New England Patriots links 1/05/24 – Week 18 Pats-Jets: Previews, matchups, keys to victory

Posted by on
NFL: NOV 20 Jets at Patriots
Still hoping the Pats re-sign OT Mike Onwenu | Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Daily news and links for Friday.

Back in September, we started Week 1 with so much optimism in Patriots Nation. Things couldn’t get worse, right? Well they did, and in spades. Here it is in Week 18 and the Pats head into their season finale vs. the Jets with no real intrigue in the game itself. The Jets lost their savior Aaron Rodgers in Week 1 and have most definitely not been buoyed along by their backup quarterbacks, in spite of a solid defense. Similar for the Patriots in that they discovered Mac Jones is not the franchise QB that will lead the team in the post-Brady era.

Without a smart, talented quarterback, any other decisions the Kraft family makes on coaching or general manager positions will just be rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. Whoever the GM or head coach is going forward will be sunk without a QB.

So, how’s the scouting going? Who’s tops on the team’s board at QB? And finally, who’s going to make that decision? These are the top questions. In the meantime, there are still meaningful games this weekend, including two on Saturday. Still hoping for a Patriots win on Sunday simply because screw the Jets. Go Pats!

TEAM TALK

LOCAL LINKS

  • Thomas Murphy gives us his Monster Keys to a Patriots victory over the Jets. 1. Get it out quick. Bailey Zappe is holding the ball far too long… more than 3 seconds. … Get it out quick and into the handles of Reagor and Douglass. These two are the hot hands.
  • Mike Kadlick identifies 3 crucial clashes in the Week 18 season finale vs. Jets. 1. Quinnen Williams vs. Patriots interior offensive line.
  • Mike Kadlick will have his eye on 6 Patriots this week, beginning with Kyle Dugger Josh Uche and Mike Onwenu. All three players were 2020 draft picks by New England and, were not re-signed this season and are now prime candidates to sign elsewhere in free agency.
  • Alex Barth tells us what he’ll be watching for Sunday vs. Jets. 1. The quarterback matchup.
  • Mike D’Abate gives us a look at the Pats-Jets practice report and injury tracker for Sunday’s matchup.
  • Nick O’Malley’s Pats-Jets anti-analysis: The 39 greatest Belichick-isms of all-time.
  • Zack Cox notes Pats-Jets is shaping up to be a legitimate snow game.
  • Mark Daniels explains how the tanking Commanders could impact the Patriots.
  • Chris Mason’s Patriots Mailbag: Will the Patriots actually move on from Bill Belichick?
  • Ian Logue talks about Patriots’ punter Bryce Baringer getting snubbed in Pro Bowl voting.
  • Chris Mason highlights Jabrill Peppers sharing his brutal welcome to the NFL moment.
  • Chris Mason passes along a report that apparently Trent Brown has been talking openly about his next destination.

NATIONAL NEWS

  • Matt Verderame (SI) Week 18 QB Rankings: Pressure Is on for Josh Allen. Bailey Zappe 29th (down 3). 32. All Their Quarterbacks, New York Jets (Last week: 32).
  • Albert Breer (SI) Hot names to watch as future NFL GMs. Patriots’ director of scouting Eliot Wolfl listed. Dave Ziegler (ID’d with New England but he’s with Raiders) “may have a shot in specific places that didn’t make the list.”
  • Michael David Smith (ProFootballTalk) NFL games were the 56 most-watched sporting events of 2023.
  • Cody Benjamin (CBS Sports) 2024 NFL QB market: Top free agents, trade targets, cut candidates, projected landing spots, contracts, more.
  • Tyler Sullivan (CBS Sports) 2024 NFL free agency: Here’s an early look at the free agent class of 2024.
  • Conor Orr (SI) The Chargers should spend what it takes to get Jim Harbaugh.
  • Conor Orr (SI) The Bears should draft a QB No. 1 … but still keep Justin Fields.
  • Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) What’s up with Stefon Diggs and the Bills?
  • Ben Solak (The Ringer) The Eagles defense is ruining their title shot: Giving Matt Patricia more control over the defense was not the answer to the Eagles’ woes.
  • John Breech (CBS Sports) NFL players rank top-five coordinators in the league. No Pats.
  • Around the NFL (NFL.com) Week 18 NFL picks. 4 out of 5 pick Pats to win. Dissenting view: Pride is on the line. Bill Belichick is one loss away from tying for the most regular-season defeats by a head coach in NFL history. While the Jets desperately want to end a 15-game losing streak to their division rival. This is a battle of top-six total defenses and bottom-five total offenses, so expect special teams to have an impact. The Jets may have bigger names (Breece Hall, Garrett Wilson, Sauce Gardner), but it’s the at-home Patriots who eke out this season finale.
  • Sheil Kapadia (The Ringer) Week 18 NFL picks against the spread. Bill Belichick is not losing to the Jets in what could be his final game as the Patriots head coach.
  • MMQB Staff (SI) NFL Week 18 picks. All seven pick Pats to win.
  • Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) PFT’s Week 18 NFL picks. Florio: Pats win 24-10, Simms: Pats win 17-10.

VIEW FROM NEW YORK

BITCHING ‘BOUT BELICHICK

  • Khari Thompson passes along a report from Mike Reiss: Bill Belichick has a ‘final meeting’ with Robert Kraft scheduled for Monday. “No decision has been made at this point and that’s why this final meeting will be so important.”
  • Zack Cox Patriots Rumors: Ben Volin writes that it could take the Patriots “weeks” to reach a final decision on whether to retain Bill Belichick.
  • Andy Hart fires up the dramatic imagery of ‘a storm brewing’ to wax poetic about Sunday being the final game for Bill Belichick as head coach of the Patriots – the same ass he’s been riding and finding fault with for years.
  • Alex Barth offers five reactions to the Boston Herald’s Patriots season expose.
  • Ian Logue says Belichick’s future in question gives Sunday’s showdown against the Jets an ominous feel.
  • Richie Whitt (Patriots Country) Bill Belichick’s tenuous legacy with the Patriots mirrors Hall of Famer Tom Landry’s crossroads with the Cowboys 35 years ago. /Correction: Belichick’s legacy is not “tenuous”.
  • Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz (USA Today) NFL coach hot seat rankings. Bill Belichick second (behind Ron Rivera, Commanders). “There are no easy answers here.” More.
  • Conor Ryan notes Bill Belichick reportedly has been drawing interest from teams in the NFC South.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *