FOXBORO -- Every Friday Tom E. Curran, Mike Giardi and Phil Perry will take your Patriots questions on Twitter and answer them as a joint mailbag -- or a Friday Bag, as they call it.
Got questions? Tweet the guys using the hashtag #FridayBag. But for now, give the latest edition of the Bag a read.
https://twitter.com/sam_busby14/status/786679035468316672
TC: The Dion Lewis sightings are on the rise. What does that matter? It means he’s being reintroduced to the daily grind and possibly (probably) signals another threshold crossed in his comeback. As far as health, as I understand it, one of the health hurdles a player needs to clear after ACL surgery is avoiding stress fractures to the area. With Lewis, we reported in July that the issue plaguing him was not related to the ligaments so I’m deducing it may have been a stress fracture which would have to be stabilized and then rehabbed. In short, I have no hard news on "where he is," but I do suspect his powerful quads and lower body put a lot of stress on that recovering area as he rehabs, and caution is key in bringing him back because of his playing style.
TC: We talk about this a lot, Ed. And it’s not just online. I think you make me a better reporter, a better dad and help me have a fuller head of hair and rosy outlook on things generally. Thanks for following on Twitter.
TC: I’ve long felt this way. There was a funny clip of Bill Parcells once berating Bill Belichick on the sidelines when Belichick was a defensive coordinator (not sure if it was Jets or Giants and I can’t find the clip), for using a bunch of wacky formations and alignments, accusing Belichick of showing off. Honestly, I don’t think it’s showing off but trying to create uncertainty for the offense. Of course, we’ve seen it sometimes backfire and breakdowns occur as a result of guys not getting it communicated properly or just being flat mistaken. I don’t think that’s been a recent issue you can point to, though. I do think there are times that a player as explosive as Jamie Collins is out there just wandering, the owner of many roles but sometimes the executor of none.
TC: "True”? No. The hogs have not yet been slaughtered. And they won’t be. But I absolutely believe that the malaise surrounding the NFL has its root in the hand-over-fist greed, the slavishness to “growing the pie” in hamhanded ways that are aimed at seeming progressive but are really just new ways of sticking their hands in the consumer’s pockets and the constant effort to create revenue streams so that Roger Goodell’s promise of a $25 billion/year industry comes true.
PP: Hey, Mike. I think he's interested in another shot. It seems as though the recent feature on Bleacher Report, in which writer Dan Pompei was given tremendous access, was an announcement of sorts to the rest of the league that McDaniels is at least interested in hearing his options. Whether or not he actually ends up elsewhere will depend on the situation and whether it's firm enough to entice him from what he's acknowledged is a pretty good gig in New England.
PP: I'll take the blame for that one. We decided if it the sleeves had been a little tighter they would have been money. The looseness kind of made him look like a punter on the freshman football team trying to stave off the cold on the sidelines.
PP: Mingo has been one of the team's best special teamers since his arrival, but he really hasn't found his niche defensively just yet. The Patriots have a glut of edge rushers and linebacker/defensive end hybrids at the moment, especially with Rob Ninkovich back in the fold, so it could be difficult for Mingo to earn a spot defensively. As he gets more comfortable in the Patriots system, and if injuries pop up, he could see some time there eventually.
PP: I spoke to Bennett on Thursday about his willingness to remain in New England long-term, and he told me he hasn't thought about it too much just yet. Whenever he does think about a new deal, though, and if he continues to play like one of the best at his position, he could probably command somewhere in the $9-$10 million range per year. He'll be 30 years old and going into his 10th season when the 2017 campaign begins, and that may be enough to keep teams from offering him a huge long-term deal, but he's proven to be durable throughout the course of his career, and at his best there are few tight ends who can offer the combination of upper-tier production as a blocker and pass-catcher that he can. If he keeps this up, someone is going to offer him a lot of dough.
PP: It's up there. Earthwind Moreland is still an all-timer. I've also always been partial to Tebucky Jones. Tell me that's not a fun name to say. You can't.
https://twitter.com/ChrisLeighty/status/786706018185216000
New England Patriots
PP: As of right now, I'd go with tight ends coach Brian Daboll on the offensive side and linebackers coach Brian Flores on the defensive side. Two pretty good options if either a McDaniels or Patricia departure would come to pass. Just as he's tried to build depth on his roster, the same can be said for what Belichick has done with his coaching staff.