With the Bruins and Celtics done sooner than hoped and the Red Sox residing in the mediocre middle, I’ve had some time lately to do a little bit of self-scouting in between these Patriots seasons.
Coaches do it. So do conscientious players. Goofy columnists should, too.
Self-scouting means looking back on the past season, maybe even longer, and identifying strengths, weaknesses, and trends, what you figured right and what you read wrong, all in the name of doing the job better.
If we can’t admit our mistakes, how can we criticize others for theirs, right?
For me, that has meant reading back through the last three years of Patriots columns, plus the in-season Unconventional Previews and Reviews that run before and then after each game.
Advertisement
So far, I have come up with two interlocking conclusions while reviewing how I’ve written about this franchise in the post-Tom Brady era.
▪ I’ve had a little too much faith, unrewarded. Giving Bill Belichick, the greatest football coach ever to roam a sideline, the benefit of the doubt with some of his most curious decisions (see: Matt Patricia, offensive coordinator) has not paid off.
▪ Because of that faith, and the heeding of that ol’ In Bill We Trust motto, I’ve been wrong. A lot.
In the spirit of full disclosure, and so you can laugh at me more than usual, I’ll share three examples before addressing how a certain potential free agent plays into my current, humbled, post-self-scouting perspective on this team.
Example 1: Wrote this after a 35-30 loss to the Seahawks in Week 2 of 2020, when Cam Newton threw for 397 yards:
I can’t imagine there is any other lasting emotion about the state of the Patriots this morning other than giddiness about what could be to come. Because Cam Newton is still Cam Newton … [The Patriots] lost Sunday, and Newton couldn’t convert the final play, but now we know: They’re going to be very good, again and still. Get ready for a lot of people around the league to gripe that he never should have gotten to the Patriots in free agency. It’s probably already begun.
Advertisement
The Patriots finished the season 7-9. Newton was cut in training camp the next season. No, opponents never did lament him getting to the Patriots. This was the high point. And some of us flew way too high.
Example 2: Wrote this after rookie quarterback Mac Jones more than held his own in a 19-17 loss to Brady and the Buccaneers in Week 4 of 2021:
[Jones] took every hit he had to take, with no help whatsoever from the running game, and kept delivering, finishing 31 of 40 for 275 yards, with touchdown passes to tight ends Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith. The Patriots have their quarterback of the future, and he’s already damned good under the toughest circumstances in the present.
Actually, the most surprising thing about rereading that is that Jonnu Smith caught a touchdown pass. Are we sure that happened?
Example 3: And finally, wrote this after the 2021 Patriots improved to 9-4 with a memorable 14-10 win over the Bills in a ridiculous windstorm:
It’s been clear for a few weeks now, maybe even a month, that the one-season respite is over for the rest of the AFC and the Patriots are again a team to be reckoned with in the playoff race.
Advertisement
On a wild and windy Monday night against the Bills, Bill Belichick and the Patriots delivered a message: We’re the favorites here, you’re not, and we’ll gladly embarrass you to prove it.
The Patriots went 1-3 the rest of the way, and got smoked by the Bills in the wild-card round.
That’s enough convicting myself for your amusement for now. Like a running back pushing 30 who has absorbed a few too many wallops, I’m moving with some hesitation right now, but let me just say this about the current Patriots:
I’m cautiously optimistic, emphasis on “cautiously.” But if they sign DeAndre Hopkins, who is the right receiver at the right time for this offense, it’s going to be hard to resist chucking that “cautiously” out the window.
After last season, in which they went 8-9 despite having an offensive coordinator who wasn’t capable of coordinating even a wardrobe, the Patriots had the kind of offseason they absolutely had to have.
Bill O’Brien came on board as offensive coordinator, and his general competence will be a massive upgrade. Christian Gonzalez, a potential No. 1 cornerback, fell their way in the first round of the draft. Not everything went right — to call Jack Jones a knucklehead would be an insult to knuckles — but it was the kind of positive offseason they had to have.
Advertisement
Hopkins, a three-time All-Pro who just turned 31 and averaged 7 catches and 80 yards per game last season for a hopeless Cardinals team, should be the final piece. Various circumstances have Hopkins without much of a market, and this seems like a golden opportunity to get Mac Jones the kind of top-notch receiver he has never had.
He visited the Patriots for two days last week, and the vibes seemed encouraging. But for one reason or another — the suspicion is that he wants to avoid training camp — he left town without a deal.
I’m worried that some true contender is going to swoop in and sign him to a short-term, relative bargain of a deal — the sort of thing Belichick used to do with the Darrelle Revises of the league.
But if the Patriots do get Hopkins, the pieces on this offense will fit so much better.
Their defense is already deep and versatile, possibly one of the best in the league. Hopkins, working again with O’Brien and making life easier for Mac Jones, would elevate the offense.
If they sign Hopkins — if — the Patriots would be elevated from the fringes of relevance to a true contender in the loaded AFC East.
Sure, maybe someday I’ll regret making such a declaration. I sure would like to find out.
Chad Finn can be reached at chad.finn@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeChadFinn.