FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Quick-hit thoughts and notes around the New England Patriots and NFL:
1. Will Brady match Hanson's record? If Tom Brady re-signs with the Patriots, he will match former Detroit Lions kicker Jason Hanson as the only player in NFL history to be with the same franchise for 21 seasons. With anticipation of Brady's decision in the coming days, Hanson acknowledged -- with a touch of humor -- that he's aware of the situation.
"I did know it. Nobody cares that I have the record, but now that Tom is close -- and ESPN puts it up there -- I have friends who take screenshots and they send it to me. And they remind me that I'm about to fade into obscurity," he joked in a phone interview. "So I'm taking all the accolades for it while it lasts."
Hanson kicked for the Lions from 1992 to 2012, and his name appears atop a graphic that has been shown on various ESPN shows in recent weeks. It's Hanson and then Brady (20, Patriots), Darrell Green (20, Redskins) and Jackie Slater (20, Rams).
The 49-year-old Hanson is having some humble fun with it, noting there is a significant difference between kicking 21 seasons for the same team and playing quarterback for one franchise over that span.
"Obviously, if and when he does that, he will be the focus of that record. And he could go beyond it," he said.
But there is no guarantee Brady will be back in New England, as other NFL teams can negotiate with his agents starting Monday at 12 p.m. ET (assuming the league does not adjust its offseason schedule because of the coronavirus). The official start of free agency is scheduled for 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Hanson never reached the point where he seriously considered leaving the Lions. The 49-year-old is married with three children, and he still lives in the Detroit area.
"I always appreciated it in the sense of the family. To be part of one organization and one community, and to really have that stability for them -- in life, and connections, and friends -- that's something you don't get in professional sports, and we had it," he said.
Hanson, who had walked on at Washington State and was announced last week as an inductee to the College Football Hall of Fame, described a cooperative setup between him and the Lions.
"For the first half of my career, to two-thirds, it was always 'I want to just stay here, they wanted me, and we got contracts done early.' Maybe towards the end, if there was any thought of doing it, I kind of switched into the mode of, 'As long as they want me, I want to be here.' Obviously we struggled as an organization. I thought it would be great to be part of something that was getting it right, but that never happened. Then at the very end, I had played 21 years and had a few mild injuries, the organization was more like, 'Let's think about what we want to do here.' And I was like 'Do I want to keep playing?'
"So I retired. It never got to the point of intentionally pursuing another city and organization."
Hanson doesn't have a strong connection to Brady, with Brady's college career at Michigan one of the primary ties between them. But Hanson said he references Brady during speaking events, which often shows his humorous side.
"He's double-dipping in popularity where I am," Hanson cracked. "He's a double legend here."
2. Why Patriots will be watching CBA vote closely: While the Patriots could still strike a deal with Brady if the collective bargaining agreement was voted down by players by the Saturday 11:59 p.m. ET deadline, my opinion is that the odds would lessen in that scenario. If the CBA passed, it would open up more possibilities and flexibility for the club in a competitive-bidding situation with other teams. So the CBA is a critical domino as Brady's future comes to a head.
3. Patriots' look-ahead scouting approach affected by pro day shutdowns: Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio annually makes the point that the team's scouting begins in the spring each year; the idea is that it is a critical time to lay the groundwork on the following year's class. When a scout attends a pro day, he isn't just looking at the players who are working out in anticipation of this year's draft; he's also gathering information on those in the program who still have a season left of college eligibility. This approach makes the Patriots a bit of an outlier compared to their scouting peers. So when considering how the shutdown of pro days due to the coronavirus will alter the team's approach, this is one under-the-radar way it does.
4. Busy offseason for Karras and Thuney -- free agency, then graduation: After four seasons with the Patriots, offensive linemen Ted Karras and Joe Thuney are preparing to experience an offseason unlike any other. They are unrestricted free agents, and then in May, both are on course to graduate with a master's degree in business administration from Indiana University. They took advantage of a program through the NFL Players Association that fully reimburses tuition, enrolling in multiple online classes each offseason. Their studious approach influenced some of their teammates as well, with fourth-year defensive end Derek Rivers noting that when he often saw Thuney reading in the locker room, it led him to do the same.
5. Jonathan Kraft talks difference in analytics between football and futbol: Patriots president Jonathan Kraft annually takes part in the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, and this year was part of a panel with Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber. He noted the difference in how analytics are used during games between his two teams, the Revolution and Patriots.
"On the soccer side of the house, we hired our first data analyst over a decade ago. I think we might have been the first team in the league to have one, and today we have a number of people who sit there. More and more tools have come along in soccer, so we're tracking every player's movement on the field, how passes are made, how teams perform in the different thirds, etc. Ten years ago, that didn't exist, so we would have a data analyst watch it, chart it, and then start to analyze it. Today, we work with our players, and we're collecting information in real time. Some coaches still believe, 'I like what my eyes see.' Then you have other coaches who say 'I want as meticulous and detailed of a data breakdown of how the opponent passes the ball, where they're effective, where they aren't.' And then self-scouting yourself so you can get better. ...
"On the football side of the house, data doesn't get used as much in charting the play-by-play stuff. I know people talk about it all the time, but it still really doesn't. You might look at certain tendencies and other things, and probabilities around certain decision tools. But I would say in football, it's one of a number of ingredients that goes into a game plan. Whereas in soccer now for coaches who believe in it, it might be one of the two or three primary drivers of how a game plan gets created. ...
"If you want to use a football coach like Bill Belichick, who has coached football for 40 years, you might not call it data, but he has a steel trap for a mind. Every instance of everything he's ever seen, he won't call it data or machine learning, but his brain is a machine. So you can call it old-school coaching. Bill probably wouldn't like it called machine learning, but that's effectively what it is. If you're not open to at least understanding everything that's out there, and deciding what works right for you, then you're putting your team -- at whatever sport you're coaching -- at a competitive disadvantage."
6. Lewis should deliver thanks, not scorn, to New England: Running back Dion Lewis was released by the Titans on Thursday, just two years into the four-year, $19.8 million pact he had signed as a free agent. Lewis ended up earning about half of the contract, which is still a good haul, but also a reminder that the Titans hardly got what they were anticipating out of the investment. Lewis had been hard on the Patriots during the 2018 regular season, calling them cheap in an interview with NFL Network. The emotion at the time was understandable, but given the way things have unfolded, Lewis might reconsider his stance and instead send a thank-you note to the franchise for reviving his career and setting him up for a career-altering payday.
7. Patricia pays it forward with minority coaching assistantship program: When former Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia was hired as Detroit Lions head coach in 2018, he established the William Clay Ford Minority Coaching Assistantship, which is a two-year commitment to a minority in a full-time coaching position. The program has created an opportunity for three former players (Billy Yates, Leon Washington and Ty Warren) and has been well received. Yates concluded the program at the end of last season, and the club announced last week that he will stay on staff as an assistant offensive line coach.
8. Yanda's lowest moment came at Gillette: Perennial All-Pro Baltimore Ravens guard Marshal Yanda announced his retirement last week, and reflected on the highs and lows of his 14-year career. It was a reminder of the heartbreak on the opposing sideline in the 2011 AFC Championship Game, the Patriots holding on to beat the Ravens 23-20 when Billy Cundiff missed a 32-yard field goal with 15 seconds remaining. One moment that Yanda recalled was hugging teammate Matt Birk on the sideline, believing they were close to advancing to the Super Bowl after what appeared to be a go-ahead touchdown pass, only to have it ripped away. "That was the worst loss I've ever had to deal with in my career," he said, before adding that going through that adversity set the stage for the Ravens to beat the Patriots in the 2012 AFC title game en route to a Super Bowl title.
9. Van Noy tips cap to 'Billy B': As he prepared for free agency, and the possibility of departing New England after three-and-a-half seasons, linebacker Kyle Van Noy reflected on the recent turnover in the team's defensive coaching ranks (playcallers Patricia and Brian Flores departing in 2018 and 2019, respectively). One constant stood out to him. "There was a lot of change going from D-coordinator to D-coordinator, but then there was still the main coordinator there -- Billy B. He's always there," Van Noy told Patriots Hall of Famer Willie McGinest on NFL Network. "With him being at the helm, you're always going to get the best."
10. Highlighting two key Brady questions about to be answered: When former Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weis relayed his text exchange with Brady -- in which Brady said "nobody knows anything" about his future -- it generated plenty of media attention early last week. Weis went on to explain that he believes Brady doesn't know what is going to unfold. With that in mind, echoing what has been written here previously, here are the two key questions that remain unanswered: How far is Belichick willing to go financially/annually/emotionally to bring Brady back? And how badly does Brady really want to be here? Barring the NFL delaying the start of free agency, we're about to find out.