This is why you pay for a guy like DeAndre Hopkins. Because in those moments, the guy who should be expected to step up and make the catch is the guy who has demonstrated, historically, that he has the chops to step up and make the catch. It is not just about technique or whether the quarterback threw a “catchable” ball. In those critical moments, with the game on the line, you need to know that the guy you choose as your target is a guy who can deliver. Not, “think that he should be able to catch it here, apropos of nothing.” Not, “is technically capable of hauling in a pass at this distance.” He has to be someone with the proven ability to come through in the clutch. That is what DeAndre Hopkins’s job would have been if Bill Belichick had been willing to pay him to come to Foxborough.
Belichick was – famously – not willing. Instead, he chose to put himself, and the team, in a position in which he was forced to rely on DeVante Parker in that moment, a guy so totally not DeAndre Hopkins that the Miami Dolphins had no problem whatsoever handing him off to a division rival. Even one named Bill Belichick. But don’t hate Parker. He is who he is. He is a long-term veteran, and his tape is a matter of public record. It is out there for all to see, and it clearly reflects exactly what the Patriots got: a solid, respectable journeyman who can be a good role player and complimentary piece. He is a decent contested catch guy but he is rarely, if ever, going to come up big in the clutch or on third down with games on the line. Parker let Sunday night’s well-placed, 4th quarter sideline throw literally slip right through his fingers…but that was to be expected. We were not surprised in the slightest.
We were not surprised, because he is not DeAndre Hopkins. Or Cooper Kupp. Or JaMarr Chase. Or CeeDee Lamb. Parker is a role player. He is not a guy who makes big-time catches in the clutch with games on the line. If Bill Belichick wanted that football caught in that situation at that moment, with the game on the line, and the entire season hanging in the balance, then he should have damned well paid for someone that has demonstrated a proven ability to come through and catch the ball under those circumstances. Instead, he extended a role-player who has had little impact on the team during his time in Foxborough, and then destroyed his Microsoft tablet in a fit of pique when said role-player played like, you know, a role player. If you want Hopkins, pay Hopkins. But don’t pay Parker, and then throw a tantrum on the sideline because you didn’t get Hopkins anyway.
Was the throw itself “catchable?” Yes, probably. Jones placed it well, and it appeared to drop right over Parker’s shoulder. Parker should theoretically have been able to catch it. But Parker has never demonstrated any kind of consistent ability to come through in the big moments. He’s not the one who makes those kinds of plays at the end of games with everything on the line. Receivers in those moments have to be able to fight through nerves and adrenaline, steady their mind, and position their hands and body just right, all in the split second it takes to make the catch. The great ones make it look so easy, but it absolutely isn’t, and not everyone can do it. The ones who can are paid handsomely for it, by everyone except Bill Belichick.
The Miami Dolphins knew this. They were so unafraid of Parker’s skill set that they had absolutely no problem handing him over to a division rival – a rival with a legendary coach, no less. The reality is that Parker may well be a “deep threat,” as Jones mentioned after the game, but he remains, nonetheless, a role-player who should neither be asked, nor expected, to make big time plays and step up in the clutch with the game on the line. It’s certainly possible that he might pull one out occasionally, but to expect consistent success from him under those circumstances is folly.
Jones also pointed out after the game that the outcome could have been very different, if not for the incomplete deep pass. He’s absolutely right. So could the outcomes of both the Eagles and the Dolphins games. For all the talk about the two horrific losses to the Cowboys and the Saints, the other three losses – to the Eagles, Dolphins, and now Raiders – were all by a possession or less, and they all came down to receiver error: Eagles – rookie toe tap fail; Dolphins – rookie goal line fumble; Raiders – Parker deep ball drop. One elite receiver acquisition could very easily have changed the outcome of all three of these games. ONE. Even with Mac’s wildly up and down quarterback play, even with the subpar coaching, and even with the brutal schedule, this Patriots team could very easily have three more wins on its schedule. They could be 4-2, instead of 1-5. That changes the entire tenor of the AFC East.
Instead, thanks to the absolute bullheadedness of the Patriots combination Head Coach/General Manager who flatly refuses to pay for even a single elite offensive weapon, they are wallowing at the bottom of their division, and appear to be losing the locker room – and the fan base – fast. Don’t blame the players. Blame the guy who puts the players in positions they shouldn’t have to be in, and then refuses to help them. The New York Jets, in particular, should be thanking their lucky stars that the storied Patriots coach has devolved into the cheapest, most infuriatingly stubborn curmudgeon in football.
They shouldn’t get too used to it though. Eventually, Robert Kraft will hire someone who IS willing to pay for a guy like Hopkins.