Energetic fourth-round wide receiver Javon Baker proudly told the entire social media world he was looking for the [Mister Falcon] brand of liquor to celebrate his name being called by the Patriots in last week’s NFL Draft.
Jerod Mayo has been making the media rounds with seemingly anyone who’ll listen, talking up his team after it landed would-be franchise QB Drake Maye with the No. 3 overall pick.
Big Mike Onwenu celebrated his $57-million return to New England with a carefree bike ride through the Gillette Stadium locker room, another social media posting showing the lineman cruising by the mini basketball hoop that Maye noted in his own initial visit to Foxborough.
Everything feels unexpectedly awesome these days if you’re part of the newly rebranded Patriots family! There is without question something in the air in New England these early May(e) days, and it’s not just the odor emanating from the freshly repainted walls of Gillette with the kinds of new slogans that inherently come with a new regime in charge.
“Process…Progress…PAYOFF” indeed!
But that phrase, one that’s apparently as ever present as the newfound relaxing freedoms themselves in the football level of Gillette Stadium, truly does tell the story.
Mayo, Eliot Wolf and the rest of the much-hyped collaboration now working under Robert Kraft’s watchful ownership eye are in the process of trying to progress the Patriots from the ashes of a once-great dynasty led by the now-departed greatest winner of a coach the NFL has ever seen. They are trying to put their own successful stamp on a rebuild. In many ways, an organization-wide modernization is taking place in New England.
It’s no longer a black and white expectation to “Do Your Job.” Now you are allowed to ask “Why?” you are doing your job. It’s now OK to yearn for and dare we say expect the kind of appreciation that even GOATs like Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski found fleeting despite their individual contributions to team-wide greatness.
These aren’t your father’s Patriots. And that’s OK, because this isn’t your father’s world. Not online. Not in the NFL. Not at Gillette Stadium. Not anywhere.
So this new personality being shown by the Patriots, some of it by returning coaches and players, is refreshing. Some of it is thanks to the new generation of foundational talent, like Maye and his seemingly genuine southern charm that borders on aww shucks goofiness. And Baker with his chip-on-his-shoulder volatility that could be a rollercoaster both on the field and off of it.
All of it is likeable right now. New. Fresh. Different.
Modern. Endearing.
And none of it matters.
Because at some point, the honeymoon period of this transitional offseason will end. Helmets will be strapped on. Pads buckled.
Practices begun. Games played.
Then, and only then, will the newly-painted “Progress…” be measured. And at some point the “PAYOFF” will be assessed.
Because a new, lighter air and team aura, to steal a word from Cam Newton, is fun. It’s alluring. Intriguing.
Also, it’s meaningless.
All that will matter is what happens when the games begin. Does Maye develop into the foundation of the franchise? Is Mayo a capable and competent coach, both on the field and during the week? Do young unproven playmakers like Baker actually make those plays they are so prematurely hyping for anyone who’ll listen on social media?
Because when you win, personality is fun! But, we all recall, when you win lack of personality is fun too! “It is what it is.”
Conversely, if you keep losing, all the fun, modern, social media-driven team-wide personality won’t do anyone any good.
There’s an air of good times these days in New England.
But are good times actually ahead for the Patriots? That’s a question that can’t be answered in some smiling interview with reporters or viral post on Instagram.
Only the scoreboard can answer that one. And in time we’ll all get that answer.
For now, though, we can all enjoy the newfound personality of these Patriots.
Most Popular
Comments / 0