Welcome to the Friday Five!
Each week during the NFL regular season, I will drop five Patriots-related thoughts on Friday to recap the week that was in Foxboro and look ahead to kickoff.
Ready, set, football.
1. What if …
Back in March, Milton Williams was thiiiis close to becoming a Panther instead of a Patriot.
Williams hit free agency as a top target for both teams, fresh off a dominant Super Bowl run with the Eagles. Once free agency opened, initial reports suggested Williams was headed to Carolina. Instead, after whiffing on Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley and Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin, the Pats pushed all their chips in to land him.
Sure enough, a four-year, $104 million offer convinced one of the last remaining blue-chip talents to New England.
“I probably blacked out for a little bit once that happened,” said Patriots defensive line coach Clint McMillan. “It was exciting to get a player of that caliber.”
Can you imagine if Williams hadn’t signed?
Of course, who knows how the dominos would have fallen from mid-March to late September. But Williams sealed the Pats’ only win of the season thus far, sacking Tua Tagovailoa on the Dolphins’ final offensive snap with less than two minutes left in Week 2. He’s also provided a steady veteran presence and pass rush the Patriots desperately need.
On the season, Williams has two sacks, two quarterback hits, three hurries and a run stuff. The Patriots will need more from him if they want to produce their first winning season since 2021, and that starts Sunday against the team that nearly stole one of their best defensive players now and for years to come.
2. Digging deeper
Every receiver wants the ball.Their livelihoods depend on it.
So when Drake Maye said Wednesday he has to throw more to Stefon Diggs, that’s normal. But when Maye volunteers two weeks in a row that Diggs needs the ball, particularly after Diggs insisted he won’t call for more targets, well, which is it?
“I’ve got full trust in (Diggs),” Maye said. “He just keeps showing it every week. I need to try to give him the ball more. I told him that today.”
That quote is not proof of a disgruntled Diggs, whose history of becoming upset when he doesn’t see the ball enough is as well-documented as his on-field excellence. Maye’s quotes aren’t fire. They might not even be smoke. But they’re not nothing.
Especially not after Josh Allen dropped this Thursday in Buffalo when asked how he’s changed his game to cut down on his turnovers: “That whole ‘everybody eats’ mentality that (offensive coordinator) Joe (Brady) allowed us to take over has allowed me to be free. (I don’t) worry so much about where the ball is going.”
Now, Diggs has said he’s not calling for the ball. He’s been a good soldier publicly, and, more importantly, productive on the field. There’s a good case for him to play more, as the Patriots’ most reliable receiver.
“I’m not going to bite off more than I can chew, I’m not gonna ask for anything. It’s whatever they need,” he said Wednesday. “I’m gonna just handle what’s in front of me. I got like, a rule of thumb: just eat the food that’s in front of you.”
So where does Josh McDaniels stand in all of this?
A week ago, McDaniels claimed he’s never heard Diggs call for the ball. On Thursday, McDaniels said of his receivers: “I think the goal for all of us is that we hope that the quarterback is throwing it to the person that’s supposed to get it. So the short and long of it is, if you start trying to force it to one person or another, it gets a little bit different. And now you start making mistakes.”
Hmm. Something to monitor.
3. Why sell now?
The next time Robert Kraft steps to a microphone, it should sound like his last.
In virtually every press conference, Kraft mentions how he used to sit on the bleachers at the old Foxboro stadium; how optimistic he is about the Patriots’ future; how important the draft is to long-term success in the NFL, and how, after his family, nothing is more important to him than the Patriots.
So, why would Kraft reportedly sell minority stakes in the franchise?
A theory: last year, Irving Grousbeck made his son, Wyc, the Celtics’ governor, sell the team immediately after their last NBA title. The Grousbecks cited “estate planning,” before sealing a $6.1 billion sale to new controlling owner Bill Chisholm. Translation: Irving, 91, wanted his affairs in order.
Kraft is 84. The succession plan is clear: Jonathan Kraft is next in line. In the meantime, Kraft can leave more money behind for his extended family, approximately $740 million, without relinquishing control of the team.
Perhaps it’s a simple cash grab (who wouldn’t take an easy $740 million?) but the gut guess here is Kraft is looking ahead with the family future in mind.
4. Getting dirty on kickoffs
On Tuesday night, Mike Vrabel said he spent two hours studying the Panthers’ kickoff team. He had good reason to.
Through three weeks, the Panthers and Rams rank far and away as the best kick coverage teams in the NFL. Their opponents regularly start drives deep in their own territory thanks to a “dirty kick” technique.
Dirty kicks are essentially high-arching knuckleballs that can land in the middle of the field and take an unpredictable bounce or fly at an angle, depending on how the kicker makes contact. The idea is to force non-returners to scoop the ball up and screw with opponents’ blocking schemes. So might the Patriots copy Carolina and adopt the same approach?
Pats special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer confirmed Thursday that rookie kicker Andy Borregales has tried, though one of his “dirty” attempts at Miami resulted in a penalty that handed the Dolphins excellent field position in the fourth quarter. Under the NFL’s new kickoff rules, if a kick doesn’t travel far enough, opponents start at their own 40-yard line, and if the ball travels too far, opponents open at their own 35.
Springer highlighted the risk and reward of this approach while explaining why the Patriots haven’t fully committed to it so far.
“Can you do it consistently? And you feel confident doing it consistently?” Springer asked rhetorically. “Sometimes, like I said, weather can dictate it. Or just (the kicker) hits one bad ball, and now you’ve got a penalty at the 40-yard line. Do you want to do it again and get another penalty?”
5. What to do about Stevenson?
It’s time to sit Rhamondre Stevenson.
The Patriots ought to make their top back a healthy scratch for Sunday to send a message to him and the team they will not tolerate fumbling twice like Stevenson did last weekend. Stevenson also fumbled seven times last year. There must be consequences for a player whose mistakes are so costly.
If Vrabel wants to establish a winning culture, that means reinforcing certain habits and attitudes and disallowing others. Turnovers are a top priority for the Patriots in theory, with ball security and ball disruption listed as the second item on a sign in their team meeting room that outlines the identity Vrabel wants from his team.
But are turnovers a priority in practice? We’ll see on Sunday.