Ranking the Most Valuable Non-Brady Patriots of 2018 (So Far)

I was promised there wouldn’t be math on this test. But the Patriots are 75 percent of the way through the 2018 season. They’ve won 75 percent of their games. And if they win 75 percent of the remaining games they’ll finish with a winning percent of … [12 over 16, cross multiply, divide, solve for X] 75 percent. As a side note, they went from 1960 to 2002 without every winning 12 games in a season. If they go 3-1 down the stretch here they’ll have done it 13 times in 16 years, including the last nine in a row. Pour that over ice and sip on it slowly.

So it seems like as good a time as any to rank which players have been the most responsible for all this success – and I can’t stress these words enough – so far. I’m not giving out participation ribbons here and the final will be ALL of their grade. I’m just acknowledging that after an offseason filled with predictions of the pending demise of this unprecedented run of success, they’re not dead yet:

… and some players deserve the biggest share of the credit. For the purposes of this, I’m going to just stipulate to Tom Brady being No. 1. Even if his league MVP-caliber numbers are down from last year, if you think he’s not still the Marky Mark to this particular Funky Bunch, you deserve to be cursed with an endless successions of Nathan Petermans as your quarterback.

I’m also going to give more weight to the guys who haven’t missed playing time. Our best hopes for Julian Edelman coming back after testing positive for Secret Sauce or whatever have been realized, but nevertheless he was AWOL in September. Marcus Cannon has been among the best right tackles when healthy, but he’s missed three games. Also I’m obviously emphasizing the guys who play the most snaps, so don’t take it as any disrespect to say, James Develin if he’s not here. I already put Jimmy Neckroll at the top of my Most Underappreciated list, so I think I’ve said my peace on him. I also can’t bring myself to include Stephen Gostkowski, despite the fact three of his four misses have been from beyond 50, he’s been perfect on extra points and he’s as good at kickoffs as anyone in the league, able to boom it through the endzone or drop a wedge shot inside the 5, according to the coach’s plans. But I’m going to commit kicker-shaming here

So with that, here are the Most Valuable Non-Bradys of 2018, so far:

5. Trent Brown

Remember the dread around here when the Patriots lost Nate Solder to free agency? How they’d really only had three left tackles going all the way back to Bruce Armstrong’s arrival in 1987? And then their first draft pick Isaiah Wynn was IR’ed in preseason and we thought Brady wouldn’t last as long as a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher? Well Brown has been a godsend. He’s played every game. His 800 snaps are the fifth most among LTs in the league. He’s given up a total of three Sacks and 27 QB pressures, which is 6th fewest among all tackles with more than 800 reps.  More importantly, he anchors a line that has given up the third fewest sacks in the entire NFL. In the run game, they’ve shown the confidence to run behind him, especially in short-yardage and goal line. And even at a weight that needs to be measured on a truck scale, he’s shown a freakish quickness and agility, as we saw last weekend against the Vikings when he got out in front of a couple of swing passes and screens to make blocks at the second and third levels. All in all, not bad for the low, low price of $190,000.

4. Pat Chung

Make the case that Devin McCourty belongs here instead and it’s not like I’ll pelt you with rocks and garbage, but I’ll still keep Chung. Even if he did miss a game. Because that one he missed was the Week 3 pink belly the Lions put on them. He’s third on the team in tackles, but the rest of his numbers won’t exactly blind you, with 0.5 Sacks and one INT. But to me, Chung gets the spot here because of the versatility he brings to the defense. Playing primarily the  in-the-box, hybrid LB/DB “Big Nickel” that they tried for years to develop through the draft or from bringing in veterans like John Lynch and Tank Williams, Chung is basically writing the book on the position. He’s a physical presence in the middle of the defense, whether it’s as a run force “Rat” defender, spying the quarterback or taking on tight ends, he’s proving invaluable, and freeing up the McCourtys (both of them) to focus on the outside or deep zones, respectively.

3. Trey Flowers

Take it for what it’s worth – and there are plenty of people who believe it’s worth shit – but the gang over at Cris Collinsworth’s nerd sweatshop Pro Football Focus have consistently had Trey Flowers ranked among their Top 10 and at times Top 2 or 3 edge defenders. Among names like JJ Watt and Khalil Mack. That runs completely counter to today’s settled science given that there at 10 edge guys with 11 or more sacks and Flowers has 4.5. But I’m just speaking strictly in terms of what he does in the Patriots defensive scheme and how well he fits here. He’s made huge strides as far as not getting caught jumping inside after misdirections and jab steps and leaving the outside wide open to cut backs (something Chandler Jones enjoyed more than smoking Spice). He’s a solid run defender who’s actually dropped into coverage 23 times this year. He’s moved all along the line, including both end positions, 5-tech tackle and even nose, like when he was the lone lineman in the State Worker Defense they threw at Minnesota. And while he doesn’t have a ton of sacks, they have tended to come at big moments when Brian Flores goes into Attack Mode and releases the hounds.

2. James White

Throughout all manner of suffering by the Patriots offense – suspensions, injuries, ineffectiveness, new guys still learning the system, Brady forgetting the names of some of his receiving targets – the one constant has been James White. He’s the Bondo that’s held this Chevy van together until Brady and Josh McDaniels can fix it up into a cherry ride for picking up babes. (You young dudes still talk like that, right?) He’s the glue guy. White is to the Patriots offense what Keenan Thompson has been to SNL, the guy they go to in good times and bad, with a checkdown to him the equivalent of the writers saying “We got nothing this week, let’s just do a Family Feud skit and let Keenan carry the show.” Four times in 12 games White has had eight or more carries, with a high of 12 against Green Bay. Eight times in 12 games he’s had eight or more targets, with a high of 14 against Indy. White has been the conduit through which the offense has run. Think about how screwed they’d be without his 10 combined touchdowns. Now put it out of your mind, because you should enjoy your weekend.

1. Stephon Gilmore

Kill me if you will for not making White my No. 1. At least it will be a good death. Because as much as I struggled with the decision, name one obvious Pro Bowler on the roster besides Gilmore. I’ll wait. Time’s up. At a position that has become almost impossible to play thanks to the over-officiated NBA-ification of tackle football, Gilmore is among the league’s best. Period. Not to get too reliant of the comfort of PFF, but that stat above speaks for itself. And he’s currently their top overall corner in the league. Plus there was this one from the Jets game:

Drawing opponent’s top target, iso’d in man coverage, he’s allowed a Passer Rating Against of 72.3, which is 8th lowest in the league among corners with 750 snaps. I’ll concede that he had a terrible game in Tennessee a couple of weekends ago against Corey Davis. But that’s sort of a backdoor compliment, serving to prove my point about how vital he’s been this season. His single coverage with only occasional bracket defender to help him frees up the rest of the secondary to double up and take away teams’ secondary and tertiary options. It’s not an easy call, but I’m putting Gilmore at the top of this list. It’s a good problem to have.