We’re running a mailbag on Thursdays during the season. If you have questions on thePatriots, NFL, or want to gripe about past answers, emailcmason@masslive.com or tweet@bychrismason. Now let’s get to this week’s questions!
Will new Tar Heels coach Bill Belichick have success at North Carolina? — Patrick
Depends on your definition of success.
Do I think Belichick will ever bring a National Championship to UNC? Nope. I think that (Chapel) hill is too steep to climb.
Do I think Belichick can turn the Tar Heels in to a respectable program that actively competes in the ACC? Absolutely. Belichick wouldn’t have taken this leap back into college if that goal wasn’t attainable. Say what you will about the man, but when have you ever known him to be unprepared for anything? Belichick did his research and knows that he’s got a real shot here.
At North Carolina, Belichick doesn’t need to be exceptional to compete. Ultimately, the Tar Heels didn’t play a single Top 25 team this season. No, that’s not a typo. This ain’t the SEC. With Belichick on the sideline (even at 73 next fall) the Tar Heels will absolutely out-coach opponents and steal some wins that way.
As for those who snicker at the thought of Belichick coaching teenagers, despite his gruff reputation, he’s always known that different players need different coaching styles. A clear example to me has been at quarterback. With Tom Brady, Belichick knew he had a consummate underdog. Brady always felt overlooked and was motivated by slights — hello, Johnny Foxborough digs — and Belichick used that to fuel him. It worked for almost two decades and that tough coaching trickled down to the rest of the roster.
When Cam Newton arrived in 2020, Belichick was gentler. The coach realized that so much of Newton’s game was fueled by confidence — the No. 1 overall pick had always been the biggest kid on the playground — and empowered him with more positive reinforcement. At the college level, Belichick is bound to adapt to the kids he’s coaching.
It’s going to be bizarre seeing Belichick on an NCAA sideline next fall. I’m sure a lot of it has to do with control that was taken away from him at the NFL level, but at the end of the day, I think he’ll build a competitive program. At North Carolina, that feels like a success.
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Why North Carolina for Belichick and not somewhere like Navy or Ohio State? — Miller
I don’t think the Navy job is going to come open, and at North Carolina he’ll likely have more control and an easier road to respectability than he would have somewhere like Ohio State or venturing into SEC country.
Do Patriots fans not realize we have the worst OL in the league? Both run and pass? Drake Maye is basically a magician out there — @mikenh603.bsky.social
I don’t think fans pay enough attention to this — and some of that due to Maye minimizing damage — but New England’s offensive line has really been abysmal this year. According to ESPN’s Next Gen Stats, the Patriots are dead last in both run block win rate AND pass block win rate.
In free agency and the draft, Eliot Wolf is going to need to be aggressive in strengthening this unit.
As it stands, Mike Onwenu feels like the only starter that’ll definitely be back, and he’s been underwhelming this season. Beyond that? Maybe Layden Robinson grows into a starter at guard? I think you’re looking for new starters at both tackle spots in 2025 — Vederian Lowe could be a fine swing tackle option — and even at center, David Andrews will be trying to come back from a very, very serious injury at 33 years old next season.
“In (2021), I ripped the rotator cuff off the bone. Now I’ve torn it in the meat of it,” Andrews said in October. “So what they’re gonna try to do is put a - now this is someone who didn’t graduate college trying to explain - but they’re gonna try to put a sheath over this and hopefully the muscles regrow. It’s not 100%, but it gives me the best shot to continue my football career and that’s all I can ask for.”
Wolf’s No. 1 priority this offseason needs to be aggression across the offensive line.
Do you think the Pats will at least put up a competitive fight this last month of the season? I’m sure our opponents will be favored by at least a touchdown — Conor M.
I actually think the Patriots will play tough down the stretch.
Though the schedule looks challenging at first glance — their opponents’ records are a combined 34-18 — there’s a little bit of paper tiger in there. They start with the Cardinals, who have lost three in a row and aren’t playing good football right now. They host the Chargers in Foxborough, who have been punch-less offensively and are a California team that’ll be playing a December game in Foxborough. They finish the season with the Bills at home, who might have absolutely nothing to play for.
The one game that looks truly daunting is Week 16 at Buffalo. That could be a blowout. But on the flip-side, there could be a biblical windstorm or something that levels the playing field. It’s happened before, lest we forget.
And with the 3rd pick of the 2025 NFL draft, the New England Patriots select...? — Alexander S.
...nobody! They trade down.
(Travis Hunter would be a ton of fun, but at this point, I don’t think they’ll do it. Need more help in the trenches)