New England Patriots Mid-Season Awards
The Patriots have reached the half way point of the season, and there is a lot to be excited about in New England. The team currently holds the league’s best record at 7-1, and have positioned themselves to be one of the favorites to play in Houston in February.
This season has not been a conventional one for the team, to say the least. The Pats have featured three different starting quarterbacks, dealt away one of their best players and still have managed to run roughshod over their opponents.
As the team is heading into their bye week before starting the second half of the season, what better time to give out some Patriot’s midseason awards.
MVP – Tom Brady
It has become commonplace for Brady to be in MVP contention year in and year out, but this year may be his most impressive yet.
After being sidelined the first four weeks of the season due to suspension, the three-time Super Bowl MVP has come back with a vengeance.
In the four games he has played thus far, Brady’s numbers are eye popping: 1319 passing yards, 73.9 completion percentage, 12 touchdown passes, no interceptions and a remarkable 133.9 passer rating. While the offense held their own in his absence, his return to the lineup proved how impressive the team’s offensive attack really is.
Not to mention, he is doing this all at the ripe old age of 39. Expect much of the same from Brady in the second half. While he will certainly be the Patriot’s MVP, there is a distinct possibility that he could be the league MVP as well.
Offensive Player of the Year – LeGarrette Blount
Going into the season, there was a big question mark surrounding the Patriot’s running game. With Brady on the sidelines and two rookie quarterbacks under center, it was assumed that the backfield would need to pick up the slack and carry the load.
Blount did just that, and has proven to be one of the more powerful backs in the NFL. He currently leads the league in touchdowns with nine and is sixth overall in yards with 609. Blount has been nearly unstoppable in goal line or short yard situations, and has caused for defenses to be weary of him, opening up the passing attack. Expect Blount to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark by season’s end.
Defensive Player of the Year – Dont’a Hightower
You could go on for days talking about the importance of Hightower to this Patriot’s defense, he really does it all.
As the anchor and play caller, Hightower seems to make an impact on nearly every down. At times he will look like a classic ‘90s run-stuffing middle linebacker, and other times he will show more finesse and skill covering slot receivers or running backs out of the backfield. So far this year he has posted a respectable 33 tackles, 1.5 sacks and a safety.
While Hightower is arguably the most important piece of this Patriot’s defense, he is arguably even more so now given the departure of Jamie Collins. A sound, fundamental middle linebacker is a staple in a Bill Belichick defense, a la Tedy Bruschi and Jerod Mayo. Hightower is continuing that trend is captaining one of the better defenses in the NFL.
Coach of the Year – Dante Scarnecchia
Scarnecchia has been with the Patriots going all the way back to 1991, first as a tight ends coach, then defensive assistant and most notably the offensive line coach. During the Brady/Belichick era, which has featured remarkable success, a lot of the credit can go Scarnecchia’s way.
During the course of his career, his offensive lines have subdued pass rushes and allowed Brady to be the player that he is. After parting ways with the team in 2013, his absence paid dividends; most notably in last year’s AFC Championship game in which the Broncos pass rush put Brady on his back on seemingly every player.
Scarnecchia returned to the team this season and has bolstered an offensive line that doesn’t feature any superstars. Despite losing Sebastian Vollmer for the season with injury, the Patriot’s offensive line has made life pretty easy for the Patriots quarterbacks this season, only allowing 17 sacks on the season.
Rookie of the Year – Joe Thuney
In return for trading Pro Bowl defensive end Chandler Jones to the Arizona Cardinals, the Patriots received a couple draft picks. One of these picks was a mid third rounder, which turned into Joe Thuney out of North Carolina State.
As previously mentioned, there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding the Patriots offensive line going into the season, which included losing Vollmer to injury and parting ways with former starting center Bryan Stork.
While this season has featured a lot of mixing and matching on the line, one of the mainstays has been Thuney, who won the left guard spot pretty handily out of training camp. Expect Thuney to be a staple in the Patriot’s offensive line for years to come.
Biggest Disappointment – Stephen Gostkowski & Cyrus Jones
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One of the Patriot’s best assets for the past decade has been the kicking game. Since his arrival into the league in 2006, Gostkowski has been a near certainty when he lines up for a field goal.
This year has not been the case, having already missed three field goals and couple of extra points through only eight games. As the second half features a number of important games and with playoffs on the horizon, here’s hoping that Gostkowski can straighten out his issues and get back to his old self.
There was a lot of hope for Cyrus Jones after the team invested a second round pick in this year’s draft. As cornerback depth was fairly slim, the drafting of Jones certainly made sense and there was hope he could slide into the number three corner position behind Malcolm Butler and Logan Ryan. Not only that, he also offered the threat of being a dynamic punt returner, taking the stress off of Julian Edelman.
However, neither of those have panned out. He was a liability in pass coverage and fumbled on more than one occasion as a punt returner. Jones hasn’t played since Week 5, and there is a good chance he will remain in Belichick’s doghouse for the time being.
Best New Player – Martellus Bennett
The Patriot’s added to their already prolific offense in the offseason, acquiring Bennett via trade with the Chicago Bears.
The acquisition created nightmares for opposing defensive coordinators, as they now had to deal with both Gronkowski and Bennett.
As Gronk was sidelined with injury for the first two weeks of the season, Bennett was impressive taking on the lead tight end roles, and the trend only continued when Brady returned to action. At the half way point of the season, the ninth year man leads the team in receiving touchdowns with 4, is second in receptions with 31, and second in yards with 402.
Bennett has not only been a valuable asset in the passing attack, but has also proven to be quality blocker in the running game.
Next: Top 10 Belichick Trades Of All-Time
Opposing defenses are often left hopeless, as it is nearly impossible to cover both tight ends on every play.