

I previously wrote an article that of the first three rounds over the past decade, Bill has had drafted maybe 4 or 5 elite players if like 35 tries prior to the 2021 draft. I said he drafted good players but not elite. Even Robert Kraft in this past offseason criticized Bill Belichick's ability to draft.

Kraft said, ""Really, the teams who draft well are the ones who will be consistently good. I don't feel like we've done the greatest job the last few years..." (I'll continue the rest of this sentence later.)

So Belichick isn't the greatest with the draft but he's far from the worst. He has his successes. Maybe some did play better because of Tom but they still did their jobs. Did Tanguay want them to play bad because Brady was on the roster?

It is true relying on free agency including the undrafted ones is not sustainable but Bill has shown a knack for doing it.

Kraft also said, "I do remember we always made fun of the teams that spent a lot in the offseason."

But Kraft also said, "and I really hope and believe I've seen a different approach this year."

Kraft's comments came from March. Since then the Patriots are playing much better than expected but it's been with a lot of help from rookies Mac Jones, Christian Barmore, and Rhamondre Stevenson. So maybe the changes that Kraft saw are going to improve Belichick's success in the draft. Either way, Belichick the GM has Belichick the coach to help him out and Belichick the coach knows what he needs on the roster to stay successful. 

So to Mr. Gary Tanguay I have a message for you from Patriots nation:

"In Bill We Trust!"

Hawaii Takes Advantage Of Early Signing Day

Thanks to Todd Graham the Hawaii roster got severely depleted as problems within the program chased players away. Luckily for the Rainbow Warriors at the University of Hawaii, today was early signing day. The team added some much needed depth to bolster it's roster but there are still some holding out on signing until they have to.

Coach Graham was asked about the impact of recent events that came out effecting the signings and he brushed it off.

Graham compared signings to building an NFL team, saying teams need so many calibur players from each round. And that you add what's needed. He also talked about finding replacements for Cordario and Calvin Turner Jr.

Cam'rom Bell defensive back, Tylan Hines running back, Noah Kema linebacker, Chigozie Anusiem cornerback, Virdel Edwards defensive back, Malachi Finau defensive tackle, Kona Moore defensive back, Ethan Spencer offensive lineman, Junior Ta'ase offensive tackle, all signed.

Chigozie Anusiem said, "When my time at Hawai’i finishes I want to look back and be able to say we turned Hawai’i into a powerhouse."

Malachi Finau said "They’re all about discipline and structure and that’s what I feel like need."

Those are the type of players Hawaii is going to need to repair the reputation of the universitu's football program.

Graham who wants to win championships said today about the newest Warriors, "We feel that they are great fits for our culture, our team."

Hawaii has a bowl game against Memphis coming up. And it needs a statement win. Hopefully the new recruits can come hang out with the rest of the current roster, watch the game, and bring some new positive energy to the locker room. Hawaii is not done signing players, so hopefully they can get some top tier talent to join the roster. 

E hele kākou 'o Rainbow Warriors Lahui

Don't Forget Robert Kraft's Role In The Patriots Rebuild.

Henry McKenna of Patriots wire wrote an article called "8 moves that led to Bill Belichick's outrageously fast rebuild of the Patriots." And while the items listed may be true, he forgot one very important thing. Something that surely played a huge role in this quick rebuild. Something probably not seen since 1996. He forgot about Robert Kraft's involvement.

McKenna wrote, "Bill Belichick deserves votes for both the Coach of the Year award and the Executive of the Year award. Coach Bill and GM Bill — yes, two alter-egos of the same man — have worked together to perfection. Belichick took the 2019 version of his team — with cap issues, a string of bad drafts and the impending departure of Tom Brady — and converted the Patriots into this 2021 version: a Super Bowl contender."

What McKenne didn't write was when Robert Kraft called out the team and said what happened in 2020 wasn't good enough. That the quarterbacks play wasn't good enough. Kraft even talked about his spending and it didn't sound like he was happy because he viewed it as a sign of failure.

Kraft said. "I do remember we always made fun of the teams that spent a lot in the offseason."

Kraft spent the most amount of money he has spent on free agents in a long time, if not the most he's signed off on since buying the team. Buying teams doesn't always work. Just look at the Washington Football Team during the Bruce Smith era or Philadelphia when they had Vince Young. Complete disasters.

Kraft also said about the spending, "In the end, if you want to have a good, consistent winning football team, you can't do it in free agency. You have to do it through the draft because that's when you're able to get people of great talent, whether it's Willie McGinest or Tom Brady. You get them at a price where you can build the team and be competitive. Once they get to their [second] contract, if they're superstars, you can only balance so many of them."

Kraft continued, "Really, the teams who draft well are the ones who will be consistently good. I don't feel like we've done the greatest job the last few years and I really hope and believe I've seen a different approach this year. In the end, it all comes down to what happens on the field and how people execute and you really don't know how good a draft is for at least two years. Especially in the environment we're in now, I'm not quite sure still what our offseason training and learning abilities will be."

Kraft called out the coaching staff for their development of talent. Something else that has slipped bye the fanbase and media. Kraft acknowledges that the Patriots have not done a good job with development in that statement. That suggests he was kinda happy with some of the talent being drafted and upset that the team failed them. That means guys like Stidham, Izzo, Cy Jones, Keene, and Asiasi, Kraft is putting on the staff on not the players.

That was surely a message to Belichick and the entire organization. One that was sure to come off as "Do your jobs, don't expect me to do them." And the Patriots are playing like someone lit a fire under their arses, after a slow start. Because Kraft put everyone on notice. The Patriots are the most business like off all the teams and Kraft will force Belichick to get rid of someone if he really has to.

And to the haters in and out of the Patriots fanbase that would see the Patriots return to obscurity, Kraft had one final message.

Kraft said, "Envy and jealousy are incurable diseases. The haters still hate. And I understand it, and we’ll do our best to keep them in that position.”

So while Henry McKenna was right about the cocktail used to form the Patriots success in 2021 and that Belichick was the chef stirring the pot. He left out how Robert Kraft was the angry critic that forced Belichick to put the ingredients together for success in the first place. Robert Kraft stepped into the fire and started turning the franchise around in 1993. And when the franchise appeared to be not to be serving up quality at the beginning of 2021, he returned to the kitchen.

Patriots Nation, this season we owe some credit to Robert Kraft. For without him, there was no Brady or Belichick. He's responsible for the twenty year dynasty. Without him, there may not be a Mac Jones or Christian Barmore because he got involved. He's the reason why people aren't laughing at the Patriots like they are the Lions or the Jaguars. So give credit where it's due. Give credit to the owner for once.

Do The Patriots Trust Mac Jones?

The Monday night game against the Bills has people doubting Mac Jones. Bill Belichick played to the elements and didn't have to put Jones in a position to throw. Instead the Patriots opted for old school football. The Bills on the other hand threw it thirty times and Josh Allen could only complete fifty percent of his passes. The Patriots did their thing and as usual, Mac Jones did what he was asked. 

Yet, former Patriots offensive lineman Damien Woody had the never to question Mac Jones's abilities after the game. 

Woody said, “I don’t know if it’s going to be the regular season, or the postseason, but there’s going to come a time, they’re going to need their rookie quarterback to go toe to toe with the opposing quarterback. At some point, they’re going to need Mac Jones to deliver. He’s going to have to play some ball when matched up against another really good quarterback.”

Woody is potentially right. At some point there may be a team that realizes the strength of the Patriots offense is their running game. There may be a team that puts seven or eight in the box and forces Mac Jones to throw. However, they better have the secondary to cover because Mac is going to make them change their game plan.

Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald basically agreed that Mac Jones is being a game manager but she still posed a couple of questions.

Guregian wrote, "But after essentially being eliminated from the Bills game, what does that say about the confidence level of the coaching staff in their young star at this point? Would Belichick and McDaniels trust him to pull out a game, if need be?"

Karen thinks they would but seemed hesitant.

Brian Hines of Pats Palpit also agreed that Monday night was about the elements, although he did note there were times when the Patriots could've been more aggressive but chose not to be and that it paid off in the end. Hines did touch on what Guregian asked in his mailbag.

Hines wrote, "To me, the Patriots trust Mac Jones, but they also know his limitations. If he truly can't handle those conditions, then we should be worried here in the Northeast. He’ll certainly get another opportunity in poor weather, so we will have to wait and see what happens when he needs to throw the ball."

There's a difference between rain and snow but people have to remember who Mac Jones played for in college. Nick Saban is of a Similar mindset as Bill Belichick. It's probably why they're good friends and why Bill knew he could take Jones.

In October 2020 Saban talked about playing in wet conditions saying, "That’s all we can do to prepare for it. We can’t make it rain. I think handling the ball is the most important thing, but I also think it’s important to have a mind-set of getting used to handling the ball so it’s not an issue when you’re playing a game.”

Mac Jones did not have an issue throwing the football in the rain for Alabama. And again, I get that snow is different than rain. Mac is already adopting to the cold weather by wearing a scuba suit, just like Tom Brady did. All thanks to the defecto quarterback coach and backup quarterback Brian Hoyer.  If there's other tricks to playing in the snow, be sure that Hoyer's passing them down and preparing Jones.

Look the Tampa bay game, the game in Buffalo, it's all just circumstantial. Bill Belichick made the decisions and McDaniels, Jones, and even Nick Folk just have to execute. There's nothing more they can do. When they execute, there's a W in the win column. When they don't and go wide of the mark, there's an L in the loss column. It's that simple. The Patriots are on a winning streak because they're executing.

So as far as do the Patriots trust Mac Jones, if they didn't there's at least one other game manager on the roster, that they would've replaced him with this past monday being such an important game. The fact that Mac Jones is starting means that at the very least, Bill Belichick trusts him. And after the 2020 season one should know that if Bill trusts the quarterback, he ain't making the change, regardless of how bad they're hurting the offense. And Mac isn't doing that.

Hawaii Players Are Considering All Options To Jump Ship And The University Is Quiet, While The Coach Makes Excuses.

The New England Patriots are off this week, allowing the spotlight to be shifted to other areas on the world of sports. By now pretty much everyone knows there's smoke coming from Hawaii and no I don't mean the valcanos. Head coach Todd Graham of the Rainbow Warriors football team has had some serious allegations made against him and 9 players have left the program via the transfer portal, a record amount but the problems maybe worse than realized.

Hawaii has a bowl game coming up against Memphis but according to Marc Delucchi of SFgate, the players no longer want Graham at the university. Delucchi quoted one player saying, “A lot of players want him fired, especially the starters.” 

There has to be something wrong in the relationship between a player and coach if they want you fired. However, when it's a group of players or more, then there's something wrong with the head coach.

Delucchi had another player tell him, “Me and a lot of others can truthfully say Graham has killed our love and passion for football.”

Who are these players one might ask, out of fear of retaliation, SFGate kept their names secret. If the University or NCAA wants to know, they need to get off their rears and talk to the players.

Delucchi goes on to say players are looking into what they can to leave the program including quitting and that the university refused to respond when asked to talk.  There were more statements made but you have to go check out SFgate.com for what was said.

There's allegations of mistreatment and abuse among many other serious things. Graham is also accused of refusing to talk to some of his players and playing favoritism.

Graham released a statement on this matter after it broke and part of it is sure not to sit well with those making allegations. 

Graham said. "Obviously, I can’t meet with 125 people. But each one of our coaches is meeting with each one of them, and make sure we’re listening, and make sure that we’re learning, and getting better at what we’re doing.”

First, it's BS that he cannot meet with 125 people. He could do it in five to six days, having 30 minute meetings with each and having each of them submit any issues they have in writing. Would take about 13 hours a day including one meal break.

Second, refusing to meet with players is part of the allegations against Todd Graham and he cannot find a way to make time to meet with his players? To make matters worse there are allegations that Graham doesn't even talk with all the members of his staff. This just goes to side with the players.

There are some allegations that I listed that are more severe but the more this story plays out, and with the way Graham and the university of Hawaii are handling this, I have to side more and more with the players and staff making the allegations.

This isn't the first time there have been accusations made against Graham. Arizona state bought out his contract over allegations of being an unfit coach,  giving credit to the accusations. The foot program means a lot to the University of Hawaii and it needs to handle this before too much damage is done. Hawaii is in the process of building a new stadium and sports complex but how can it expect to get players to come or fans in the stands with this looming over head?

Sean McDermott Rallys Support For Belichick Among Patriots Nation

Monday night the Patriots went to Buffalo for a game with severe winds. The two defensive head coaches would prepare with two styles of offense. And it would be a battle of wits to see which defensive coach would prevail.

Bill Belichick would have rookie quarterback Mac Jones throw the ball a mere three times. While Sean McDermott would have veteran quarterback Josh Allen throw the ball thirty times. In the modern era one would think the Bills had to of had the advantage but one would be wrong.

Each team would have the ball with the wind at their backs for a quarter. However, that didn't change how the Patriots approached the play calling. The Patriots would line up heavy and just play 1970s style football. The Patriots ran the ball a total of 47 times. N'Keal Harry got to show off his move tight end blocking ability as he was the main wideout or so it seemed.

The Bills only ran the ball 25 times. Buffalo would have the ball with a chance to score and take the lead in the final minutes of the fourth but they botched it. They put the ball in the hands of Josh Allen and his last two throws could've been better decisions as they both fell incomplete. As a Patriots fan, we were lucky that the one time MVP candidate played like a rookie on his final drive.

The defensive affair was 14-10 but the game should not have been that close. The Patriots decided to have N'keal Harry field a punt. The sky judge ruled the ball touched Harry and Buffalo scored in the first quarter. It was their only points of the first half. The Patriots would score in the first, second, and fourth quarter.

Patriots fans are shredding the Bills for comments made after the game. Mainly head  coach Sean McDermott. McDermott was basically saying the Bills beat themselves but being a division rival, we pats fans cannot let it go.

McDermott said, “Let’s not give more credit than we need to give credit to Bill Belichick in this one." 

Now half the Patriots fanbase loves to rip Belichick for the teams success over the last twenty years, giving compete credit to Tom Brady for all three phases of the game over that span. Even with that, we don't take kindly to anyone outside the fanbase taking credit away from our victories. Patriots Nation was insulted that McDermott would take credit away from the Patriots and out head coach, so they are not letting that comment go.

The Patriots and Bills play again in a few short weeks. There is zero chances the fans in Foxboro let Bill Belichick forget what Sean McDermott said. While the Patriots are sitting atop the AFC, the Bills have been a disappointment. The Bills are now 7-5 on the season and need every win they can get with five games left to make the playoffs. 

Expect a highly emotional game when these two teams meet again. Before the Bills face the Patriots the day after christmas, they must get through former Patriots quarterbacks Tom Brady and Cam Newton. Tom Brady is the GOAT and there are some members of Patriots Nation who think Cam Newton is the GOAT.

While I laugh at that last part, both quarterbacks are capable of making like very miserable for the Bills and their season could be over with before they even head to Gillette Stadium. Buffalo over since 1999 has seemingly been cursed, and fall apart in December. It looked like Sean McDermott broke that curse but we'll truly find out over the next three weeks.

For now, the Patriots are on the bye and there's no reason to watch any nfl football until December 18th when they take on the Indianapolis Colts. Instead tune in and watch the Winnipeg Blue Bombers take on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats for the Grey Cup in the CFL championship game at 6pm on Sunday December 12th.  And then after you watch the Patriots beat the Colts on December 18th, tune in at 8pm on Christmas eve as Hawaii hosts Memphis at the Hawaii bowl game before watching the Patriots host the Bills December 26th. 

Todd Graham Is Facing Serious Allegations As The Team Prepares For A Newly Awarded Bowl Game.

If you're a fan of the New England Patriots you've probably heard people like Lane Johnson talk about how the New England Patriots don't have fun. His comments came out after playing with several former Patriots and beating the Patriots in the superbowl. You've probably heard Cassius Marsh talk about how strict the Patriots work regiment is. And you've heard the fanbase call out nepotism because Steve Belichick was promoted after four years of being an assistant coach, to the safeties coach, then defensive backs, and finally linebackers coach, and Brian Belichick was promoted to safeties coach after a few seasons as an assistant coach as well.

What you haven't seen is the team go onto social media to publicly acknowledge any problems and call out Belichick and the organization. Nor have you seen multiple ex players come out and say there's serious internal issues and start offering solutions to fixing the problems. If that sort of thing were to happen, there would be quick action from Robert Kraft.

Now the NFL is a different beast than division one college football but everyone has probably heard of some of the rumors listed above and the defense of the franchise from current and former players but I doubt many have heard about the current problem at the University Of Hawaii causing several players to leave the program or the football team to take to twitter.

Scott at the MWWire wrote, "The news of Cordeiro entering the transfer portal sparked a Twitter live space (I believe that is what you call it) hosted by RJ Hollis, a former Warrior player and now a member of the local media, and another former player Darryl McBride. There were over 300 listeners that stayed on for about three hours as some current and former players spoke about the issues within the program. It was an honest and eye-opening forum for many fans to listen in on."

The players are alleging: verbal abuse, favoritism, refusal to communicate with non starters, doing favors for some members of the staff by employing unqualified people, players being forced to take part in religious activities, players not having fun, players not knowing each other, and there being an unhealthy locker room to name a few things. These are serious allegations.

Head Coach Todd Graham was asked about the players complaints and the public live stream where the locker room brought to light these allegations against him. Graham basically played it off as players not accepting change and work ethic.

Here is some of what coach Graham had to say, “I don’t read Twitter, I don’t do those things. I can tell you my deal is focusing on being positive. We have enough negative things. … At the end of the day, those things are what they are. We talk every day about the commitment, what that commitment is, and working hard. We’re going to work hard. We’re going to be demanding. And when you’re doing things the right way, you have things like that. … Not always going to make everybody happy. We’ve got a great belief in what we’re doing. We know we’re doing things the right way, and we’re making progress.”

Now this isn't the first time Graham has had issues within a program. In 2017 Arizona State paid through the nose to get Todd Graham to step down as head coach. And once again if asked to step down, due to his contract Graham is set to make a boatload from Hawaii. Hawaii cannot really afford for the program to have to buy out his contract.

Some of the Allegations are pretty serious. The NCAA should poke their nose in to the happenings of the university but they shouldn't be the only ones. The university itself needs to conduct an investigation into the allegations. If Graham is found in the wrong, the university needs to do what it needs to do to hold Todd Graham accountable. Fore if things are as bad as said, it could chase away talent and hurt the ability to make future bowl games.

Patriots Resign The Leg To The Practice Squad For Development

This summer the Patriots had a kicker that was booming kicks and it was thought that kicker would become the guy in Foxboro. That guy was Quinn Nordin who ended up on the injured reserve and is now sitting on the practice squad.

These is talk the Patriots like the rookie for bringing him back. After all Nordin was this years undrafted free agent to make the 53 man roster. So they have to like him right? Well they also liked the kicker they drafted in the fifth round of the 2020.draft and he didn't even make it a second season. They tried to develop Rohrwasser and failed, now they're trying to develop Nordin.

With Folk being near perfect this season on field goals it is unlikely that Nordin will ever see a game day roster. However, if the Patriots make the AFC championship game or superbowl, Nordin Could be activated incase the team needs a last second 50 yard field goal. 

At the moment re-signing Nordin to the practice squad is nothing to get excited for. However, it's also reason not to give up on the younger kicker yet. As long as he's around the team, he has a chance at replacing Folk in the future regardless of the odds against him. 

Okay He Won Player Of The Month, Now He Needs The Title Playoff Quarterback

Being named rookie of the month is no small feat. Especially when it appeared early on that the team was playing conservative or didn't trust you. That's what Mac Jones just did. He was not only named the rookie of November but he has the Patriots sitting at 8-4 and in the playoff hunt for the first time since the Tom Brady era ended. And I know it's only been one season but with how bad the passing was last season, every game seemed like an eternity.

Alex Barth of the sports hub wrote. "In four games in November – all wins – Jones completed 76-of-99 passes (76.8 percent) for 854 yards with seven touchdowns and just two interceptions. His 117.2 passer rating led all NFL quarterbacks during the month..."

In January I had Mac Jones as the best passer in the NFL draft and that the Patriots should draft him. I was informed that I didn't know nothing. The bandwagon hopped on and off his name. Insisting that Trevor Lawrence was the best passer but since he was out of reach that the Patriots should go with Trey Lance or Justin Fields. Don't get me wrong, I had Fields as my number two quarterback selection for the Patriots but I wanted Mac. And I told everyone so...

Kharl Thompson also noted, "The young quarterback is the first Patriots rookie to win Player of the Month since Chandler Jones did it in 2012."

Now the playoffs are far from a gimmie as they have a tough schedule. They haven't even played the Bills yet and that's sure to be two tough games for the rookie quarterback and his team.

Mac Jones was quoted about the upcoming schedule as saying, "i think people who love football want to get a chance to play in games like these. I know all the guys on both teams want to play in games like this. It’ll be a great experience. I know they have a bunch of great fans, and it’s football, so you’ve just got to go out there and play the game that we’ve all played since we were little kids.”

Now there are many who discredit the importance of football and sports. They call it a kids game. Football is America's game and America is often compared to Rome. It's well noted that Rome used entertainment to calm the mental health of the land. With history.com writing:

"It was believed by those who ran Rome that the people could be kept happy and content if they had access to varied and enjoyable entertainment."

But that is another story for another day.

People complain that Mac Jones doesn't make big or splashy plays. That he doesn't have the running ability of some of the other rookie quarterbacks. In fact they try to use the terms "game manager" and "dink and dunk" as insults towards Jones. To that I say if that effected his level of play. He wouldn't be the rookie of the month.

There has been talk among Patriots fans about Mac winning the rookie of the year. At the moment. I only care about him winning a playoff birth.

As a starter Mac Jones has completed 70.3% of his 381 attempts for 2850 yards with 16 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. Jones has been sacked 24 times in eleven games. Jones has also rushed for 14 first downs and has 4 fumbles on the season. 

That's all great but I'm pretty sure if someone asked Mac Jones if he would trade stats for Ws that he would do so in a heartbeat. 

Currently the only thing that matters is this Monday night against the Buffalo Bills. Buffalo is riding high since winning the division last season or at least the Rochester, New York section of the Bills' mafia is. A win monday would go a long way into knocking them down to reality and towards clinching a playoff birth and number one seed.