Texans open Pats' season
Five night tilts; familiar finish
PATRIOTS NOTEBOOK
FOXBORO — With the release of the 2018 NFL schedule, a few things jump out from a Patriots perspective.
While the team typically works its way into a season, and gets better as it rolls along, Bill Belichick
might not want to start too slowly this time even if the Pats did rally after getting smoked on opening night last year against the Chiefs.
Right out of the gate, it’s going to be a challenging start with the Texans at home followed by a trip to Jacksonville. Then they head to Detroit to take on Matt Patricia’s Lions. No doubt the Patriots former defensive coordinator will have his team ready to take on the five-time Super Bowl champs in a Sunday night tilt Sept. 23, the first of five prime-time games on the schedule.
In the opener on Sept. 9, having Deshaun Watson return to Foxboro will certainly bring some fireworks. He threw for over 300 yards against the Patriots last season in just his second start and nearly pulled out a victory. He was arguably the most exciting rookie to enter the NFL in years before being derailed by a torn ACL, so his return, along with that of J.J. Watt & Co., makes for a great opening act.
That’s followed by the AFC Championship Game rematch Sept. 16, only it’s in Jacksonville. The Jags will be looking for a little payback while the Patriots will be looking for another helping of Blake Bortles.
Moving ahead, the Patriots’ Thursday night game will be against Andrew Luck
and the Colts in Foxboro on Oct. 4, if he’s back at that point. If not, old friend Jacoby Brissett returns.
While there was some speculation about playing on Thanksgiving, the Pats dodged that assignment. After the Thursday night gig with the Colts, Patriots fans will get a Sunday night viewing Oct. 14 to see Patrick Mahomes running the Chiefs offense for the first time. Will he take Kansas City to a level Alex Smith never could?
The bye week comes Week 11, which is a little past halfway. It gives the Pats a break after a tough stretch of games, including a Monday night contest in Buffalo, a Sunday night tilt with Aaron Rodgers and the Packers in Foxboro, and a date with
Mike Vrabel’s Titans in Tennessee. The bye also helps break up a series of games where the Pats are on the road four out of five weeks.
Then, after the bye, there’s plenty of AFC East games (four), along with a home tilt against the Vikings that will have some buzz given they added quarterback Kirk Cousins to a very talented roster.
It’s interesting to note the final four games — at Miami, at Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Jets — are the exact same as the last four regular-season games of 2017.
And finally, will the Steelers game Dec. 16 have the same significance for the AFC’s top seed and homefield advantage this time?
Last pick standing
The Patriots selected nine players during the 2014 draft. Only one of those players remains with the team.
Fourth-round selection James White is the only player who still calls Foxboro home. Dominique Easley, Jimmy Garoppolo, Bryan Stork, Cameron Fleming, Jon Halapio, Zach Moore, Jemea Thomas and Jeremy Gallon, the others chosen in that draft, are no longer Patriots.
“It’s definitely tough to see guys go, especially guys who you came in with. I mean that’s the NFL. It’s a business,” said White, who was on hand yesterday at Gillette Stadium. “Guys are going to come and go. Most of the guys are still on football teams now so just wish those guys the best of luck. I’m just blessed to still have the opportunity to play this game.”
White, a running back out of Wisconsin, has developed into a key cog of the offense, particularly catching the ball out of the backfield. He’s become one of Tom Brady’s most trusted targets, most noticeably on third down.
“I definitely catch the ball a lot more than what I did at Wisconsin, but I’ve always felt confident in my abilities to do that,” said White. “We just weren’t asked to do that that much there. But I just try and be a good overall football player even though I may not run or do all the other stuff. But I still pride myself on being able to do all things so if they put the ball in my hands I can do whatever they ask me to do.”
White said he was glad to see offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels return, and sad to see Dion Lewis leave given how much he did for the offense. How can his talents possibly be replaced?
“We’ve got to do it collectively. That guy is a special player. He can run, pass, catch, block, can pretty much do it all,” said White. “We have guys in this room that are capable of doing some of those same things and (we’ll) just kind of take it on as a group.”