The New England Patriots are officially back in the playoffs, but eyes are now on the regular season finale as the No. 1 seed may still be on the line with some help.<\/p>\n
With that, let\u2019s get into this week\u2019s #PostPulpit Mailbag.<\/p>\n
How should the offense go about replacing Mack hollins ? – Evan G.<\/p>\n
It will not be a straightforward 1-for-1 swap as the Patriots don\u2019t have another wide receiver with his size on the roster. They\u2019ll miss that as Drake has developed a strong chemistry throwing to Hollins over the middle of the field and downfield as a larger target.<\/p>\n
In the receiver room against the Jets, most of Hollins\u2019 opportunities went to Efton Chism III who played a career-high 41 offensive snaps mixing in all over the formation. While the 5-foot-10 Chism certainly is not built physically like Hollins, the rookie makes up for it with his effort \u2014 which flashed throughout last Sunday\u2019s game in the run game \u2014 and knowledge.<\/p>\n
\u201cEfton has just shown an aptitude to understand \u2014 that\u2019s not as easy as it sounds,\u201d offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said. \u201cLike people say, \u2018Well, I just go in there and block the guy.\u2019 Well, first of all is, who am I blocking? When am I blocking him? What shoulder am I blocking him on? Where\u2019s the ball going? When do I fit here? When do I fit there? Do I motion to get him? Do I not? There\u2019s a lot of little things that go into this.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s just shown a strong aptitude and understanding and desire to learn it even though he hasn\u2019t had a million reps at it since training camp. Getting him the work last week, I thought he showed us that he was going to be dependable to do his job in that regard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Moving forward, Chism should continue to be counted on in that role while fellow rookie Kyle Williams, who also shows great effort in the run game, could mix in in Hollins\u2019 role now that Kayshon Boutte is back from a concussion.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t just Efton who picked up the slack for Mack,\u201d wide receivers coach Todd Downing said. \u201cIt was also Kyle. It was also Stef in some ways, and Pop as well. I\u2019m just proud of how the group came together and played a little bit short-handed and did everything they could to pick up the slack.\u201d<\/p>\n
Do you think if Diggs gets put on the exempt list, could we just elevate Jiles\/Webb and feel comfortable? Or would it make more sense to sign a Lazard\/Tyler Boyd type vet for the playoffs as insurance? Any other names out there on practice squads who could step in relatively quickly that we could snag if needed for the run? – jordsmith87<\/p>\n
With the Diggs drama currently working through the league what are the chances that the NFL suspends Diggs during the playoffs? – ShaynaandDanny<\/p>\n
It\u2019s always tough to predict how these things can unfold from both a league and legal perspective<\/a>, but Diggs suiting up this weekend would leave me feeling positively about his playoff status.<\/p>\n If they are without him, I think rolling with John Jiles or Jeremiah Webb makes the most sense at this point in the season. With Kyle Williams, Efton Chism, and DeMario Douglas on the roster, New England shouldn\u2019t need any more than a depth option if they were forced to continue without Diggs.<\/p>\n If we get a healthy team and people are back in team from IR, do we have a chance to make it to the Super Bowl? – sumeetw<\/p>\n As we\u2019ve said throughout the year, if you have a quarterback playing at a MVP level anything is possible. The Patriots have that in Drake Maye.<\/p>\n The reinforcements will only help especially when it comes to Milton Williams and Robert Spillane on the defensive side of the football as the Patriots have struggled generating a pass rush and stopping the run.<\/p>\n If \u201ccleared\u201d how much if any would you play Williams and Campbell? – ghosthaus<\/p>\n I\u2019d give them a half and then make a decision based on how the game is playing out. Milton Williams acknowledged he hoped to play this week in order to shake off some rust before the playoffs. Letting those guys get some action before playoffs seems ideal.<\/p>\n Is the pony backfield still a gadget or might we see it more and more going forward? – ed.liebfried<\/p>\n The Patriots have ran 57 plays this season with two running backs on the field together (just over five percent). It will likely never be their most used group in a game, but they will have no issue relying on it in a specific game plan \u2014 especially as they\u2019ve been highly efficient on the ground out of those looks.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not sure there are any budding superstars, but the Patriots have an exceptional rookie class. By my count there are 7 or 8 rookies contributing to their success this year (Campbell,Henderson, Williams, Woodson, Wilson, Borregales, even Chism and Ponder). Is this their best rookie class ever? – Depotfox<\/p>\n In recent memory it is definitely one of their better drafts with contributors from all three days and their first five picks making significant impacts.<\/p>\n Without going too far back, the Patriots had a good stretch of draft classes that help pave way towards the second run of Super Bowls. Around the 2012 draft which produced Chandler Jones and Dont\u2019a Hightower (benefit of two first-round picks) that included:<\/p>\n 2009: Patrick Chung, Sebastian Vollmer, Julian Edelman2010: Devin McCourty, Rob Gronkowski, Brandon Spikes, Zoltan Mesko2011: Nate Solder, Shane Vereen, Stevan Ridley, Marcus Cannon2013: Jamie Collins, Logan Ryan, Duron Harmon<\/p>\n Additionally, the 2000 draft class deserves a shoutout just for producing the greatest player of all-time. Maybe even some love for the 2023 class that still features Christian Gonzalez, Kayshon Boutte, DeMario Douglas, Marte Mapu, and Bryce Baringer.<\/p>\n That\u2019s all for this week\u2019s #PostPulpit mailbag. If you have questions you\u2019d liked to be answered next week, submit them online in our weekly submission post or on Twitter using #PostPulpit. Make sure to be following @iambrianhines<\/a> and @PatsPulpit<\/a> as well.<\/p>\n