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Friday, January
15 | Follow Globe Sports 
By Christopher Price, Globe Staff
Ten random Patriots’ thoughts to occupy you
during divisional playoff weekend:
With the benefit of a week or so to review,
we'll kick things off with three year-end awards:
1. MVP had three
possibilities: Rex Burkhead, Joe
Thuney, and Jakobi Meyers, but I have to go with
Thuney. Playing multiple spots along the offensive line, leading the offense in
total snaps, all while continuing to execute at an incredibly high level means
he gets the award by the slimmest of margins over Burkhead and Meyers. The offense slowed to a crawl
after Burkhead went down in the loss to Houston, and while his absence wasn’t
the only reason for the struggles down the stretch, it wasn’t coincidental.
And Meyers was the most dependable receiver on the team, and also provided the
best highlight of the year with his touchdown pass to Cam Newton .
(At the very least, Meyers should be the default winner of Most Improved.)
2. Rookie of the Year goes to defensive back Kyle Dugger,
just barely ahead of Michael Onwenu. The defensive back out of Lenoir-Rhyne had an
excellent first season, handling many of the same responsibilities Patrick
Chung did the last few years, and managing to surpass most
expectations. It’ll be interesting to see what happens in 2021, given that
there’s some positional redundancy there with Dugger and Chung. (Not to mention
veteran Adrian Phillips.) But it’s a good problem to have if you're
New England.
3. Dugger just edged Onwenu for team ROY honors, but Onwenu was so good, we
need to acknowledge his first year in the NFL, so I’ll say he was the Surprise
of the Year. Onwenu went from sixth-round pick to starting left guard in the
first month of his professional career — without benefit of a regular
offseason. There were some rough patches, but he certainly didn’t look
overwhelmed as he was shuffled from left guard to right guard to right tackle
and jumbo tight end. The versatility and durability (he played 92 percent of
the offensive snaps this year, second-most on the team) he displayed as a
rookie will certainly enter into the conversation when the Patriots discuss the
value of re-signing Thuney and/or Shaq Mason.
4. Newton-to-Washington makes sense on a few
levels: WFT needs some stability at quarterback, Newton knows Ron
Rivera, and Washington has the financial flexibility needed to offer him an
incentive-laden deal, the sort of contract that makes the most sense for Newton
at this stage of his career. It’s a win for all sides, including the Patriots,
who will likely part ways with the signal-caller after one relatively
underwhelming year.
5. As for the Patriots, the best course of
action is to draft a quarterback and add a veteran, either in trade or as
a free agent. One way or another, you’ve got to go big; either take a
quarterback in the first 30 overall picks, or make a splash with either a trade
or in free agency. One of the things that was reinforced this year was that an
elite quarterback can paper over a lot of deficiencies. It’s different teams
and different circumstances, but it’s not a coincidence that six of the eight
quarterbacks who are still playing this postseason were taken in the first
round, and four of them were drafted in the top 10. Bottom line? They’ve got to
take a big swing this offseason.
6. Matthew Slater’s future remains
in doubt, as the veteran sounded like he might leave the door open to
retirement this offseason. The departure of Slater would not only leave a
serious void on special teams, but New England would also have to find a way
out of a leadership void it hasn’t seen since Tedy Bruschi retired
following the 2008 season. Slater is not only one of the best in the recent
history of the game at what he does — he’s tied with John Hannah for
the second most Pro Bowl berths in franchise history — but he’s become the
moral compass of the locker room. The 35-year-old is not only respected across
Gillette Stadium, but one of the most respected individuals in the league. A
longtime voice in the NFLPA, Slater could continue to serve in a similar role
moving forward, as well as (potentially) becoming a coach. If he chooses
to retire as a player, he’ll go out as someone who has a gold jacket in his
future.
7. For what it’s worth, if Slater does retire,
it would leave Julian Edelman and Chung as the two senior
members of the roster. Slater is the last player left on the roster from the
2008 season, while Chung and Edelman are the last two players remaining on the
roster from the 2009 draft. (The oldest player on the roster is 36-year-old
kicker Nick Folk.) One of the great stories in recent Patriots’
history was the fact that Edelman and Slater were housemates for a stretch
shortly after Edelman was drafted.
8. I know there’s all sorts of retirement
paperwork to consider, but given the state of linebacking play in New England
this past season, do you think that Belichick even thought about the prospect —
for a fleeting second — of asking 34-year-old Jerod Mayo if
he could still give him a few snaps? I know that the possibility is remote at
best, but Belichick has always been one to look for talent in the unlikeliest
of places, and the Patriots could have used some help at the position. I’m not
suggesting Mayo would have been capable of jumping right in and going
wire-to-wire every week, but him moving from the sidelines to shoulder pads
would have made an interesting year all the more remarkable.
9. Speaking of Mayo, I think he has the
potential to make a very good head coach down the line. I always saw him as the
sort to rescue football at his alma mater, Tennessee, but an interview with the Eagles is an excellent place to start. And if he leaves, and
the Patriots need someone to step in, I wonder if they’d entertain the idea of
bringing back Matt Patricia to fill his role. After all, Josh
McDaniels did it.
10. After the Jets announced Thursday they had
hired Robert Saleh to become their new head coach, it was time
to update the list of AFC East head coaches since 2000:
Bills: Wade Phillip, Gregg Williams,
Mike Mularkey, Dick Jauron, Perry Fewell (interim), Chan
Gailey, Doug Marrone, Rex Ryan, Anthony Lynn (interim), Sean
McDermott.
Jets: Al Groh, Herm Edwards, Eric
Mangini, Rex Ryan, Todd Bowles, Adam Gase, Robert Saleh.
Dolphins: Dave Wannstedt, Jim Bates (interim), Nick
Saban, Cam Cameron, Tony Sparano, Todd Bowles (interim), Joe
Philbin, Dan Campbell (interim), Adam Gase, Brian Flores.
Patriots: Belichick.
