If there’s one way of looking at the world that gets a bad rap, it’s Cynicism.
And instead, to rely simply on the bare necessities.
Which doesn’t mean they were hermits.
Diogenes himself lived in a ceramic pot in the middle of Athens.
And embraced the insults that were hurled at him for his unconventional lifestyle.
Which matters now more than ever.
Consider the following:
–The Patriots are 1-3 for the third season in a row.
–They just lost 38-3.
The last time they were than non-competitive in a game was a 45-7 loss to the Jets.
That was in Bill Parcells' first season, just over 30 years ago to the day.
Meaning this was the most lopsided loss under Mr. Kraft’s ownership.
–They’re 30th in the NFL in points.
–71% of their drives have ended with punts or turnovers.
No other team has more than 67%.
Sometimes you hit rock bottom.
Today is one of those days.
The best player on the 2023 Patriots has been rookie Christian Gonzalez.
Plus he hadn’t missed a down going into the Dallas game.
He’s been looking for all the world like one of GM Bill’s best draft picks.
The best Patriots player of the last three seasons has unquestionably been Matthew Judon.
And both left that toxic waste dump of a loss with eerily similar shoulder injuries.
Here’s where we’re at with those, in order that they occurred.
Let’s really lean into the Cynicism here by looking at the Patriots options.
Even with that, his passer rating was 102.3.
His alignment numbers have been skewed by the fact he got a battlefield promotion when Gonzalez went down.
His passer rating on the season is 118.7.
Shaun Wade -Wade was also pressed into emergency duty, playing 64 snaps.
He gave up receptions on six of the eight times he was targeted, for 76 yards.
And missed two tackles.
It was in Philly.
And I expected it to be the same here.
But in his first two seasons in New England, he’s almost exclusively been a wide corner.
But his playing time has been going down steadily since he arrived.
Jonathan has been an injury scratch for three straight weeks.
But his impact on the pass rush makes him worth it.
Unfortunately, that’s all you’ve got the option to expect him to do.
And he’s been dropped into coverage even less than that.
Offenses run at him when given the chance.
And in 13 career targets, he’s given up 12 receptions.
Anfernee Jennings -At fifteen pounds heavier, Jennings is the anti-Uche.
The run-stopping Yin to Uche’s Yang.
Once Judon went down, they put him at ROLB for 11 snaps.
They’re left with no choice but to lean on him more heavily, starting now.
So there’s the situation.
