Time to temporarily suspend Patriots criticism and create a playoff miracle

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Curran: Sure, the Patriots have flaws, but why not look for a miracle? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Don’t tell me “Matt Patricia” now. Don’t tell me “What about persistent situational stupidity…?” Don’t worry about the “Yeah but…they only beat the backup quarterbacks…”

It’s time to suspend disbelief. Pause the autopsy. Leave the black box where it is. One game season, kids. After nine months of backseat riding, troubleshooting and nitpicking, buckle up. Put away your grievances. Pass on the sunny side of the street.

Bill Belichick said it best on Monday morning.

Patriots Talk: Patriots find way against Dolphins to keep hope alive | Listen and subscribe | Watch on YouTube

“We can come back to this another time. Right now the only thing that matters is Buffalo,” Belichick said. “So it doesn’t matter what happened or not another week or series of weeks or whatever. We’ll see what happens against Buffalo. That’s all that really matters.

“We are in a one game season and we have to play well against one of the most explosive offenses and certainly one of the best players in the league. They have several good players, but [Josh] Allen by himself is a tough game for any player, any defense. So we’re really focused on that. »

This response was in response to whether or not the Patriots have been an “elite” defense this year. Elite, good, or just proficient at removing pus from backups, which adjective fits best doesn’t matter.

The Patriots have a chance on Sunday to play a non-playoff game against the (for my money) most powerful team in the AFC. They have a chance to add Josh Allen’s name to the lackluster list of quarterbacks they’ve knocked down this year.

There is NO SPLASH from the quarterbacks on the Patriots’ list of casualties: Mitch Trubisky, Sam Ehlinger, Zach Wilson (twice), Jacoby Brissett, Colt McCoy and Sunday’s Teddy Bridgewater/Skylar Thompson combo meal. Full disclosure, I really like Ted, Colt and Jacoby. But none of those seven will ever again be the chosen starter for an NFL team coming out of training camp.

The story continues

The only consequence skin? Jared Goff. So I would say easy on the elite. Unless there’s a complete Josh Allen and Bills strip down on Sunday. Then we can have a conversation.

What did you whisper? “Big chance of flocking?” Agreed. But there is at least the possibility of extending the season and catching bottle lightning. What if it happened against a very good team, on the road in an important game for Buffalo? He raises an eyebrow.

If it’s not the case ? Then we’re back to where we were, understanding that the 2022 Patriots wasted the whole year with a pretty talented, high-paying roster that — with better coaching and production on the offensive side of the ball — could have to be someone, could have been suitors.

Is it possible to make the playoffs and not be a good team? Yes. Similarly, a 5-foot-8 guy can be in a room of 16 people and find that nine of them are shorter than him.

Tom E. Curran

Two interesting things happened on Sunday to underscore how poorly Belichick tried to put rookie offensive coaches in charge of Mac Jones and Co.

In his first-ever start, Jarrett Stidham went off the rails leading Josh McDaniels’ offense against the stifling 49ers defense. Stidham, of course, couldn’t beat Jones and couldn’t beat Cam Newton for the past two years. But he threw for three touchdowns on Sunday, something Jones hasn’t done in 2022.

Watch: Jarrett Stidham lights up against 49ers in first NFL start

Meanwhile, with Brian Daboll running things for the Giants, quarterback Daniel Jones capped off a comeback season. What did he come back from? Two seasons of ugly under head coach Joe Judge. It should be noted that when the Giants visited Foxboro last summer for joint workouts, Mac Jones wasn’t just slightly better than Daniel Jones. He was miles ahead of Danny Dimes. As a rookie.

No one who paid attention would mistake the Patriots for a “good” team. Anyone who has watched the first 16 games and says they are, has an opinion that doesn’t matter.

(With all due respect to my friend Michael Holley, with whom I debated this phenomenon when the Patriots were 6-4.)

I mean, they’ve lost four of six games since Thanksgiving and both wins have come against teams that lost their starting quarterbacks in the game. We all know what we are looking at.

Is it possible to make the playoffs and not be a good team? Yes. Similarly, a 5-foot-8 guy can be in a room of 16 people and find that nine of them are shorter than him. That doesn’t make it big. It just means he keeps a small company.

Sunday’s win over the Dolphins — while more capable than usual — actually reiterated just how challenged the Patriots are. They opened the game with a 10-play touchdown and 81 yards. They then ran 29 plays in their next seven drives, gaining 121 yards and scoring three runs. Just a few hours of futility.

Perry: Patriots show ‘complementary’ glimmer of identity against Dolphins

They woke up again and ran 11 plays, 89 yards to score their second offensive touchdown of the day. Then they reverted to their “afraid of their shadow” offensive approach on what should have been the game-saving drive, handing the ball back to Miami and doping the rope for the rest of the game.

BUT! The Patriots have now run three no-flukiness drives in the past two games that have gone 10+ plays and covered 77 or more yards. It is monumental for them.

From where they are now, the Patriots can see smoke rising in the distance from the town of “Low Level Skills”. Recognizing this should not be confused with the masses being delusional. And, worrying about how they will get there is not for this week.

This week it’s all about spitballin’ and workshop on ways the Patriots can get past Buffalo and get into the playoffs so they can get boned by Kansas City.

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