1. To quote the Harry Potter series, “These are dark times, there is no denying.” Any organization that experiences the unheralded success the New England Patriots did for two decades must certainly expect a swing back of the karmic pendulum. The people from the front office to the sideline to on the field itself who helped create such a spectacular winning culture eventually move on in some capacity. At that point a rebuild of some sort begins, and with it comes the hope that a similar culture yet still unique unto itself can be forged. Fans who have experienced the lavish riches of success are asked to be patient as Rome wasn’t built, or rebuilt, in a day. Or a season. Sustainable success takes time.
But what happens when a new power structure arrives, one that’s well-heeled in football and what it takes to win, with reasonable expectations for success from media and fans alike? And that new structure alerts one and all to a need for patience and time to put a plan in place. A plan for a tonal shift in operation. A plan for collaborative rediscovery on how to win. A plan for a rookie quarterback taken third overall to slowly learn the game from afar as an aged veteran tries to show him the ropes, all the while struggling on the field to advance the ball, let alone score it, taking hit after hit physically and emotionally.
You get what we have right now with the Pats: a big old mess. And it looks like it’s going to be longer than expected for things to turn around. Hardly what the organization had planned.
Whatever “The Plan” is, or at least what we perceive it to be - sitting Drake Maye for as long as possible while Jacoby Brissett languishes behind a patchwork offensive line until it seems the kid has learned enough and the team has the infrastructure in place to turn things over to their future - it sure doesn’t seem to be going over well. Fans are unhappy that their team is 1-3 but more so that the team can’t score and is a difficult watch at times. There was a report this week that players were unhappy with what was going on…a report that was addressed and refuted by multiple players immediately. While we don’t know the full breadth of the plan, what we do know is that the Patriots have the lowest rated offense in the league. Their QB, who is the most pressured QB in the league, holds the ball forever behind the line in a turnover averse approach. The offensive line is down multiple starters and is potentially forced into a cruel game of starting new players each week. The starting running back has a fumbling problem. And several of the new pieces brought in to catch and score the football aren’t even seeing it.
Again, tough to imagine this was “The Plan.”
Whether there’s legitimate unrest in the locker room (likely not), there’s no denying fans are unhappy with how things have turned following the Week 1 win in Cincinnati. Were the games more fun or were grander signs of development, glimpses into the future in Foxboro, more evident, then perhaps we’d be singing a different tune now. Turbulence was to be expected on the trip, but not like this. Yet the coaching staff, front office and ownership can’t just cave in to public pressure or whatever unrest they hear over the airwaves. If you say you have a plan then you best try to stick with it. Though, as Mike Tyson so eloquently pointed out years ago, everyone says they have a plan until they get punched in the mouth. Consider the Patriots the recipient of a good right cross the past few weeks.
For what it’s worth, Jets QB Aaron Rodgers said he’s a fan of “The Plan,” admiring Pats coach Jerod Mayo for showing restraint with Drake Maye. Rodgers of course famously sat behind legendary QB Brett Favre for years in Green Bay, where Elliot Wolf grew up as a football executive. Thus New England’s plan must feel familiar to him. Again, there was Brett Favre and more winning than losing during those days, not an offense that could barely hold the ball 20 minutes a game.
Bill Belichick said earlier in the week on “The Pat McAfee Show” that he had no idea what the plan is (that can be both an honest admission and Belichick bringing some extra salt to the table.) Not that it’s Mayo and company’s job to let the former coach know, but considering insight and analysis are his game now, you’d think Belichick might speculate a bit on what’s cooking in the Gillette kitchen.
What will it take to accelerate the plan? An unfortunate injury at QB? Maye drawing more acclaim from coaches and peers at practice? Fan unrest reaching the level of empty seats at Gillette? And when Maye starts, will Mayo or Alex Van Pelt or any team rep say that was the plan all along? Perhaps a lot of this could have been avoided had the team been more transparent about “The Plan” from the get-go. We heard about an open competition at quarterback, watched the rookie outplay the veteran in the preseason, heard the coaches saw what we saw, and yet the veteran was awarded the job and here we are. Had we just heard that the rookie was never going to start and would sit for a while, if not the season, then the growing din of unrest wouldn’t be as deafening.
For now we wait, we watch, we wonder. As the Patriots sit at the bottom of the division, a lost season possibly on the more immediate horizon, you ask yourself how will this end? Is this the best way to groom a new QB? Can a battered offense and beleaguered defense hold the ground for much longer? Will enough progress be made this year to make the sacrifices worthwhile? And what exactly is the fanbase’s tolerance for it all?
Our advice? Plan on “The Plan” lasting longer than you initially expected.
Speaking of things you don’t plan for…
2. For any sort of plan to work developing a QB or just plain playing offense, you need productive if not competent play from your offensive line, preferably with good health and continuity. And that is exactly what the Patriots have not had all year long. This looks to be the case once again heading into Sunday’s game at home against Miami as well.
Call it a truly offensive line. The “Whoa!” Line. The “Oh No!” Line. Whatever you call it, you might wanna also call and see if any of your friends are around and potentially available to play guard or tackle this weekend, or sometime soon, as the Pats seem to be experiencing injury and attrition at an unheard of rate along the line this season.
The news of center David Andrews, a team captain and true leader, going down for the season with shoulder surgery, couldn’t have come at a worse time, as depth along every spot on the O-line has been tested. Demontrey Jacobs, the fourth left tackle of the year, may be pressed into action again, along with some dinged up starters in Layden Robinson, Sidy Sow and Vederian Lowe – rookie tackle Caedan Wallace is now headed to IR himself. Nick Leverett might be able to play center, though he’s hurt. If he can’t go, it looks like undrafted free agent pickup Bryan Hudson out of Louisville (first signed by the Lions) would be the next option (backup center Jake Andrews is on season-long IR). You can’t make this stuff up.
A best case scenario for a line is the same five guys playing together all season long. This is turning into an O-line grab bag each week with the Pats hitting the double digits on linemen way too early in the year. First year O-line coach Scott Peters has had his work cut out for him, and that’s the understatement of the week.
While the line continues to shuffle through players like Spinal Tap went through drummers, it is worth noting that one advance metric shows whoever is in there is doing a better job than advertised.
While the line is constantly maligned, at least it appears they’re giving Brissett time to make his reads and hopefully a play. Yet it’s not clicking.
Is it the play-calling? The QB? The receivers? The constant shuffling of linemen? Nobody seems to know. But one thing Van Pelt is sure of is the line issues affecting “The Plan.”
It’s worth noting that Hunter Henry has been elected a captain to take the place of David Andrews, the second captain to be lost to IR for the season, linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley the first. If newly elected captain Kyle Dugger, who took Bentley’s place, misses extended time with his ankle injury it would seem like a horror movie scenario where a mysterious injury demon is coming for the captains!
Good thing Marte Mapu is set to return to action seeing as Dugger AND Jabrill Peppers (shoulder) are both out Sunday. Replacement linemen and both safeties out (insert awkward grinning emoji here). Maybe if your friends can’t play tackle they can play safety? Or maybe running back seeing as Rhamondre Stevenson’s acute case of fumbleitis has landed him on the bench, with Antonio Gibson (not exactly the prince of ball security himself) the starting RB. Insert extra grinning face emoji here.
3. From the “All news in Foxboro isn’t bad news!” department, second-year cornerback Christian Gonzalez seems to have picked up where he left off in his rookie season and is playing excellent football this season.
The one they call Gonzo is one of the only corners not to have given up a reception of over 15 yards thus far, despite having matchups against some of the better receivers like San Francisco’s Brandon Aiyuk and New York’s Garrett Wilson (who did score the only TD Gonzo gave up in the pros). Gonzalez was a first-round pick in 2023, so talent isn’t an issue. One thing Gonzlaez has focused on this season it seems is his preparation, and not just leaning on his size and physical gifts.
Gonzalez also said recently on “The Richard Sherman Podcast” that he took many things away from the man who drafted him, Bill Belichick, including getting to know more than just the players he’d be going against, rather familiarizing himself with the coaches calling the plays.
If Gonzalez can make it through a full season and continue to build on the success he’s experienced thus far, then he will entrench himself as one of the elite players on the team and building blocks for the Patriots going forward. His growth is exactly what seasons like this are all about. And that growth will continually be tested as up next are some tall tasks in guarding Miami’s speedy receivers in Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, followed by Houston’s dynamic duo of Nico Collins and old adversary Stef Diggs.
4. No one can overstate enough how desperately the offense needs an injection of life. Enter someone who always brings energy to spare.
Wide receiver Kendrick Bourne, who was injured and lost for the season last year on the road vs. the Dolphins, looks set to return to action, and not a moment too soon for a receiver corps that’s widely considered the worst in the league.
Bourne, while not an elite route runner or blazing downfield threat, is a natural playmaker (averaging 13 yards a catch for his career) who instantly ascends to WR1 on these Pats. Whether Brissett has the time or wherewithal to get Bourne the ball is a different story.
In addition to making plays, Bourne could open things up for the other struggling receivers like Ja’Lynn Polk (who’s getting open but just not the ball) and DeMario Douglas, as well as the running game (who gets to tote the rock remains to be seen).
Perhaps his veteran leadership could also help another rookie, Javon Baker, who OC Alex Van Pelt said earlier this week has all the skills but just needs to button up the details, the little things that take a player from college to the pros. Bourne certainly can help off the field but perhaps for a talented but undisciplined player like Baker, seeing the results on field from a veteran leader will help him focus and elevate his effort and game.
Tyquan Thornton, however, seems a lost cause, and rumors are the Pats are placing a “For Sale” out front of his locker, according to Jason La Canfora. Thornton just has never materialized into the downfield speedster the Pats have been desperate to stretch the field for years, so maybe a fresh start is best for all.
5. Speaking of available receivers…what about Davante Adams?
Whether Adams gets moved to the Ravens (following his Baltimore-centric social media posts from Friday) or to the Jets to unite with old pal Aaron Rodgers, it would have always made zero sense for the Pats to try to acquire the talented veteran pass catcher. Adams wants out of Las Vegas because he doesn’t see a future there on a team still trying to find its footing under coach Antonio Pierce. Why on Earth would a diva receiver who wants to get fed and get paid and WIN come to a team that most probably will miss the playoffs and finish with a losing record, not to mention has trouble getting the ball to any receivers already on the team?
Adams is declining a bit (he’ll be 32 in December) but still has gas left in the tank for sure. He could still be a WR1 on many teams, and pursuing a ring after getting paid is likely part of “The Plan” for him. The Pats absolutely need a top receiver, hence their pursuit of Calvin Ridley and Brandon Aiyuk this offseason, but moving coveted draft equity and possibly players from a team that needs talent for the long haul, not a moody receiver now? That makes as much sense as thinking you don’t need someone who played left tackle before to play left tackle in the NFL!
And no, before you ask, the Patriots wouldn’t trade for Adams just to screw with the Jets, as fun as that sounds.
6. Checking in on our heroes of Patriots past, coach and QB edition: what are Brady and Belichick up to of late?
Brady, now entering his fifth week as the lead color analyst for FOX NFL, finally brought a little juice to his broadcasting career.
Replying to Baker Mayfield, who replaced him as QB with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Brady had a nice comeback to Mayfield, saying if Brady wanted fun while in Tampa he’d have taken his kids to Disney World, that the fun was in working hard and winning a Super Bowl (a sentiment his former coach later echoed to Pat McAfee).
Brady also continued on his thread of believing that the quality of football is down in the NFL, something he’s been critical of for years now, because of poor coaching and player development.
The coaching element is something we will monitor and potentially explore more in this space as the season progresses, as young coordinators take over the league, the veteran coaches seeing less and less of the sideline as the seasons pass.
Interesting to note, one of Brady’s former adversaries, Ben Roethlisberger, said he too believes QB play is slipping (the numbers back up these claims) and that it’s the college game that’s hurting them. Perhaps the more legends like Brady and Big Ben harp on the value of proper and methodical development as opposed to rushing into run ‘n gun offenses, the better QB play at the pro level will get once again.
And as for Bill Belichick, we know where to find him just about any day of the week as his media tour 2024 marches on, but what about next season? Or possibly sooner, could there be a return to the coaching ranks for the living legend? And where would that be? SI’s Albert Breer offered an interesting destination this week.
Jacksonville has a number of the components a coach like Belichick would likely covet to return, including some defensive studs, a plus-level QB and an owner with deep pockets who would likely spend to bring in the greatest living coach. Belichick probably would see it as ironic to replace Doug Pederson, the man who last beat him in a Super Bowl. But would he seriously consider coaching a team that has Mac Jones on it? That scenario would only play out if the Jags dismissed Pederson in-season and aggressively pursued Belichick now before any other teams could seek his services in the offseason. Hey, crazier things have happened and nothing is off the table in this NFL anymore.
This one bears watching over the next few weeks as the Jags are 0-4 and could potentially be winless when they travel to London to face the Pats.
7. And finally, your weekly NTKs (Need To Knows) heading into Sunday’s Fins at Pats tilt:
ALL-TIME: The Patriots and Dolphins have played a total of 117 times, including three postseason affairs, with the Fins holding a 62-55 advantage all-time. They swept the series last season, including a 31-17 win Oct. 29 in Miami, the game in which Kendrick Bourne injured his knee. Now he and the Dolphins both return to Gillette Stadium.
WEATHER: Partly sunny with a high of 68, a lovely autumn day for football.
BROADCAST: The game is on FOX, and sadly it will not be called by Tom Brady. Rumors were swirling some time ago that since his network had the 1 p.m. AFC East affair that it would be a bit of a homecoming for Brady (and his partner, play-by-play man Kevin Burkhardt). Instead, FOX’s No. 1 team will be calling a different sort of homecoming for The GOAT in Santa Clara as his childhood team, the San Francisco 49ers, host the Arizona Cardinals. Meanwhile, the Pats-Fins tilt draws the “electric” Chris Myers/Mark Sanchez/Kristina Pink team. Myers is a broadcast vet while Sanchez is a polarizing figure in Foxboro from his playing days with the Jets. Insert your own “Buttfumble” memory to console yourself here.