If it weren’t for Julian Edelman, Ryan Allen very well could have been your Super Bowl 53 MVP. He saved the best game of his career for the most important game and was a huge factor in keeping the second best offense in the NFL to 3 points.
This was a very good move for the Patriots, as Allen has proven to be one of the best directional punters in the NFL since 2013, pinning opposing teams inside the 20 and giving the defense more room to work with.
Some (cough Felger and Mazz) will call this move stupid- saying the money spent on him could have been allocated elsewhere. People with a rational brain will understand that resigning Allen was necessary to keep stability at the position, especially with Joe Judge looking to move from his special teams coordinator position to assist with the offense or defense.
It will be interesting to see if the team now moves its focus to Gostkowski. He wont be cheap, and he tends to miss a kick in a big game, but he is still one of the best kickers in the NFL and those are hard to come by now. I would hope he’s brought back, and soon, as the longer he is on the open market a team will decide to give him north of 5 million a year and the Pats will have to start scouring the draft for their next kicker.
Bowles' Blog 