Sunday 7: Pop star power?

Congratulations, reader! If you are consuming this on the day of publication, Sunday, July 14, 2024, then you are just 10 days away from the start of Patriots training camp, 25 days from the first preseason game and 56 days from the 2024 Pats regular season. While nobody wants to wish away the precious days of summer, at the same time, it’s pretty exciting stuff right there.

Speaking of exciting stuff, let’s get to seven things worth talking about this week in Patriots…

1 - To say the New England Patriots have been lacking star power for the last few seasons is an understatement as grand as saying the Sumner Tunnel repairs are causing “minor traffic delays” around Boston this summer.

Since the departure of the greatest quarterback of all time, there have been some flirtations with star power on the sidelines of Gillette Stadium, from the Covid season of Cam Newton to the emergence and failure of Mac Jones, and there’s always that dude with the red sleeves (more on him in a bit). While it’s easy to say that new quarterback Drake Maye will be the answer to one and many of the Patriots’ problems, from a long-term answer under center to a legitimate needle-mover with the fans, that’s a lot to ask of a first-year player. While Maye is the most likely to be both the spark on offense and in the pro shop, there may be an undersized answer to this big problem already on the team.

Could second-year wide receiver DeMario “Pop” Douglas be, well, the pop this team needs desperately on offense and beyond? The diminutive Douglas had an excellent rookie season, totaling 49 receptions (on 79 targets) for 561 yards with an 11.4 yards per reception average. Not bad for any rookie receiver, let alone a smaller slot machine taken in the sixth round out of the football factory that is Liberty University.

It should be noted these stats came while a part of one of the most anemic and dysfunctional Patriots offenses in memory, with a faltering Mac Jones and his replacement, Bailey Zappe, slinging it for a whopping 3,392 yards. Plus when you factor in the line issues and the lack of talent on the outside and all over, not to mention Douglas missing three games due to injury, his rookie stats are all the more impressive.

With a year’s NFL experience under his belt, plus competent QB play hopefully from the Maye and Jacoby Brissett combo, not to mention better talent on the outside and an improved line, there’s every reason to believe Douglas can improve on his stats and become a weapon on the offense. Whether he becomes the focal point or more than a third-down option like in the heyday of the Welker and Edelman-led Pats offenses remains to be seen. Pop does have to be careful given his size, not to mention his concussion issues last season. But there’s no denying he’s exciting to watch with the ball in his hands or when trying to make a play.

He’s put in the time this offseason, turned heads aplenty at minicamp and OTAs and has said himself he’s far from satisfied with his rookie numbers . Factor in the high degree of affability, positive attitude and million dollar smile and we may just have a star in bloom on the offense. Next comes camp, preseason and then the games that count starting Sept. 8 in Cincinnati, a bevy of opportunities to shine on an offense likely to focus on the run early and often while incorporating short passes, a specialty for Douglas. If he stays healthy and gains the trust of his new QBs, while earning the respect of opposing defenses, then Douglas may just be a Pop-ular pick for the next Patriots star.

2 - Seeing Douglas emerge would be helpful in many ways for the Patriots on and off the field, but the team needs to concern itself more with helping players reach their full potential on the field before anyone worries further about off-field popularity. The latest reminder of this came earlier this week when ESPN published several pieces analyzing the top 10 players at every position, according to an anonymous polling of GMs, coaches and execs. Sadly, the Patriots scored but one top 10 player overall. Not at every position. OVERALL.

Kyle Dugger, he of the new four-year, $58 million contract, was voted eighth-best safety overall in the NFL , the lone selection from the Patriots on all the ESPN top 10 lists. While Dugger is a top flight safety and defensive playmaker who earned a high end payday, this is less about the fifth-year player out of Lenoir-Rhyne University and more about New England’s lack of elite talent on both sides of the ball, especially offense (would love to see the voting on these polls).

Some wonder why Eliot Wolf and the Pats front office have extended so many contracts of players that were part of a 4-13 season, players who represented the crowd of “Belichick can’t draft!” and their growing din over the past two seasons. Wolf, a graduate cum laude of The Packer Way school of roster drafting and developing, believes in establishing a solid veteran core for a team, and then adding playmakers gradually. In retaining the likes of David Andrews and Mike Onwenu and Anfernee Jennings and Jahlani Tavai, the team has a foundation for competitive play. None of them are elite, all of them sound.

A strong core should allow for playmakers to shine in time on either side of the ball. Perhaps by this time next year, should good health be on their side, we might see the likes of Christian Barmore or Christian Gonzalez show up on defense. And on offense, well…that’s going to take some time. But with seven out of eight draft picks on that side of the ball, the investment has been made. Still, the lack of elite playmakers is one of the issues that forced the end of the Bill Belichick regime and brought about sweeping change in Foxboro, leaving Wolf, coach Jerod Mayo and company with a lot of work to do, hoping more high-end talent develops from their efforts.

3 - Alrighty, Pats fans, time to play an exciting new round of every GM’s least favorite game, “Who You Gonna Pay?” (insert 1970s horn-fueled game show music here). Today your choices are: defensive end Matthew Judon or safety Jabrill Peppers?

Yes, even as the Patriots front office has been handing out new deals for core veterans like credit card applications on freshman orientation day at college, New England faces another difficult decision as to which defensive standout they believe merits a contract extension.

Judon, aka “dude with the red sleeves,” has been a standout since he came to New England in 2021 on his four-year, $54 million deal. He’s brought every bit of on-field effort, results, stats, sacks, leadership, energy, effort and everything a coach, coordinator, GM or teammate could ask for, and then some. The price for pass rushers has increased drastically over the past few seasons, reflecting a lot of markets in our current economy.

Perhaps the Pats would have been willing to overextend themselves prior to Judon’s season-ending biceps injury in October 2023, and that along with his age (31) has altered the landscape of a second contract. He has made it very clear he would like a new deal and wants to finish what he started in Foxboro. And it appears the Pats are interested, though according to Henry McKenna of Fox Sports , the two sides are not close. On Saturday, Greg Bedard reported on his podcast that Judon is not expected to play for the Patriots on his current contract, which Judon took to social media to seemingly refute. Whether all this affects his plans for the season, or those of the team and their willingness to perhaps deal him before the 2024 campaign gets under way, merit watching.

Meanwhile, another defensive standout and leader, safety Jabrill Peppers, has made it clear via social media that he understands it’s a big season for him.

Entering his third year in New England, and eighth overall in the NFL, Peppers represents a curious case for the Patriots front office. While not the flashiest player statistically, there’s no denying Peppers is a tone-setter on defense, delivering hard hits and making his presence felt ( just ask Davante Adams of the Las Vegas Raiders ). He’s become a vocal leader as well, and his candid assessment of the team at times has been entertaining, if not appreciated by the coaching staff. Honesty and effort along with an aggressive style of play have to be valued by the team going forward.

Peppers is 28 and still squarely in the prime of his career, but the Patriots just extended Kyle Dugger for four years at a high price and have second-year safety/linebacker Marte Mapu in development. How Mapu grows this season may affect the willingness of the team to extend Peppers at a fair rate as much as his own play.

As far as who the armchair GMs would offer a new deal to first…

4 - While there is no replacement for actual NFL football, as far as offseason content to fill that addiction goes, the die-hard football fan has had a bevy of quality programming to enjoy of late. In particular, the first ever offseason edition of “Hard Knocks” featuring the New York Giants, as well as “Receiver” on Netflix, the sequel to last summer’s “Quarterback,” showcasing the ins and outs of a season as a pass catcher in the NFL.

Of interest to Pats fans in the Giants series were two clips: first, a snippet from the NFL combine interview of now Pats QB Drake Maye and Giants head coach Brian Daboll.

Daboll, who worked as a member of the Patriots offensive coaching staff for years, seems to enjoy talking offense with Maye, who handled himself comfortably with the Giants coach and de facto play caller. Rumor was Daboll and GM Joe Schoen were interested in Maye, which was confirmed by this clip from the same episode.

Both Daboll and Schoen were a part of the Buffalo Bills coaching staff and front office that drafted and developed Josh Allen into a stud at QB. They might have seen their answer under center in Maye, perhaps the next Josh Allen, to take over for incumbent and injured veteran Daniel Jones. These looks inside the process of meeting with prospects and the back room conversations and negotiations that lead to possible trades, or the ones even that don’t like this, are fascinating for the fan to see. Plus, it should give Pats fans heart that their team drafted a QB that other teams with proven offensive developmental track records were into. Sure, the G-Men were pretty anemic on offense in 2023, but Daboll’s experience speaks for itself. And did you see what he got out of Daniel Jones with minimal surrounding talent in 2022?

As for “Receiver,” the latest NFL player-focused docuseries from Peyton Manning's Omaha Productions, we’re given tremendous behind the scenes insight into the daily lives of five receivers; Davante Adams, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Justin Jefferson, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle. The unfiltered peeks into their ups, downs, personalities, families, struggles and triumphs is fascinating. For example, who among us knew St. Brown, the star of the surging Lions offense, came from a world championship bodybuilder family? And that the hyper-focused and notoriously intense receiver, who just received a lucrative contract extension himself this year, also had a sense of humor?

A sense of humor is something everyone associates with 49ers tight end George Kittle, who has personality to spare. The series shares a story of an infamous shirt Kittle wore in a game last season, which got him fined heavily by the league, which he in no way regrets.

These are but the tip of the engaging football content iceberg on a show that should have you yearning for the start of the season ASAP. All eight episodes are available to stream on Netflix.

5 - While no New England layer is spotlighted in either aforementioned series beyond Brian Daboll’s lust for Drake Maye, for Patriots fans yearning for more behind the scenes content, a recent “Mic’d Up” video from the Pats focused on the man who will be directly guiding the future of Maye: Alex Van Pelt.

On display are some of the things fans have heard about the first year OC in Foxboro: offensive intelligence, attention to detail and good energy. Many have heard about Van Pelt’s quality of character and likeability, but not much is known in these parts as far as his coaching demeanor and on-field style. Van Pelt, an NFL veteran QB and coach of two-plus decades, will be a hit with fans no matter what so long as he grooms Maye for success and gets the offense out of the NFL basement. As training camp opens in less than two weeks, hopefully more of this BTS content and insight becomes available.

6 - As for the man who used to be in charge, few can disagree that no former Patriot is having a better year than coach Bill Belichick, whose already busy schedule just got a little busier this week.

Belichick is juggling a lot with his possibly temporary post-coaching days, what with a new romantic relationship on top of writing a book, not to mention appearing regularly on “The ManingCast” on Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli, Mondays on “The Pat McAfee Show” on ESPN, and now The CW’s “Inside The NFL” with Ryan Clark, Chris Long and Chad Ochocinco.

The irony of Belichick appearing as a regular on “Inside the NFL” is not lost on many Pats fans as he practically replaces his former player, Julian Edelman, who was a part of the show on Paramount for a few seasons. Edelman famously roasted Belichick at The Roast of Tom Brady, saying he couldn’t even get a job coaching Foxboro High School now. Well, seems like Edelman’s former coach is in high demand after all.

Many figured Belichick to be a popular name in the league’s coaching carousel this past offseason but no offer came to fruition. Yet this may be a case where a loss is turned into a win, a hallmark of the Brady/Belichick years in New England, as the legendary coach will be able to showcase his personality, intelligence and perspective on a number of forums every week.

Belichick, should he want to get back to the sidelines as a head coach, will certainly benefit from this broad spectrum showcase and potential image rehab. The legendary coach might well be missed on New England’s sidelines this fall, but fans clamoring for their fill of Bill will get it, and then some, likely with 100% less postgame snark, too!

7 - Let’s end on a high note with belated congratulations to Pats QB Bailey Zappe on his recent marriage .

Zappe and his now wife, college love Hannah Lewis, seemed to tie the knot in a storybook setting . Zappe seemed at first to have a storybook start to his NFL career with Zappe Fever sweeping Pats Nation in 2022 before reality set in and all things Pats offense crashed back to Earth that season and throughout 2023. The third-year QB out of Western Kentucky did get a chance to showcase his talents again last season once Mac Jones was benched for the season, starting six games and finishing with a 2-4 record. He did have one half of football, the Thursday Night win against Pittsburgh, where he tossed three touchdowns and looked every bit the capable and competent QB at the pro level.

Alas, the Pats are going in a different direction, with veteran Jacoby Brissett the starter for now, and third overall pick Drake Maye the future. There’s even sixth-round cannon arm Joe Milton out of Tennessee to contend with as Zappe tries to secure a roster spot. While his professional future in Foxboro is in question - he could easily be a trade or release candidate come August - his personal future is secured for now. Considering the unique place he’ll occupy in the history books and hearts of Pats Nation, I’m sure we’re not alone in wishing him and his wife and their family the best going forward, wherever that may be.