FOXBORO, Mass. — A lot happens when you cover the New England Patriots throughout the week.
You get at least three Jerod Mayo news conferences, a presser with the starting quarterback, multiple locker room availabilities, and access to a few practices. Some takeaways become individual stories, while other quotes and nuggets are left on the cutting room floor.
With that in mind, I’m publishing a Patriots notebook every Friday through the end of the season. These pieces mostly focus on top Patriots storylines and leftovers from each week but also include a non-football thought or two — because I’m a dork who likes to talk about other stuff.
So, let’s get into it.
Patriots Christmas Wishlist: 7 Ideal Gifts for Last 4 Games
This week’s notebook will be shorter than the rest.
The Patriots are on bye this week, so there wasn’t much media availability. And all that came out of it was more head-scratching Mayo quotes that provided fodder for local radio hosts. And, honestly, I’m giving myself a break from that increasingly annoying storyline for a week.
So, I came up with a Patriots Christmas wishlist for the rest of the season. I tried to keep things realistic — I don’t think four consecutive 100-yard games from Javon Baker are in the cards — while focusing on gifts that would make the Patriots and their fans feel better down the stretch.
Caedan Wallace Showing Promise
Is Caedan Wallace a left tackle, a right tackle, a swing tackle, or a bust? At this point, we still don’t know much about the third-round rookie.
Wallace, who primarily played right tackle in college, split time on both sides during training camp. De facto general manager Eliot Wolf said he believes Wallace can play left tackle, but by the end of the summer, the Penn State product was entrenched on the right side.
Wallace didn’t play much over the first two weeks before being forced into a start at left tackle in Week 3. He suffered an ankle injury the following week and remains on injured reserve as of this writing. However, Mayo recently indicated Wallace is close to returning and will play down the stretch.
“You have Baker, you have (Ja’Lynn) Polk, you have Layden Robinson, Caedan Wallace — all of those guys — we wanna push them out there in an effort to know what we have in the offseason,” Mayo told NBC Sports Boston’s Tom E. Curran.
For better or worse, playing Wallace in the final four weeks would give the Patriots valuable data for the offseason. If he shows real promise at RT, New England could remove that position from its offseason checklist. If Wallace is a disaster, the Patriots would know they at least need to consider adding starting-caliber options at both tackle spots.
Obviously, the better scenario is for Wallace to play well at right tackle. In theory, that could free the Patriots up to use their top draft pick on a receiver before using the second pick on a left tackle.
Just One ‘Ja’Lynn Polk Game’
To say Ja’Lynn Polk’s rookie season has been a disappointment would be a massive understatement. The second-round rookie was one of New England’s best players during training camp and looked like a souped-up version of Jakobi Meyers.
I thought there was a decent chance Polk would lead the Patriots in catches and receiving yards. Yet, in his first 12 games, he posted just 12 catches on 31 targets for 87 yards and two touchdowns. Since Week 5, he’s caught three of 12 targets for 13 yards.
Per Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald, Polk is one of four rookie wide receivers since 2004 with at least 30 targets and a sub-26% receiving success rate. Polk, whose playing time has plummeted, is ranked last among all receivers by Pro Football Focus.
So, it’d be great if Polk could deliver one good game over the final four weeks. Not a signature game, nor even a great game — just a good game. Say, seven catches for 84 yards and a touchdown.
Something, anything, to make him look not look like a total bust.
Drake Maye Staying Healthy
This one’s pretty self-explanatory.
Outside of a minor knee injury and a concussion — that might not even have been a concussion — Drake Maye has stayed healthy since taking over as the starter. He’s taken some big hits and put himself in harm’s way with his scrambling, but the rookie’s managed to avoid a significant injury.
At this point, it’s clear the Patriots have their franchise quarterback. They just need him to make it through the rest of the season unscathed.
A Definitive Answer on Jerod Mayo
As poorly as Mayo’s first season has gone, it’s hard to envision the Patriots firing him in January. It’s far easier to envision them firing Alex Van Pelt or DeMarcus Covington, although the latter improved his standing over the next month.
But what if the Patriots really stink down the stretch? Like, reaaallly stink? I have to believe that would move the Kraft Famly closer to cutting the cord.
Similarly, if the Patriots perform well down the stretch, Mayo’s job surely would be safe.
For the purpose of this exercise, either of those scenarios would be fine. However, what would make things far more difficult is if the Patriots are somewhere in the middle. They show some life after the bye, perhaps even win a game, but look bad in their final two home games.
That would leave the Krafts with a more difficult decision — one that would lead to significant debate.
So, for all our sakes, here’s hoping the final four games offer a clear referendum on Mayo, one way or another.
Cole Strange Grabbing Center Job
It feels like a safe bet that the Patriots’ O-line will look something like this down the stretch:
LT: Vederian Lowe
LG: Layden Robinson
C: ?
RG: Mike Onwenu
RT: Caedan Wallace
So, who’s playing center?
Veteran Ben Brown has played every snap since taking over for David Andrews (shoulder surgery) in Week 6. And he’s played as well as you could expect for someone who was poached off a practice squad.
But the Patriots have 2022 first-rounder Cole Strange ready to return and in the process of switching positions from left guard to center. Mayo recently said Strange will play over the final month but, on Monday, wouldn’t clarify whether he’d start at center.
“We’ll have to see,” Mayo said. “I don’t want to get into hypotheticals, and I would say if Ben has done a good job for us. We’ll see how Cole presents here in the next couple weeks and see what happens.”
This is similar to what I outlined with Wallace. If Strange can seize control of the center job down the stretch, the Patriots could remove “center of the future” from their offseason wishlist. That’s a sneaky big need, as there’s no guarantee Andrews will be able to play next season.
Robinson, Strange, Onwenu, and Wallace were all drafted or signed to be long-term answers on the offensive line. If that group can play together and play well, New England could enter the offseason feeling much better about its O-line.
Clarity at Safety
The Patriots’ safety group is hard to get a read on.
Jabrill Peppers signed a three-year extension last summer and is a very good player, but his future is uncertain due to his ongoing legal issues.
Kyle Dugger also signed a big contract last summer but is having his worst season as a pro.
Rookie Dell Pettus has shown promise but is an undrafted rookie — and a short one at that.
Marte Mapu, a third-round pick in 2023, has been all over the place, offering some good games and some bad ones, along with multiple healthy scratches.
The Patriots can’t feel as good about their safety situation now as they did in August. Some clarity over the final month would be quite helpful.
Not Losing Out
Barring a stunning turnaround, the Patriots will land a top-10 pick. And they’ll have the assets necessary to move further up the board if they really want someone, such as Arizona receiver Tetairoa McMillan or LSU tackle Will Campbell.
New England doesn’t need to lose its final four games to finish with a high draft pick. Moreover, landing such a pick shouldn’t be the top focus for anyone, including fans.
The Patriots entered their bye week on a three-game losing streak. If they lose out, they’ll finish the season on a seven-game losing streak.
That wouldn’t benefit anyone, especially young players like Maye, who could benefit from a little success and the general raising of standards. Players have grown too used to losing in Foxboro, and back-to-back seasons with four or fewer wins would cement the Patriots as one of the NFL’s bottom dwellers.
Winning is contagious, but so is losing.
The snowball of suck can get big in a hurry. It’s easy to root for high draft picks, but some franchises look up one day and realize they’ve been picking atop the draft for a decade. Building a Tom Brady statue and flaunting your six Super Bowl trophies don’t make you immune to such failures.
The Patriots need a couple of wins over the final four weeks, however they can get them.
Non-Football Thought No. 1: Save Muppet*Vision 3D
A couple of weeks ago, Disney announced that Muppet*Vision 3D, an iconic theme park attraction and the final work of Jim Henson, would be removed as part of the creation of a “Monsters, Inc.” land at Hollywood Studios.
This probably doesn’t register on most people’s radars. And a not-insignificant number of people who read this probably will think I’m a total loser. That’s fine.
But, for so many reasons, Muppet*Vistion 3D can’t be allowed to die. I’ll let WDWNT’s Tom Corless take it from here.
Non-Football Thought No. 2: Song of the Week
The pick this week is “Fairytale of New York” by The Pogues.
In my opinion, this is the best Christmas song of all time — period. Then it’s Frank Sinatra’s “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” at No. 2, and then there’s a big drop-off.
Oh, and “Wonderful Christmastime” by Paul McCartney belongs at the bottom of not just Christmas song lists but any song lists. It’s an abomination.
Anyway, R.I.P. Shane MacGowan.
