FOXBORO, Mass. — Head coach Jerod Mayo met with the captains of the New England Patriots (including new captain Kyle Dugger, who is filling in for Ja’Whaun Bentley) on Wednesday morning, a chance to reconnect before an important trip to San Francisco this weekend. His message was simple. The Patriots need to improve each week regardless of their record.
“It wasn’t like a big kumbaya type of meeting,” Mayo said. “It was more of a, ‘Let’s continue to get better each and every week,’ and I think that was really the main goal going into the season.”
LIVE: Jerod Mayo Press Conference 9/25: https://t.co/7IyJwhlYnd
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) September 25, 2024
With that in mind, let’s get straight to the mailbag.
Note: Submitted questions have been edited for clarity and length.
What are your thoughts on getting Drake Maye in there for a number of plays each game? To me, that’s a great way to get a rookie some playing time with the first team without completely throwing him to the wolves. — Matthew T.
I wanted to discount this idea. It gets back to the old saying about “when you have two quarterbacks.” It’s somewhat disrespectful to Jacoby Brissett, or at least not helpful to him as the starter.
And yet, I don’t hate the idea. Brissett is already in a different spot than any other starting quarterback, forced to give up practice reps with the starting offense to his backup 30 percent of the time (something that virtually never happens). So what’s the big deal if Brissett relinquishes 20 percent of his game snaps to Maye?
It’s difficult to improve at football without playing football, especially when the film Maye is forced to break down in meeting rooms is of someone else playing the position. If Maye had a few drives of himself to study, that might help.
Either way, I’m in favor of playing Maye sooner rather than later. Yes, the weapons and the offensive line are bad. But everyone knows that and has seen Brissett’s issues in the offense, and it would behoove Maye to get some real reps soon. The hardest part of the Patriots’ schedule is almost over, so if Sunday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers goes poorly, I’d consider starting Maye at home in Week 5 against the banged-up Miami Dolphins.
This idea of splitting game snaps might not be conducive to winning in the short term, but that’s not really the point of this season. So I’m in.
The Carolina Panthers looked like they had a joke of an offensive line and few weapons — until they suddenly didn’t. Is there any chance the Pats have even a 250-yard passing game this season? The passing game really feels hopeless right now. — Chris H.
Amazing how quickly things can change in the NFL, huh? Yes, the short answer is the passing game can quickly look much different even if what we’ve seen from the offensive line has been so disheartening.
But I’m here with some positive news. A terrible offensive line doesn’t necessarily have to mean a terrible passing game.
Pass protection composite ratings pic.twitter.com/Fw9lDkLj47
— Computer Cowboy (@benbbaldwin) September 25, 2024
Above is a composite ranking of each team’s pass protection based on three different metrics. What’s noteworthy is that three of the five worst teams in pass protection (and four of the seven worst) still have passing attacks that rank in the top half of the NFL in expected points added per play. (The Patriots and Cleveland Browns are the two teams in the bottom five with below-average passing attacks.)
Now, those other teams with successful passing games despite poor pass blocking have advantages the Patriots don’t. The Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings have incredible play callers and play designers. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks have good wide receivers.
But there’s still hope Maye can inject some life into this passing game and make it look competent.
Is there anything the Pats can do in-season to help this offensive line? 🙁 — Jim K.
Yes! Here’s another reason Maye might be a better fit for what the Patriots need right now: He’s better at getting the ball out quickly. That’s hugely beneficial behind a bad offensive line.
Right now, Brissett has the fifth-slowest time to throw in the NFL, averaging 2.99 seconds, per Next Gen Stats. In the preseason and his brief debut last week, Maye averaged 2.38 seconds, according to Patriots.com. In addition, 42 percent of Brissett’s dropbacks have taken more than three seconds for the ball to come out, the fourth slowest in the league, per TruMedia.
The difference in the timing for the two quarterbacks is the difference between ranking third fastest and 31st. It’s also a way to mitigate bad offensive line play. The New York Jets were concerned about their offensive line, so Aaron Rodgers is throwing more quickly and ranks fifth in the statistic. The Dolphins have overcome a bad O-line in recent years by having Tua Tagovailoa rank near the fastest.
Sure, there would be more mistakes with Maye (as evidenced by his first NFL dropback, a near interception). But he can do things to mitigate the Patriots’ current problems.
GO DEEPER
Patriots stock report: Risers and fallers after the first 3 weeks
Is there any news on Christian Barmore? Are we looking at a potential retirement scenario or more likely a return sometime in the near/mid-term future? On another note, any juicy trade rumors connected with the Pats? — Niko K.
Mayo is a former player who dealt with injuries and started his climb to becoming a head coach by studying film with Steve Belichick while hurt. So he wants to keep Barmore engaged while he’s out indefinitely with blood clots.
The Patriots have given Barmore two tasks. The first is a project to broaden his understanding of NFL schemes beyond “just what a defensive tackle does,” Mayo said. The second is putting together a one-minute clip of funny videos for the team to watch on Fridays.
That said, there’s no update on when Barmore might return to the field. When Mayo is asked about it he just says, “he’s going by doctor’s orders.”
As for juicy trade rumors, it’s too early for that. Teams won’t begin serious trade considerations for another couple of weeks.
But if the Patriots are serious about stockpiling picks for next year, I’d consider trading Jonathan Jones even while recognizing what an important piece he’s been for this team. He’s a 31-year-old cornerback in the last year of his contract.
Is everyone giving Eliot Wolf too much of a pass? He is primarily responsible for the creation of the roster and, with the possible exception of Drake Maye, the roster is no better than it was last year. — Anonymous
Not yet. There will come a time when more criticism falls on Wolf if this roster doesn’t dramatically improve. But he used the team’s most valuable resource for improving the roster (the No. 3 pick) on someone who has hardly played yet, and there weren’t many good wide receivers in free agency. He still tried twice to land a No. 1 receiver, and it’s not his fault that neither wanted to come to New England. He’s less than a year into his new job, so for now I wouldn’t be too hard on him. But it’s important to note that next offseason needs to see some massive improvements with the roster.
That said, the area where he does deserve criticism is the offensive line. He tried stopgaps that didn’t work. He didn’t draft anyone to help there until Round 3. And then he was clearly wrong when he insisted before the season that the O-line wasn’t an issue.
GO DEEPER
The Patriots’ offensive line is a mess — so why didn’t they address it this offseason?
The offensive line issues are well documented, but how much pressure do you think is on Alex Van Pelt? — Jonathan K.
Not much yet. His hands are tied behind one of the league’s worst combinations of offensive linemen and receivers. But like Wolf, that time could come.
Van Pelt’s most important task is developing Maye. When it comes time for Maye to start, Van Pelt needs to tailor the offense to what works for his young quarterback.
If he doesn’t do that and Maye doesn’t show progress, the pressure on Van Pelt could build.
I think Van Pelt’s in-game play calls have been a bit too predictable. For example, the Patriots run it from under center 43 percent of the time on first downs, which is a giveaway for the defense. You’d like to have a bit more variety than that.
What are your three biggest positives so far and why? — Luko O.
1. The running game works. It often takes teams and coordinators a few weeks to figure out what works for them in the running game since it’s tough to get a good look on those plays in training camp, but that hasn’t been the case for the Pats.
2. The edge rushers are good. Keion White has been one of the NFL’s biggest breakouts, and Joshua Uche (while not a three-down player) has returned to being one of the game’s best pure pass rushers.
3. The two Joneses at cornerback are playing well on the back end. It’ll be important that Jonathan Jones and Marcus Jones both stay healthy, but if they play like this and Christian Gonzalez continues to improve, that’s a good trio of starting corners.
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(Photo: Cooper Neill / Getty Images)
