What a wild ride for Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in 2019.
Coming off of a Super Bowl victory, the Patriots were equipped and prepared to make another run. After eight weeks of the season, people were ready to crown them as one of the greatest Patriots teams ever. By the time playoffs came, many claimed the end of a dynasty. New England was unpredictable from the beginning of the offseason and and that theme was glaring throughout the entire year.
Brady came out firing at the start of the season, but his production plummeted as the weeks flew by. The defense started off as one of the greatest units in NFL history, and turned into a pretty solid group.
However you interpret the season, you can’t deny that they finished 12-4 and entered the playoffs. This was a really good season — if you don’t look at it from the Patriots’ standards.
Let’s take a dive into seven takeaways from the season.
Tom Brady was frustrated, and wasn’t afraid to show it
Frustration wasn’t even the word to describe Brady at times. He’s known as a very emotional player, but he was oftentimes downright livid. Even though the Patriots started off on fire — Brady told reporters that he was the most miserable 8-0 quarterback in the NFL.
After defeating the Philadelphia Eagles 16-10 in Week 11, Brady started speaking about his frustrations with the media.
“It’s just frustration with the offense,” Brady said. “Just trying to grind them out. I am happy we won on the road, but at the same time just wish we would have scored more points.”
So, how did his season turn out?
Brady threw for 4,057 yards, 24 touchdowns and eight interceptions — with an 88.0 quarterback rating and 60.8 completion percentage. It wasn’t his greatest year, but it wasn’t the ‘miserable’ year that you’d expect from a 42 year old quarterback.
Regardless, it was enough to wear him down. It wore him down to the point that he became uncertain about his future with the Patriots. For the first time in Brady’s 20-year career, he’s entering the free agent market. There are teams that would likely take him right now, and there’s no guarantee that he plays another home game in Gillette Stadium.
Brady’s uncertainty with the Patriots may stem from things the public will never know. It also could stem from the lack of a supporting cast around him. The main thing that should be recognized, is that he put everything into the organization and left a legacy that produced six Super Bowl championships and an unprecedented amount of success.
Unreliable skilled players led to disaster
Bill Belichick, the general manager, failed Brady this season.
He wasn’t able to find a replacement for Rob Gronkowski and he couldn’t find a reliable receiver outside of Julian Edelman. Of course, this doesn’t mean that Belichick is a bad general manager. It just means that he wasn’t capable of finding the guys that a 42 year old needs to succeed.
Keep in mind, he did an incredible job of constructing this defensive unit. There was a sense of desperation though, and that’s how guys like Josh Gordon, Antonio Brown and N’Keal Harry ended up on the roster.
Gordon was a great locker room guy that everyone loved, but he had his own issues to face. Belichick understood the risks that came with him and eventually lost one of the best receivers in Brady’s arsenal. Brown was a gamble, one that Belichick ordinarily wouldn’t take. But, the Patriots needed explosive guys to compete for a Super Bowl, and Brown found his way on the roster. We all know how that finished.
Belichick didn’t strike out horribly with Harry, but he made a gamble he’s never made before. Harry was the only receiver to get drafted in the first round by Belichick, and he ended up missing a majority of the season. The Patriots had many other needs in the draft, and there were excellent receivers that were drafted in later round. In hindsight, it’s easier to make this statement. But, Belichick went against his instinctual process and it bit him in the end.
The running back corps was solid, but it was hurt by the absence of James Develin and a struggling offensive line. Belichick tried, but struggled to replace Gronkowski with a viable tight end. Ben Watson, Matt LaCosse and Ryan Izzo combined for 36 catches, 418 yards and two receiving touchdowns.
Brady had a hurt Edelman and James White to rely on offensively — which clearly wasn’t enough to make a deep playoff run.
Defense played historically good football
The 2019 season had many positives, and this defensive unit was one of them. Holding the Pittsburgh Steelers to three points in the home-opener gave just a glimpse of what this group would do.
New England’s defense finished the season at No. 1 in points allowed per game (14.1), No. 1 in yards allowed per game (275.9), No. 2 in passing yards per game (180.4) and No. 6 in rushing yards per game (95.5). They led the league in interceptions (25) and passes deflected (111), were No. 2 in touchdowns (5) and were No. 7 in sacks (47).
Not only was the defense dominant, but they had fun and enjoyed each other’s presence. The linebacker crew coined the nickname ‘The Boogeymen’ and that stuck immediately. The secondary didn’t have a nickname, but they were always synchronized and didn’t allowed a 300-yard passer the entire season.
Even in New England’s playoff loss to the Tennessee Titans, they only gave up 14 points and limited Ryan Tannehill to 72 yards, one touchdown and an interception. The defense remained stingy all season, but just didn’t have enough offensive firepower to back them up.
Regardless of the outcome, this defensive group will go down as one of the most memorable and talented in New England’s history.
Offensive line took a major beating throughout the season
The offensive line situation was shaky from the beginning of the season. It all begin with David Andrews’ absence, when it was announced that he’d miss the entire season due to blood clots. Fortunately, he’s gained health throughout the season and could potentially return in 2020.
Next, the Patriots lost their starting left guard Isaiah Wynn for the first half of the season with a foot injury. He missed his rookie season in 2018 with a torn achilles and just barely made it to Week 1 with full health. Wynn left New England’s Week 2 matchup against the Miami Dolphins with the foot injury, and his progress in the NFL was impeded again.
The Patriots lost left tackle Trent Brown to free agency, leaving Marshall Newhouse as Brady’s blindside protector. Newhouse struggled to adapt and it didn’t help that Develin was out for the season also. So, the Patriots lost their starting fullback, their best blocking tight ends and had to replace some starters on the line with backups.
Ultimately, it left Brady with a hectic pocket and the run game struggled mightily. Sony Michel’s yards per carry dropped from 4.5 in 2018 to 3.7 in 2019. New England’s red-zone percentage also dropped significantly from 62.9 percent in 2018 to 49.2 percent in 2018.
The Patriots will have to do some major work on the offensive line, along with blocking tight ends and fullbacks. This way, they can get back to running hard and allowing the defense to make plays. Everything starts in the trenches, and the Patriots had their fair share of struggles in 2019.
Future is in good hands with Steve Belichick, Jerod Mayo
Another positive that can be taken from the 2019 season is the coaching staff.
Belichick’s son, Steve, and former Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo took huge steps forward with the defense. They both served as defensive play callers and formed a relationship that will be beneficial going forward.
Steve and Mayo talked about their budding relationship earlier in the season.
“Steve and I, our relationship goes a long way back,” Mayo said, transcribed by NESN. “When I was hurt, we would spend hours watching film together, breaking down film, talking X’s and O’s. Steve loves the history of the game, as well, so he would always drop nuggets. He grew up around it. We have a very strong relationship, and we kind of play off each other. It’s been great.”
Steve agreed with Mayo’s sentiment.
“I think we’ve got a great working relationship,” Belichick said. “Me and everybody else on the defensive staff. We spend a lot of hours working together, going through gameplans, going through a bunch of different stuff. So, yeah, we get on the same page throughout the week and then hope it pays off on Sundays.”
The Patriots also are winning this offseason by retaining Josh McDaniels and Nick Caserio. Both McDaniels and Caserio missed out on opportunities with other teams and they’ve been a fundamental part of the organization over the past decade.
After an offseason of coaching turnover last year, the Patriots are in good shape heading into 2020.
For the first time in a long time, kicker position was suspect
The Patriots dealt with more uncertainty at the kicker position in 2019 than they have in the past two decades.
New England has been fortunate enough to carry Adam Vinatieri and Stephen Gostkowski during its incredible run. Consistency at kicker has been a huge reason for the team’s success, and it’s been a situation that Belichick hasn’t had to think about much.
That all changed when Gostkowski was placed on the injured reserve list with a left hip injury early in the season. They went out and got Mike Nugent at first, but he was one of four total kickers they had on the roster in 2019. The Patriots ended the season with Nick Folk, who is heading to free agency this offseason. They dealt with the consequences of not having a steady kicker throughout the middle of the season.
Gostkowski has one more season left on his contract with a cap hit of $5 million, so the Patriots may want to prioritize a kicker in the draft. If Gostkowski is healthy, it’s likely that they’ll return him and let go of Folk. This was just one issue of many that the Patriots dealt with in 2019.
