Reiss: Patriots have to make big changes. Bottom line.
On Monday’s Toucher & Hardy show, Mike Reiss wondered what Patriots staff personnel changes could be made this offseason.
Reiss: BIG Changes Coming
Parts of conversation abbreviated for clarity.
Mark Dondero: In your estimation, how are the Patriots preparing in the event that the beginning of next year doesn’t go well. Because that’s going to be a really tough spot if they give Jerod Mayo another chance and it starts as bad as it’s ended this year.
Mike Reiss: Yeah Mark, the seat is going to be hot for Jerod Mayo. The seat is going to be hot for Eliot Wolf, the executive vice president of personnel. That’s what they have to measure right now, in terms of whatever decision they make. Bottom line. Facts.
Because this has not been good enough. So, to me—and there’s a little bit of a hypothetical here—if you bring them back like you’re not running it back with what you have right now. I think everyone can agree with that.
There has got to be some level of change. You cannot witness what we saw Saturday, in a half-full stadium, and get run out of your own stadium 40-7. There has got to be some level of change.
And I look at its layers. The biggest change would be head coach, then vice president of player personnel, then coordinators. It’s just figuring out what level are you hitting on the change.
If you’re telling me that the Patriots are bringing back Mayo and Wolf, then there’s going to be other infrastructure around them that looks different than what it does right now, in my opinion. If they go that route—and whoever that is—they’d be part of the infrastructure where if things go south quickly next year, the Patriots would feel like they have something in place to keep the team afloat.
Dondero: Yeah, if they keep Mayo, they’re going to have to buy him a little time to get into next year. That seat will be so white hot, it’ll be intolerable for Patriots ownership.
Segment Audio
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3 Stars: Bruins get some well-balanced revenge vs. Blue Jackets
Third Star: Mason Lohrei
Dec 28, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Bruins defenseman Mason Lohrei (6) and center Pavel Zacha (18) celebrate a goal by right wing David Pastrnak (88) during the second period against the Blue Jackets at TD Garden. (Bob DeChiara/Imagn Images)
When Bruins defenseman Mason Lohrei is “going,” the stats are usually eye-popping. That’s typically how it goes when you’re talking about a 6-foot-5 puck-moving defenseman with a creative mind. And though that was not the case on Saturday night — Lohrei finished the game with just one assist and one block — Lohrei had arguably his best game of the season, as he was on the ice for all four of Boston’s goals in the victory.
Lohrei is just the fourth Bruins defenseman to post a plus-4 rating in a game in the post-2005 NHL, joining Zdeno Chara, Matt Grzelcyk, and Charlie McAvoy (who did it back on Dec. 1 against Montreal) in that respect.
Second Star: Morgan Geekie
Dec 28, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Mathieu Olivier (24) and Boston Bruins center Morgan Geekie (39) battle for a loose puck during the second period at TD Garden. (Bob DeChiara/Imagn Images)
For Bruins forward Morgan Geekie, this season is following a similar script to last season, with the 6-foot-3 do-it-all type getting hot just after American Thanksgiving. In what’s been a white-hot month of December for Geekie, Saturday was another success story, with a goal and an assist for the B’s.
Going back to Dec. 4, Geekie has recorded six goals and 10 points in his last 11 games played. His six goals are tied for the 19th-most among all forwards over that span, while his 10 points are tied for the 44th-most among forwards. Geekie has always been a player whose streakiness will either be his best or worst quality at any given moment, but right now, he’s providing strong support for a Boston top six that’s humming along.
First Star: Jeremy Swayman
Dec 28, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman (1) makes a glove save during the second period against the Columbus Blue Jackets at TD Garden. (Bob DeChiara/Imagn Images)
From a personal production standpoint, it has not been the season that Jeremy Swayman thought it would be.
There’s been some small pockets of excellence and the wins have come at a higher clip than they were in previous months, but we’ve yet to see the Swayman who broke through and emerged as the best goalie in the playoffs last spring. (And, listen, if we gotta wait until April to see that guy come back, that’s fine.)
But there’s been a lot of games where you’ve looked at Swayman’s game and said, “Man, I wonder if this is the one that gets him going on a legitimate heater.” Saturday was another one of those nights, as Swayman turned aside all 18 shots faced for his second shutout victory of the 2024-25 season. Early-game puck handling issues aside, Swayman was a constant for the Bruins in this game, and came through with some big-time stops, and some key ‘freezes’ to allow the Bruins to settle down and/or get some fresher bodies out there.
