Callahan: What the Patriots should be thankful for this Thanksgiving

FOXBORO For the first time in ages this list is easy Too easy What should the Patriots be thankful for this year Must we spell it out Yes Oh yes Because there s no better time to give thanks than when the real football season begins and playoff games await in the New Year The Patriots are good again Happy Thanksgiving Drake Maye He s a burgeoning superstar and icon yet still a humble -year-old whose right arm by all accounts is strong enough to carry this franchise for the next decade Quarterbacks like Maye are the greatest asset and greatest gift in the NFL Most of weeks this space is reserved for analysis of his physical gifts But Maye s processing and personality are equally responsible for the competitor he is and will become Opponents fear Maye teammates love him and coaches can t stop showering the southern gunslinger with praise By the way how plenty of quarterbacks would you take for the next five years over Maye Possibly Patrick Mahomes Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson Is that it All three have won MVP awards and multiple times in the cases of Mahomes and Jackson And would you believe Maye might win an MVP at an age younger than Tom Brady was when Brady won his first start Give it a sparse more weeks and he just might do it Mike Vrabel What a difference coaching makes Vrabel has modernized professionalized and aggrandized the Patriots in a matter of months He s instilled winning habits that have yielded a winning values He expanded the gang s staff in virtually every department from game-day analytics to the front office Everything flows from the head coach even if Vrabel tends to deflect credit when it arrives at his doorstep or during a press conference His imprint on the organization is too clear too obvious to be overlooked Once again the Patriots are a tough smart tight-knit football band thanks to their head coach We created this quick brotherhood Pats cornerback Carlton Davis mentioned Monday We want to play for each other but we also want to play for Vrabel Josh McDaniels McDaniels has directed Maye s rise which already is on pace to be one of the great successes of his career This offseason the Patriots started with Maye s footwork his movement in the pocket and leadership Secondarily McDaniels has refined his internal clock and use of cadence But Maye s malleability and rise isn t the only story here McDaniels has developed too His playbook now carries influences from assistants Thomas Brown and Todd Downing longtime NFL coaches and former offensive coordinators themselves McDaniels seems looser now But while his connections with players seem to run deeper than in his previous stops McDaniels knack for creative plans and timely play-calls is still very much his calling card He s just dialing it up multiple times and getting guys open and really making it easy for me Maye revealed in October He s done it his whole life and I feel like he was put on this earth to be an offensive coordinator free-agent class Stefon Diggs is the best receiver the Patriots have fielded since prime Julian Edelman Milton Williams sealed the win at Miami with a fourth-down sack K Lavon Chaisson is making million and already has sacks Harold Landry has sacks and a captain s patch Robert Spillane is one of two players in the NFL with -plus tackles two interceptions and a sack Morgan Moses has started all games at right tackle and allowed one sack all year The Patriots had other players at the top of their free-agent wish list namely Chris Godwin and Ronnie Stanley but they nonetheless spent the million they guaranteed last spring wisely That list a fraction of their total free-agent signings is littered with quality starters leaders and playmakers New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs celebrates his touchdown during the third quarter of an Oct event at Gillette Stadium Nancy Lane Boston Herald It s rare a squad leads the NFL in free-agent spending and doesn t come to regret it over time But it s hard to envision the Patriots will feel much pain in their pocket given the early returns on this class Good robustness First knock on wood Second before the Patriots watched rookie left tackle Will Campbell and rookie left guard Jared Wilson get carted off in Cincinnati they were perhaps the healthiest club in football But even accounting for their absences and injuries to Khyiris Tonga and Brenden Schooler that same day the Pats have only placed a single starter on injured reserve all season This late in the season that type of soundness is nothing short of amazing Related Articles Drake Maye responds to too poised criticism from Giants star pass rusher Patriots down starters at Wednesday practice before Giants challenge Patriots to place Will Campbell on injured reserve sign cornerback Patriots mailbag Can new coaching staff lift replacement offensive linemen Patriots re-sign veteran offensive linemen in series of roster moves A last-place schedule Yes the schedule s been easy No that s not a black mark on the season because if the Patriots do claim the No seed in the AFC they can and should take credit for everything they poured into this season dating back to OTAs Every year only two NFL teams can clinch a top speed and a first-round bye in the playoffs Those teams reliably earn it But fans in Denver and Indianapolis would be quick to note the roads their teams will have traveled to the postseason are not the same as the Patriots Even over the next six weeks both the Broncos and Colts will play at least half their games against teams at this moment in the playoff picture while the Pats at the greater part have two versus Buffalo and at Baltimore The Jets No matter how bleak it gets in New England and eight wins the past two years combined qualifies as pretty damn bleak the Patriots are never ever down as bad as their one-time rivals Those J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets who are without a franchise quarterback for yet another year and mired permanently in dysfunction What a bunch of turkeys