Mike Freeman's 10-Point Stance: How Scary Are the Patriots?

1. Revis the new key to Patriots, not Brady

If I'm the rest of the NFL, these New England Patriots scare the poop out of me.

Scare. That's the word. Scare. Not necessarily poop. But scare.

These Patriots look different. They look…formidable. They've long looked good. That's what Tom Brady does. He's legendary, so because he's so elite the Patriots will always be a threat. But now…now they have Brady…and a defense.

This Patriots defense is the key. It's like the olden days in New England now. We are back in the time of Tedy Bruschi, but instead of him we have Darrelle Revis and others. There is a grittiness on that side of the ball that's changing everything.

This is the best Patriots team since they won the Super Bowl over a decade ago, and it's because of that defense.

This is the key part of this story. For the first time in a long time, Brady isn't the key to the Patriots. Revis is.

Read that sentence again. Let its truth slap you in the face for a bit. Revis is the most important player on the Patriots, not Brady. In the past, no one has ever been more important than Brady on this team, but now it's Revis.

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After Revis' knee was obliterated just a few years ago, I wasn't sure we'd see this type of player again. But he's back. He hasn't been perfect, but he's been close. The reason the Patriots were just a handful of plays from beating the best team in football in the Green Bay Packers was Revis and that defense.

The Patriots' win over San Diego was also because of that defense. In the second half of that game, as the New England offense sputtered, the defense held San Diego to just one third-down conversion in the second half. One. The defense won that game.

This year, the defense has won a lot of games.

This is what should scare the NFL. The Patriots have always had Brady, who has always won them games. Lots of games. Lots of Super Bowls. But now they have something different. Now they have a defense that can punch you in the mouth the way the offense does.

Now, most of all, they have Revis.

2. Athletes and taking a stance

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When Michael Jordan was at his height, he ignored, in almost every way, every potential social issue. This was a deliberate tactic. He wanted to sell more shoes and gear, and taking a stance jeopardized his bottom line.

Many of this generation's athletes were the same. They were scared to take public stances on tough issues…until now.

When the St. Louis Rams players made the hands up, don't shoot gesture, it was striking. It was brilliant and powerful yet also subtle. Many of us have been asking for athletes to take stands like this, and they finally are. It's a good thing.

(And, yep, I'd say the same thing if an athlete wore an "I love Darren Wilson" shirt.)

Look at the comments section on articles discussing this subject around the web, and you'll see a swarm of "shut up and play" comments, alongside racial expletives and hooliganism. But all those players did, and others since, in other ways, was express their opinion. The same as others. The same as you. They did it in a responsible, sensible way.

3. Russell Wilson's excellence

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A quick stat to show just how good he's been—even though some buffoons still don't think he's talented. In Wilson's 50 starts with the Seahawks, the team has had a lead in every one. That counters the argument that the Seahawks win only because of their defense. That defense is awesome, but overall, Wilson has been as well.

4. Brilliant move by union leader hopeful

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Former NFL player Sean Gilbert, who is running for head of the union, employed one of the most brilliant strategies I've ever seen a wanna-be political leader ever use. Gilbert wrote a letter to every NFL agent and in the letter is the action he said he took:

"

Dear Agents,

As you have confirmed to me, the 2011 Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiated by DeMaurice Smith has been a financial disaster for NFL Players and a Jackpot for the Owners.

Through the first four years of the CBA, more than $2.5 Billion has shifted from the Players’ pockets to the Owners’ pockets. You have agreed with me that approximately $10 Billion will shift from the Players to the Owners over the duration of this deal.

I have mailed a fictional check to every NFL Player that reflects his proportionate share of the $2.5 Billion to demonstrate exactly what this shift means on an individual basis.

Many of you have stated to me that we have a fiduciary duty to educate the Players. It’s crucial that you educate your Players on how important the March 2015 election is to the present and future of all Players. The Owners spent five years planning for the 2011 negotiation and the results are obvious.

THE OWNERS KNOW THAT DEMAURICE SMITH ACCEPTED SUBSTANTIALLY LESS MONEY ONCE. HE’LL DO IT AGAIN.

A Player’s NFL Contract gets terminated if the Player’s 'skill or performance has been unsatisfactory.' DeMaurice Smith should be held to the same standard.

I have already spoken to a majority of Team Player Reps. I strongly request you urge your Players to speak to their Team’s Player Reps and ask them to vote for me as the next NFLPA Executive Director. If you want more information please contact me.

"

He mailed a fictional check to every player.

That's just genius.

Now, I'm going to try and see a copy of one of those checks.

5. The destruction of Colin Kaepernick

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Former NFL quarterback and current ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer had some interesting things to say on Kaepernick on Colin Cowherd's radio show. The full transcript (via Niners Nation) is below, but the main takeaway is that Kaepernick's troubles are mainly the result of him losing the love of playing in the NFL. That sounds flimsy, but there is something to it. Particularly when Dilfer talks of how much Kap loved playing football in college.

Here's what Dilfer said:

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I know the kid, I believe in the kid, he needs to be rehabilitated. That staff has done a horrible job. Now listen, I'm gonna get ripped for saying this, I'm going to go back to the Bay Area and they'll say, 'Dilfer ripped [Jim] Harbaugh and Geep [Chryst] and [Greg] Roman.' I like those guys, OK? They've done a horrible job developing Kap. They approached it the wrong way. They had it right for a while when they had some pistol in the offense, when they didn't try to put him under center all the time, when they're running more movement, fluid-type pass concepts. Now it's become a target offense. This is some high-level conversation.

Maybe the biggest thing is look at Kap. Go back and look at an interview when he was at Nevada-Reno, his freshman, sophomore year, and his confidence, personality. The kid's a great kid. The kid has a soul. The kid is charismatic, he's fun, he's fun-loving. He gets along with everybody. The different cultures around the locker room. He's different. He's been hardened and broken by the NFL from a mental standpoint, from a social-awareness standpoint. He just needs a big old hug. He needs a coach that will come in there; I wish Mike Holmgren was still in the NFL. He needs a Mike Holmgren that can come in and tell him how good he can be. And listen, kid, I got the tools to make you good again.

Colin still has a chance, it's just, it's been, my vocabulary is killing me here. I don't have the vocabulary to explain. He's just been beaten down to a place where he's not himself anymore. And now you see it unfortunately, when you get beat down emotionally and socially that much, and mentally, this is the result on the football field. I know it sounds very esoteric, that's what it is.

"

I don't believe this is malarkey. I buy into it. Harbaugh doesn't just drain the front-office types around him. Harbaugh wears on the players, too.

Great coach, but he's like an anchor on the chest. The team that signs him next—cough, the Oakland Raiders, cough—will get a coach who will win a ton of games, but they may not always enjoy the process along the way.

6. Kaepernick Part II

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One last thing…the regression of Kaepernick. One thing the next team will have to ask regarding Harbaugh is why he couldn't fix Kaepernick. Why couldn't he stop the slide? If he does go to Oakland, he'll be working with another young pass thrower. That's a huge question the Raiders would have to answer.

7. Rams dominance

What the Rams are doing now is pretty remarkable. No, not the part where Jeff Fisher trolled Washington, which was fabulous. What's happening on the field. That's the best part.

The Rams have two straight shutouts (24-0 against Washington and 52-0 versus Oakland). It's the first time, the NFL says, the Rams have had consecutive shutouts since 1945. It's the first time since 2009 any team has done that.

8. More on J.J. Watt

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This is the company Watt keeps these days. He has 51 career sacks in his first four seasons. The NFL says Watt is just the fifth player to have 50-plus sacks in his first four years since sacks became an official statistic in 1982, joining Reggie White (70), Derrick Thomas (58), DeMarcus Ware (53.5) and Dwight Freeney (51). That is quite the damn impressive list to be on.

9. Fewer ACL tears

A tweet from the site ACL Recovery Club, which tracks ACL tears in the NFL:

Why fewer? The best answer is just pure luck. There's no rational reason. No known precautions teams are taking. It just may be a statistical anomaly.

10. Brandon Marshall's blunt words

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I know Marshall was being overall supportive of his quarterback, but some of his words on ESPN Radio recently (via the Chicago Sun-Times) are, well, interesting to say the least:

"

What I would say is we all know Jay [Cutler] is more than capable of getting it done. It doesn’t always fall on him. I guess that’s why those guys are the highest paid players out there. Because when you win and everything is going good, they get all the glory. And when it’s bad, they take more than what they should take. But I can understand that as far as as a business man, I would have buyer’s remorse, too.

"

Will make for an interesting Christmas party.

Mike Freeman covers the NFL for Bleacher Report.