Ben Volin has seen a lot of championship football. He covered Urban Meyer’s Florida Gators and Bill Belichick’s New England Patriots . The Senior NFL Writer for the Boston Globe has a different view now.
The Patriots are a team in transition. New head coach. New quarterback. Gone are the days when you can count on New England winning the AFC East. There’s a chance they could finish last in the division for the second straight season. We caught up with Volin to discuss these new Patriots and what it’s like following a team attempting to rebuild after two decades of unprecedented success.
Note: This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
Awful Announcing: What did you learn from the preseason opener versus the Carolina Panthers?
Ben Volin: “I learned that I still think Bailey Zappe is probably the second-best quarterback. I know the numbers weren’t great, but if you look at how he handled situations and his confidence running the offense, I thought he was still clearly ahead of the two rookies, which is understandable. Zappe’s played for a few years. I learned that Joe Milton is a freak with his running ability and athleticism. His arm strength is unreal. It’s funny. I wrote that the sixth-round pick is creating more buzz than the No.3 overall pick right now.”
Is there any chance Drake Maye will start in Week 1?
“I’d say pretty slim that he starts opening day. He seems to be pretty far off from competing with Jacoby Brissett right now. They signed Brissett because he’s familiar with (offensive coordinator) Alex Van Pelt. He played for him in 2022 in Cleveland. Brissett comes in knowing the offense. It was always going to take a lot for Maye to supplant him. That said, there hasn’t been a ton that he’s shown to be honest. There have been some good throws. He’s gotten better, but you’re still not blown away by his physical traits. Maybe that’s because he’s also standing next to Joe Milton, and everyone’s going to look like their arm isn’t as strong when you’re standing next to Joe Milton.
“You don’t want to bury him or take too much out of this, but it’s clear that the Patriots, I think, feel that he’s pretty far off. I think the Patriots are taking things slowly.”
From a media standpoint, how has Jerod Mayo been different than Belichick?
“He’s been a lot friendlier than Bill Belichick. Mayo has been great, a very low-key guy to deal with. I appreciate that he answers questions directly. With Belichick, you ask him a question and he’ll filibuster for five minutes. He’ll talk on and on or give you absolutely nothing. With Mayo, his press conferences are like rapid fire. You ask a question, he spits out a pretty direct answer right back to you. He speaks to you in thoughtful sentences. That said, he’s still a head football coach. It’s not like he’s been super revealing.
“The Patriots did a good job setting up a few casual meet and greets with Mayo, his staff, and the media. That was certainly something Belichick didn’t do.”
What are realistic expectations for the Patriots?
“I don’t think anyone expects them to turn things around instantly or for Drake Maye to be some magic elixir to fixing this team like a C.J. Stroud. I think they know it’s probably going to take (several) drafts to find a No.1 receiver, a left tackle, and restock the team with some talent. The way I see it, the ceiling is probably eight wins if Jacoby Brissett can start 15 games. If the offensive line gels, they get good luck with injuries, and the defense comes together like he usually does. I could see this being a 7-to-8-win team.”
What’s the worst-case scenario?
“I think in the 4-to-5-win range and as bad as 1 or 2 wins is certainly in the realm when you consider it’s a new offense. They may have the worst group of receivers in the NFL. The offensive line might be a mess. It’s a whole new coaching staff. If you get a couple of injuries at the wrong positions, and if you got Drake Maye and Joe Milton starting 14 games this year, it could get ugly for the Patriots.”
Was Brandon Aiyuk refusing to go to New England a wake-up call?
“It’s just the latest sign that this is not the same old Patriots and that players aren’t going to want to come here until they prove that they can win and that they have a quarterback. The quarterback thing is huge. It’s all kind of riding on Drake Maye or, to a lesser extent, maybe Joe Milton turning into something. This is not the first time. DeAndre Hopkins had no interest in coming here. And then it was Calvin Ridley this off-season. The Patriots were a finalist, but he had no desire to come here.”
How patient will Bob Kraft be?
“I think it’s easy to say now that they’re going to remain patient. I think through September they’ll probably remain patient. If they’re 0-6, I don’t think there’s going to be much patience. We want to assume Jerod Mayo has plenty of job security and will last multiple years with this rebuild. Everyone talks about the Houston Texans and how great their plan (was). But people forget it cost two head coaches. Lovie Smith and David Culley were both one and done. If you go 2-15, all bets are off.”
Is Belichick using his new broadcasting career to land his next coaching job?
“I think Belichick wants to get back into coaching. I think the Giants and the Eagles are going to be on the table for him next year. We’ll see about the Cowboys, too. Frankly, I think he’s knocked it out of the park (on TV). He’s shown some great personality between the roast of Tom Brady and then Brady’s retirement ceremony at Gillette and Belichick’s appearance during the draft on The Pat McAfee Show. I thought he was fantastic.
“And absolutely, I think part of his strategy is to show other teams that he’s not always the sour, gruff guy, that he has some personality. But I think there’s a good chance that he’s done coaching, that teams don’t want a 72-year-old coach anymore.”
What was it like covering the Gators?
“Covering the Gators was wild because it was like a pro beat, especially back then. Every newspaper in Florida had a writer living in Gainesville covering just the Gators. There was just so much competition. There was so much interest in the Gators and the Tim Tebow phenomenon. They won national titles with Urban, so it was great to be on a competitive beat. It kept you on your toes. The program was, I don’t want to say lawless, but never have I had a team where this happened more; where at 11 at night, 4 in the morning, 8 in the morning, there’s some story about a DUI, some arrest or some gun charge. There was never a dull moment.”
Do you have a good story about interacting with a fan?
“It was the fall of 2015. My wife and I were starting to plan our wedding, and we’re out at a club one night to look at a band to see if we wanted to hire them for our wedding. While I was in line, I got noticed by a college kid. We talk about the Patriots. They were 10-1 and it looks like they’re cruising to another Super Bowl. They had Chip Kelly and the Eagles coming in the next day. I said ‘(The Patriots) are gonna crush them.’ I had a nice chat with the kid. The next day the Eagles pulled off a big upset with a 99-yard interception return and a punt return .
“All of a sudden I see on social media: ‘I met this guy Ben Volin last night and this a****** says that the Patriots are going to win. What the bleep does this guy know? What a joke.’ I’m like ‘What the hell?’ We just had a nice talk yesterday. There’s a funny postscript. Two years later, I randomly ran into this kid again at Logan Airport. He says ‘I said some mean things to you on Twitter and I’m sorry.’
“I give him a lot of credit for that. To me, it just exemplified Twitter versus real life.”
The post The Boston Globe’s Ben Volin on the start of a new Patriots era appeared first on Awful Announcing .
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