The Long Road Ahead 2020

At 2-4, the Pats can't lose against the Bills.

If they end up at 2-5, they would need to go 7-2 to get to 9-7 and a  hopeful playoff spot.

That appears very difficult at this point.

Julian's Shrinking Window

Pats WR Julian Edelman will miss a crucial game Sunday against the Bills after having knee surgery.

This has not been a good year for #11 who will turn 35 before the start of next season. He is at the point where the end is near.

Nothing has been said about the procedure or how many games he will miss. 

If the Pats play themselves out of contention for the post-season, will fans see him again in Foxborough?

 

Chasing The Bills

When the 2-4 Pats play the 5-2 Bills, the season will be on the line for them. Every game is important, but a loss to the Bills would put too much distance between them for the AFC East title.

They need a winning streak before the season slips away.

Will it happen Sunday?

 

The Three Game Season

It looks like UMass will have a three game season after picking up two more contests to round out their 2020 schedule.

Two probable losses loom on the horizon when they travel to #22 Marshall (5-0) on November 7th and Liberty on the 27th.

UMass should get quite a bit of exposure against Liberty at it will be a noon time start on Black Friday. 

It remains to be seen if they will schedule any more games.

Don't Let Fans Vote

Letting fans vote for the Pats Hall of Fame selections isn't the best idea. They continue to disregard players from the pre-Kraft/Parcells/Belichick era. 

The latest "All Dynasty" team is a joke. It has no credibility when they leave out Pro Football inductees OL John Hannah and LB Andre Tippett.

I read the results and moved on.

Can't Keep Losing

The Pats are 2-4 with Cam Newton leading them. Quarterbacks get all the credit and criticism for whatever they do with their team.

At this point, the Pats need to go 8-2 to end up at 10-6 or be 7-3 the rest of the way to go 9-7 and maybe missing the playoffs in the AFC East.

Nobody knows how the season will end.

Time To Be 2-4

Pats QB Cam Newton became the first quarterback to rush for 5,000 yards and pass for 30,000 in their NFL career. It was an amazing accomplishment.

He did it during the team's big 33-6 loss to the 49er's where he had a passing line of 9/15 for 98 yards and three interceptions. He ran 5 times for 19 yards.

His milestone was lost along the way. He didn't help himself with his play today. He is looking for a big multi-year contract. If he wants that type of money, he won't get it in Foxborough unless he wins a Super Bowl.

The Pats are 2-4 and fans should be concerned about the rest of the schedule.

Banned For Money

Players do selfish things that get their team penalized or hurt in some other way.

LSU alumnae Odell Beckham Jr thought it was a good idea to hand out money to players in their locker room after defeating Clemson in the national championship game back in January.

Beckham claimed it was fake money, but was wrong. The NCAA has banned him from the school's football facilities for two years.

The football program is hoping that there are no additional penalties.

  

AB & Brady 2020

NFL contracts are never real until they are signed.

We are hearing the Bucs have an agreement with WR Antonio Brown, pending a few issues.

A player is never on a team until the transaction has been finalized, but Tom Brady has lobbied for him from the start. 

Jets Coach Won't Make it

When the Jets lost to the Dolphins 24-0 last Sunday, it dropped their record to 0-6.

Coach Adam Gase will be one of the first to be fired at the end of the season if he makes it that far. His career record is 30-40 as a head coach.

To make matters worse, Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams has been publicly critical over who to blame for the team's problems. 

The Jets are not going anywhere this season.

Not Another Twenty Years

 

If you can keep a team from scoring a touchdown, there is a much better chance to win.

Last Sunday, the Broncos need six field goals to beat the Pats 18-12.

It was the first loss in the Belichick era against a team they kept from the end zone. 

They are 39-1 in those games since 2000.

Back To 2002

 

The Pats are in uncharted waters being 2-3 at this point in the season.

Covid has greatly impacted the team's ability to practice. It has shown up in their record.

The defense has played well, but the offense is evolving.

Coach Belichick has never had a team with a losing record at the end of October since 2002.

Start of 2020

 Play On 2020

The Pats are 2-3 and need to play better. Their loss to Denver was helped by their lack of practices because of Covid testing.

We can only hope that teams make it to the end of the season.

The Offensive Offense

The Pats played one of their worst games on offense in a long time resulting in a 18-12 loss to the Broncos.

They kept Denver from the end zone, but lost the game to their six field goals. 

The offense didn't help with three turnovers and giving up four sacks.

The Pats went into the game without practicing this week because of Covid and had six players on the restricted list.

UMass Football 2020 Starts

UMass finally returns to football today when they play Georgia Southern (2-1) in Statesboro at 4pm. It will be televised on ESPN2.

The Minutemen filled a vacant spot after Georgia Southern had games postponed because of the pandemic.

They come in as 31 point underdogs with an over/under of 61.5

No additional games are on their schedule at this point. 

Ferentz Was Doing Well

Pats center James Ferentz tested positive for Covid today. He will miss the next two weeks.

Ferentz was seizing the opportunity to fill in for David Andrews at center.

At 31, he has seven NFL seasons split between the Texans, Broncos and Pats with two Super Bowl rings at Denver and Foxborough.

He has made a career as being a backup lineman. He finally started a game with the Pats in 2019.

Ferentz played at Iowa for his father Kirk, a long time friend of Coach Belichick.

After being undrafted in 2014, he finally made it to the Pats in 2017 where things have worked out well.

This season could be a breakout one for him.

Broncos On Sunday

Pats QB Cam Newton and CB Stephon Gilmore practiced today after missing almost two weeks because of positive Covid tests.

The Pats are favored by 9 1/2 over the Broncos.

At this point, the goal is to play the game on Sunday.

Jets Dumping Money

The Jets know their season is spinning out of control after their 0-5 start. Coach Adam Gase will probably be fired at the end of the season if they don't start wining.

They made a big move yesterday when they released RB LeVeon Bell. They were hoping to get something for him in a trade, but teams were scared off by his contract. 

It will cost them $15 million in dead money for 2020 and $4 million in 2021. In the end, their investment of  $28 million resulted in 15 games on his part since 2018.

Another New Conspiracy

Boston sports talk radio has been floating a conspiracy theory that Coach Belichick was more than willing to postpone the game against the Broncos because QB Cam Newton tested positive for Covid.

That one move impacted the schedules of eight other teams. Would that have been done for a third string player? 

Teams will have players who test positive before the end of the season. Will the schedule be further adjusted?

Always Getting Attention

The Pats are certainly the focus of attention for the NFL. Their Covid situation is turning the league upside down with three players testing positive.

Back in the summer when the league was trying to put a season together, they said they expected positive tests from players and would deal with it. They never said how.

Other than the Titans and Pats, things are holding up around the league. How long will this last?

Third Try Next Sunday

The Pats continue to create havoc with the NFL schedule because of  their positive Covid tests. 

They will now play the Broncos next Sunday which was to be their bye week. Several other teams also had to move games.

If this keeps happening to the Pats or another team, it will cause more disruptions.

The NFL should have built in another bye week into the schedule. 

No Quarterback Yet

The Pats finally practiced today for the first time this week before playing the Broncos on Monday.

Coach Belichick has not named a starting quarterback as things are very fluid.

The odd-makers still favor them by ten points, but there is no guarantee that something might happen before the game related to the health of players. 

One Practice This Week

The Pats didn't practice today. Their facility has been closed for three days. They will attempt to have a practice tomorrow before hosting the Broncos at 5pm on Monday.

Covid has greatly impacted the team's preparation, but there is nothing anyone can do other than shut down.

Another MNF 2020 Game

 

It's pretty crazy to think that the Pats will play another Monday Night Football game when they host Denver in front of nobody at 5pm at Gillette Stadium.

The NFL doesn't want the problems of the Pats to interfere with the MNF kickoff. They already did it once.

Ratings drive decisions being made because games must be played per the league.

Denver Issues

The Pats are facing more Covid issues for their upcoming games with the Broncos. Stephon Gilmore had a positive test which caused the team to shut down their facility until Friday?

Is the game in jeopardy? The NFL doesn't want these disruptions which could effect the future of the season.

More Brian Hoyer

QB Brian Hoyer had a horrible game last night against the Chiefs. Will he get another start or get sent to the bench?

The 12 year veteran had a chance last night to burnish his legacy, but it went down in a ball of fire. He has taken some very brutal criticism. 

All I can say is that he lasted 12 years in the NFL with seven teams.

Hoyer Tonight

The Chiefs host the Pats tonight in a rescheduled game from yesterday. They will go without QB Cam Newton and center Shaq Mason.

They already had to endure a game day flight to Kansas City and the uncertainty of future positive Covid tests.

The odd-makers are giving the Pats no chance and the Chiefs are favored by 11.

It's a great opportunity for QB Brian Hoyer to get a start.

Who Starts?

The NFL hit a bump in the road today when the Titans-Steelers game was canceled because of 20 cases of Covid on the Titan's team and staff. The game will be played on October 25th.

The Pats had their 4:25pm prime time game against the Chiefs canceled because Cam Newton tested positive. The game is scheduled for Monday at 7pm.

Hopefully, it happens.

Not On Monday or Tuesday

Pats fans found out this morning that QB Cam Newton tested positive for Covid and will miss tomorrow's game against the Chiefs.

The league initially announced that the game will be played either Monday or Tuesday night, but that situation is fluid.

The Steelers and Titans had a similar situation for tomorrow. Their game has ben rescheduled for October 25th.

It's hard to believe the Pats will play Monday or Tuesday in light of the health issues.

Parents As Fans

UMass Football is trying to stay alive in this pandemic season.

Will they play 3-5 games starting in November?

No fans are allowed, but will they let parents in?

A Case For Gase

Tonight's game between the Jets and Broncos will have two teams fighting for the survival of their season with records of 0-3.

The New York tabloids already have Jets coach Adam Gase getting fired if they lose this game.

Gang Green has been dismal on both sides of the ball. The offense isn't going anywhere. Even if they win tonight, Gase will be on a very short leash. He might not make it to the end of the season.