The Patriots are on a bye week this week and so is Nick “Fitzy” Stevens, so I’ll have you covered on this week’s Sunday 7.
1. How will Mayo manage the return from the bye week?
This week marks Jerod Mayo’s first bye week as a head coach in the NFL. The team practiced on Tuesday and was off the rest of the week. The Patriots are dealing with a late bye week this season with Week 14 being the final week that any NFL teams are on a bye. Traditionally, coaches prefer the bye closer to the middle of the season so they can assess what their team’s strengths are and what they need to improve for the stretch run. Instead, the Patriots will be coming out of the bye with only four games left, all against playoff teams.
Mayo is in an interesting spot with the Patriots eliminated from playoff contention: he can focus solely on getting young players playing time in these final four games for their development or allow veterans to recharge this week and play heavily down the stretch in hopes of improving the team’s win total from 2023. The thought here is that he’ll lean towards the younger players. Two areas I’d like to see the coaching staff improve over the bye: red zone offense, which ranks 30th, and their speed of adjustments on defense, which has hurt them at several points this season.
This bye could be valuable for Drake Maye as well. Maye has been going non-stop since being inserted as the starter in Week 6. The bye finally gives him a chance to catch his breath and make small tweaks to his game for the final four weeks. There is talk every year of a “rookie wall” for rookie players, and hopefully Maye will be able to avoid that since he didn’t start until Week 6 and has a late bye week. One notable stat: Maye had zero turnover-worthy plays per Pro Football Focus in Week 13, the first time this season he’s played a full game without one.
2. New training facility at Gillette Stadium
The Patriots announced this week that they are working on a new, state-of-the-art football facility that will house their football operations.
Suffolk Construction will be managing the project. There had been some reports that the Patriots were considering building a new football facility for the past several years. With this project they have decided to do just that. The facility will be three levels and will be double the size of their current facility. While the team’s gameday setup will remain the same, the new building will include a locker room to be used before and after practices as well as a weight room, nutrition space and football administration offices. The project is expected to be completed in the spring of 2026.
3. Keep an eye on the College Football Playoff
With conference championship weekend in college football completed, the College Football Playoff field will be announced Sunday at noon. This bears watching for Patriots fans for a couple of reasons. First, it should be entertaining to see college football complete its first ever 12-team playoff.
Second, and most importantly, there are several top prospects the Patriots could land in the NFL Draft that will be participating in the CFP. Most notable is Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks, Jr. Banks is 6-foot-4, 320 pounds and is projected to be a top-10 pick in the draft. One could easily see the Patriots selecting Banks or LSU left tackle Will Campbell with their first pick. Some other potential first-round targets to keep an eye on: Ohio State’s Josh Simmons (OT) and Emeka Egbuka (WR) and Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter.
Some potential second-round prospects to watch are Texas OT Cameron Williams and receiver Isaiah Bond, Alabama defensive end LT Overton, and Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson.
4. Comparing the Patriots to this time last season
After a dismal 2023 season, the Patriots decided to fire Bill Belichick and turn the football operation over to Jerod Mayo and Eliot Wolf. Thus far, the results have been mixed. Many fans and media members have wondered if the Patriots would be better off if Belichick was still here. The key to that question is what Belichick would’ve done with the third overall pick. It’s my belief he would’ve traded down and taken JJ McCarthy or signed a veteran quarterback, but we’ll never know for sure. For the sake of comparison, here is how New England stacks up statistically now vs. how they finished last season. The green numbers indicate improvement over 2023 while red indicates a decline from 2023:
***Notes: the 2023 defense PPG is slightly skewed because the Patriots offense allowed 38 points off turnovers. The 2023 Patriots defense also averaged the worst starting field position in the NFL. The offensive yards per game has a lower ranking, but a higher overall number, similar to points per game.
5. With Cole Strange’s potential return, 2022 Draft class comes back into focus
There is a possibility that 2022 first-round draft pick Cole Strange will return to the lineup after the bye week. With that in mind, I looked back at the 2022 draft class and where they are now.
Cole Strange- Showed some promise before an injury ended his 2023 season, but has not lived up to first-round billing. Still has not played in 2024.
Tyquan Thornton- No longer with team.
Marcus Jones- Special teams ace returner and solid defensive back.
Jack Jones- No longer with team.
Pierre Strong- No longer with team.
Bailey Zappe- No longer with team. Zappe Fever was fun, though.
Kevin Harris- Depth running back.
Sam Roberts- No longer with team.
Chasen Hines- No longer with team.
Andrew Stueber- No longer with team.
Only three players remain from that draft and only one, Marcus Jones, has made a significant impact on the field. A bad draft for Bill Belichick and Matt Groh, who remains with the team. This draft, while ultimately falling on Belichick, is also strongly tied to Groh because he was promoted to Director of Player Personnel that offseason and this draft focused heavily on Relative Athletic Score whereas previous drafts had some focus on that, but not nearly as much.
6. Players to watch coming out of the bye week
With the Patriots back in action in Arizona next Sunday, here are a few players to keep an eye on in the final four weeks:
Drake Maye- For obvious reasons.
Alex Austin- The young corner flashed against the Colts. Can he carve out a role before the offseason?
Keion White- The second-year defensive lineman has five sacks on the season, but four of them came in the first two games. Can he increase the production with Christian Barmore back?
7. Games to watch this weekend
It’s not the best slate of Sunday action, but Bills at Rams and Chargers at Chiefs should be entertaining. Depending on the results, they both could impact the Patriots later this season. If the Bills continue to win and the Chargers beat the Chiefs, both teams will likely play all their starters in late-season meetings with the Patriots. If the Rams beat the Bills and the Chiefs beat the Chargers, that could open the door to the Patriots playing backups in Week 17 or 18.