The New England Patriots Banged Up Score Rankings mirrored their overall season performance. A slow downward trend with small blips of hope spaced out just enough to excite you about possible success only to dip again and leave you wondering what if. What if they had hired an offensive coordinator who could mix it up and put points on the board, what if they had more depth at wide receiver and running back, what if the refs didn’t call a touchdown on an obvious out of bounds play, what if they didn’t lateral the ball back to Chandler Jones, and ultimately what if they were willing to really spend some money?
The fact of the matter remains, this past year and a few prior have not been up to the typical New England standards. I know that is expecting a lot but at the same time that’s just what comes with the Patriots organization territory. I still think Bill can get them back to good standing, he has a strong defense and I think a good QB in Mac Jones but he needs some true weapons on offense, a little more high caliber depth behind Rhamondre Stevenson at running back with Harris gone, (I like Robinson but his Achilles tear is still worrisome at that position) and they NEED better discipline. Penalty yards last year took their toll on this team and those are fixable. Finally, they need to work on their overall health.
The Patriots have always found a way to win. It wasn’t always spending money on the most talented player but they certainly drafted and signed some of the most scrappy and hardest working and when combined with the coaching they had wins came naturally. They have also had decent health when they won. New England’s Athletic Training staff is led by 23-year NFL veteran ATC Jim Whalen who was named most outstanding Athletic Trainer of the year in 2019. His team of athletic trainers and physical therapists have been known to provide some of the best care to his athletes.
New England has been lucky to have him and his team as this year they saw quite a bit of action in the athletic training room as the B.U.S trend suggests. The offensive line especially took a hit. With a strong front five to start the season, New England had to mix and match due to injuries up front. Isaiah Wynn (Foot) was out week 12 and eventually ended up on IR and center David Andrews dealt with a concussion and thigh injury causing him to miss three games while Marcus Cannon who is no stranger to injury suffered a concussion as well and missed half of the season. Tackle Yodny Cajuste tried to manage thumb and calf injury further depleting their offensive line depth. If that wasn’t enough running back Damien Harris injured his thigh and starting wide receivers Jakobi Meyers (knee, concussion, shoulder) and DeVante Parker (knee, concussion) both missed multiple games due to injury.
FOXBOROUGH, MA - DECEMBER 26: New England Patriots wide receiver Jakobi Meyers (16) carries the ball during a game between the New England Patriots and the Buffalo Bills on December 26. 2021, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire)
Though their primary injury issues were on offense, defense also was dealing with their own set-backs. Particularly to defensive tackle Christian Barmore (knee) and corner back Jalen Mills (hamstring, groin). Luckily for New England many other injuries they suffered were able to be played through. This allowed their defense to stay top tier through the season.
New England finished their 18 week regular season narrowly missing the playoffs and with an average Banged Up Score of 68.3. They also finished with an average ranking of 22/32 teams in the regular season in average B.U.S ranking at 20.9 which was last in the AFC East. As mentioned earlier their trend had peaks where it looked like they may have a chance to climb out of their injury woes and make a run only to dip again when a top offensive weapon would then undoubtedly get hurt and continue the steady downward course. Their lowest B.U.S of the year came in week 17 where they logged a 55.9 as many of the players mentioned above watched from the sidelines.
As New England prepares this offseason for next year there is no doubt that Robert and Jonathan Kraft are getting antsy with the lack of success over the past few years. If they can find some real weapons and Bill O’Brien and staff can actually develop Mac Jones or Bailey Zappe I think they really have a chance to make a playoff push even as the Bills and Dolphins build. That of course always comes with a caveat…they must stay healthy first.
