Mike Freeman's 10-Point Stance: Can Anyone Stop the Pats? Don't Sleep on Dallas
Who can beat the Patriots? I know who. And Darrelle Revis is embarrassing himself.
1. The Team That Can Beat the Patriots
Here we are again. Another year. Another dominant Patriots team. Another Tom Brady Revenge Tour. What number revenge tour is this, anyway? Two? Five? I lost count.
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Anyhoo, here we are again, New England possessing the best team in football because, once again, it has the best player in football in Brady. Right now, barring an injury to Brady, or something deflated, or videotaped, the Patriots are the team to beat.
And for the moment, it's not even close.
Sure, any team can be beat. The Patriots were beat twice by the underdog Giants in two Super Bowls. So none of this is to say the Patriots can never lose. Of course they can.
But there are only a handful of teams that can beat the Pats, and of that small group, one in particular matches up with them in almost every way (except for Brady).
The Dallas Cowboys.
If you're a Patriots fan, they are the team you don't want to see in the Super Bowl. If you're a Patriots hater, they may be your only hope.
After covering the Cowboys on Sunday night, I saw a team building toward greatness, one physical and confident enough to compete with any team. Even the mighty Patriots.
Go ahead and laugh. Go ahead and flame those message boards. But the Cowboys are the biggest threat to the Patriots.
This Cowboys team is reminiscent of some of the outstanding NFC East teams from the 1980s and early 1990s. The defense (ranked among the top 10 in the league in yards allowed and points surrendered per game) is more physical and faster than people know. It has a strong running game (leading the NFL with 164.9 rushing yards per game), and rookie quarterback Dak Prescott continues to grow exponentially.
The other threats to the Patriots aren't as complete as the Cowboys. The Broncos are a nasty defensive team but don't have the quarterback play. The Steelers have the quarterback play but not the defense. The Packers have Aaron Rodgers and, well, Aaron Rodgers. Not much else. As great as he is, that's not enough.
The Falcons have a putrid defense. There's Seattle, but it lost to New England in the Super Bowl and doesn't look like the Seahawks we've come to know. The Raiders can be scary and will be Super Bowl contenders next year, but you can't beat the Patriots by committing four trillion penalties.
For now—right now—there's just one team that's physical enough on both sides of the football, athletic enough and smart enough to hang with New England, and it's Dallas.
In the Cowboys locker room after the Philadelphia game, a win that put them two games ahead of everyone else in the division, there was a sense that the players knew this team had a chance to be special. But they are far from satisfied.
They are also maybe the only team that can stop the vaunted Patriots.
2. Is Cam Newton Playing on a Level Field?
Earlier this season, I wrote about how people around the league—as well as myself—believe Cam Newton is held to a quarterbacking double standard. Hits on Brady that would draw a flag aren't called on Newton.
Six team executives B/R interviewed even more recently said this is still happening. They believe game officials continue to look at Newton differently.
Newton isn't seen by game officials as a "real quarterback," as one general manager put it. Another executive said the excuse that he takes shots because he runs the ball so much—and doesn't get calls—can't be used because he takes illegal hits while in the pocket.
It's important to note that some of the executives B/R spoke to don't even like Newton. But they feel his treatment is unfair and bad for the game.
"What's hurting the game now is the sense among fans that there's no single standard for anything," another team executive said.
That complaint—a lack of standardization—has been an undercurrent of conversation among not only media and fans but also, privately, some teams as well. The varying punishments for domestic violence, the varying definitions of a catch and different applications of certain rules also rile some teams.
These executives see Newton's double standard treatment, they say, as another component of that unevenness that makes football susceptible to accusations there's no single set of rules.
But back to Newton. Is it accurate he's not being treated fairly? It's impossible to tell without looking at every hit on him and comparing those hits to ones other quarterbacks have taken. In other words, look at a low hit on Newton that wasn't called, then look at what happened with all other low hits from this season. Something like that.
But the opinion of many around the league with whom I spoke is that we're witnessing one of the league's stars get hit illegally—repeatedly—with little deterrent.
And that's got to change.
3. Cam Is Right, but...
While some execs believe Newton has a reason to be upset about the hits he has been taking, the other sense I got in speaking to people around the sport is that Newton shouldn't be the one to express his frustration with how he is being officiated. Rather, it should be head coach Ron Rivera who takes up his quarterback's cause both privately and publicly (and he may be doing the former).
By voicing his displeasure, Newton, these league sources say, has opened a door for some players to get inside his head. How? First, they may feel emboldened to try hitting Newton a little low, or a little late. Second, unless the officials start doing their job, those opponents may feel the risk is worth it because the hit won't be called. And third, they know Newton is likely to be sensitive no matter how the hit turns out or if the flag comes.
That's why the organization needs to handle this for Newton, not Newton himself.
4. Not Older, but Better
Brady missed four games because of the story that will not be named. Still, is there any doubt who the best player in football is now? He's on track for 3,957 passing yards, 36 touchdowns and a 133.9 rating. He's yet to throw an interception. If he continues at this torrid pace, is there any doubt he'll be the league MVP?
All that and he missed one-quarter of the season.
5. These Aren't the Same Seahawks
Something is clearly not right physically with Russell Wilson. To me, he's displaying grit and determination, and deserves praise for fighting through whatever pain he has, but he has not been the same runner of years past.
And that's a big problem for the Seattle offense. Wilson's rushing prowess opens up the entirety of the offense—every aspect of it. Without it, Seattle is a different sort of team, as Danny Kelly of The Ringer pointed out:
6. Houston, You Still Have a Problem
Just going to leave this quote right here from the highly quotable Bart Scott of CBS on the highly terrible Brock Osweiler:
"Brock Osweiler may be the worst starting quarterback in the NFL right now."
7. Gronk Nation
Rob Gronkowski is the best tight end the game has ever seen. We know that. He's maybe the best combination of speed, power and route running the position will ever see. We know that, too.
But it never hurts to point out how unprecedented it is for someone of his size to do what he is doing.
I was reminded of this in the Patriots' 41-25 win in Buffalo. In the first half, Gronkowski was covered one-on-one by corner Nickell Robey-Coleman. Robey-Coleman is 5'8" and listed at 165 pounds. At the combine, he ran a 4.53-second 40-yard dash.
Gronkowski juked Robey-Coleman so badly it was hard to believe. But then Gronkowski outran Robey-Coleman for a touchdown.
Gronkowski is 6'6" and 265 pounds.
Richard Dent, who is in the Hall of Fame, and is considered one of the strongest and most physical defensive lineman of all time, was 6'5" and weighed 265 pounds, which was pointed out to me by journalist Bijan C. Bayne. So a monster defensive lineman was an inch shorter and the same weight as Gronkowski.
That's a long way from the days when Jerry Smith, a two-time Pro Bowler and one of the best tight ends of his generation, retired in 1977 with the then-career record for touchdowns by a tight end.
His weight: 208 pounds.
8. Running Toward Canton
One of the most underrated players of the past 20 or 30 years is Jets running back Matt Forte. I've made timid arguments that he belongs in the Hall of Fame.
I'm growing less timid.
Forte scored his 50th and 51st career rushing touchdowns in Cleveland, making him one of just four players in league history with at least 50 rushing touchdowns (51), 500 catches (507) and 20 receiving touchdowns (20), according to the NFL.
The others to do that? Hall of Famers Marcus Allen and Marshall Faulk and pushup machine Herschel Walker.
At this rate, Forte's going to make it hard to keep him out of Canton.
9. Where Have You Gone, Darrelle Revis?
Once upon a time, Revis was a guy who always put out maximum effort, who always was one of the hardest working players on the field. Always.
He's taken a few steps back this year, but, goodness gracious, this effort against the Browns is borderline disgusting.
He acknowledged last week that Father Time has grabbed him by the jersey. But there's no excuse for that type of disgraceful effort. There are more examples out there.
This is something the Jets coaching staff has to address. But considering we are nearing the midpoint of the season, I'm assuming either they haven't or they did, and Revis doesn't care. Neither option is good.
10. Sam Bradford Looking Very Sam Bradford-y
The criticism of the former No. 1 overall pick has long been that when pressured, Bradford gets rattled. I'm not sure I believe this, but that's what scouts and others have said.
What Bradford has shown over the past two games, I have to say, gives credence to that belief. It's not Bradford's fault his offensive line has played terribly, but Bradford gets happy feet when there's no rush. That's not a good sign.
I suspect the Vikings will figure out their offensive line woes and Bradford will calm down and play better. I also suspect the Vikings will recover from their two-game losing streak.
But Bradford was available to the Vikings for a reason, and his play will be one of the major storylines going forward.
Mike Freeman covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @mikefreemanNFL.
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