Pats offense: Ongoing discussion

Saints Rest

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I thought it might be useful to have a place to talk about the Pats offense as it progresses over the course of the season. Much like we did pre-season, but now the games count, and the players are known and fully involved.

For example, Mac now has shown that it looks like he can handle the 2001-era dink-and-dunk style. Can he progress into more of a chunk-yardage guy?

The TE's didn't show much in the preseason, partly due to not playing, both had their moments in Game One. Will this bloom into something major?

Whither the RB's? Two fumbles are not typical in a Belichick offense. Will we see a different depth chart in Week 2 and going forward?
 

Eddie Jurak

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They have Yasir Durant, the guy they traded for late in camp, working out at RT this week. After Trent Brown's injury, Durant came in for the dumpster fire that was Justin Herron and did not allow a pressure in 23 snaps. Interestingly, Durant is listed on the roster as a guard.

Durant signed with the Chiefs last year as a UDFA out of Missouri and got into 11 games, starting one (last game of last season) but getting only 91 offensive snaps.

The Patriots acquired him on August 31, in exchange for a 2022 7th round pick.

If he can start and hold his own for however long Brown is hurt, that will be a draft pick well spent.

Other options at tackle include: Yodny Cojuste, a Pats 3rd round pick in 2019 who has yet to see the field as he has been dealing with injuries. He did get into a couple of the preseason games and looked OK, like maybe he can finally provide some value. Alas, he has been nursing some type of injury already this year.

Other options, assuming Brown is out:
  • They can move Onwenu to RT and start Ted Karras at LG. Onwenu started there last year, but the Pats would no doubt rather get him settled in at LG.
  • Justin Herron, if he can get his shit together
  • They have Alex Redmond and draftee Wil Sherman (who did not impress in camp) on the practice squad.
 

Jody Reed's 1988 Mustache

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Not sure if this belongs here or in the Mac Jones thread, but there is a great article in the Athletic today that goes into the value of Brian Hoyer. I know there was some discussion on this board in the preseason as to why we would use a roster spot on Hoyer and whether there were better backup options out there given that he doesn't seem like much of an option in terms of actual performance if Mac gets injured. Here are some quotes that give some insight:

"Developing a quarterback properly involves a lot of variables. Joey Harrington once told me 80 percent of what determines a quarterback’s success has nothing to do with physical talent. Jones’ talent, football acumen and work ethic are part of the equation. So, too, are the people around the quarterback, on the roster and the coaching staff. But an often overlooked aspect is who is with a young quarterback in his position room.
“He’s going to tutor that young man, and a lot of times what he gets from him might be more than what he gets from the coaches,” said John L. Smith, who coached Hoyer at Michigan State."

"A few years ago, the Bills discovered the value a veteran backup can have for a rookie. Josh Allen, drafted at No. 7 in 2018, entered his first season with only Nathan Peterman behind him on the depth chart. General manager Brandon Beane realized that was a mistake and added Derek Anderson and Matt Barkley. Neither player is heading to the Hall of Fame, but both quarterbacks had stuck around the league long enough to know how to stay on top of preparation during the week. In order to get the most out of every rep at practice, you need to be a day or two ahead of film study.

“That way you have a really good idea so that when you go out to practice, you’re not flopping around trying to guess the defenses that they’re playing,” Anderson said. “That really helped me early on in my career because I didn’t do that. But I’d go out there and we get in the middle of red zone, I’ll be like, ‘Dammit, like I don’t know what their coverages are down here,’ before we even go into the red-zone period. Like I’m gonna sit back here and take three sacks, coach is gonna get pissed. That seems pretty basic, but just little things that help you get ahead, make you stay on top of you know what you’re doing.”
Finally....with regards to Hoyer specifically....

"That learning process will be quicker because of Hoyer’s presence. He started his career at Michigan State as a backup to Drew Stanton and did everything he could not only to push Stanton but to help him prepare during the week. John L. Smith was the head coach at Michigan State at the time and could tell Hoyer was picking things up faster than any quarterback on the roster. “Damn is he smart,” Smith said.

Baldwin remembers the way Stanton and Hoyer could anticipate what he was going to call in practice based on their recall of game-plan meetings and a recognition of what the defense was trying to do. Hoyer has always seen the game the way someone needs to in order to stick around the NFL as long as he has. “He’s a football junkie,” Baldwin said. “He was just a kid that wanted to take advantage of every situation.
 

Eddie Jurak

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You definitely don't want Nathan "12 interceptions in 135 pass attempts" Peterman mentoring any young QB.

Edit: 13 interceptions in 138 pass attempts if you count playoffs.
 

CCR

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Not sure if this belongs here or in the Mac Jones thread, but there is a great article in the Athletic today that goes into the value of Brian Hoyer. I know there was some discussion on this board in the preseason as to why we would use a roster spot on Hoyer and whether there were better backup options out there given that he doesn't seem like much of an option in terms of actual performance if Mac gets injured. Here are some quotes that give some insight:



Finally....with regards to Hoyer specifically....
Thanks for posting. Makes you appreciate Hoyer a bit more and crap on him a bit less...
 

Saints Rest

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I thought it might be useful to have a place to talk about the Pats offense as it progresses over the course of the season. Much like we did pre-season, but now the games count, and the players are known and fully involved.

For example, Mac now has shown that it looks like he can handle the 2001-era dink-and-dunk style. Can he progress into more of a chunk-yardage guy?

The TE's didn't show much in the preseason, partly due to not playing, both had their moments in Game One. Will this bloom into something major?

Whither the RB's? Two fumbles are not typical in a Belichick offense. Will we see a different depth chart in Week 2 and going forward?
Dink and dunk continues but 75% completion percentage is nothing to sneeze at.

Harris brought the good again, while leaving the fumble behind. I liked that he got the first carry of the game (back on the horse) and he wasn’t afraid to keep grinding even when the Jets piled on and tried to strip it out (the beast mode TD run).

TEs were again ok but nothing extraordinary.
 

nattysez

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Though Mac blamed himself, I'm curious what gives with the deep passing game. Are there guys running deep routes and Mac isn't getting enough protection to hit them? Are those guys not getting "'Bama open," so Mac's uncomfortable throwing to them? Or are they simply not running many deep routes at this point?
 

Over Guapo Grande

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I think it was a Baldinger tweet/video that surmised that Jones may be going through his reads bottom up, rather than top down. That's an over-simplification, but he doesn't get to the deep receiver because he finds a short/middle before then- and he wants to get the ball out quickly.

I've got to say... it is nice to see a QB who can hit the check-down, and not two hop it, after last year.
 

BrazilianSoxFan

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In J. T. O'Sullivan's vídeo about Mac's performance in the first game, his conclusion was that sometimes Mac was playing too fast.

According to his analysis, Mac was generally making the right decisions, but that there were times when he had enough protection to let plays/routes develop a little more and Mac moved on too quickly. It's not that he passed over uncovered receivers, but that he didn't gave them the needed time to get uncovered.
 

Over Guapo Grande

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In J. T. O'Sullivan's vídeo about Mac's performance in the first game, his conclusion was that sometimes Mac was playing too fast.

According to his analysis, Mac was generally making the right decisions, but that there were times when he had enough protection to let plays/routes develop a little more and Mac moved on too quickly. It's not that he passed over uncovered receivers, but that he didn't gave them the needed time to get uncovered.
That was the one I was thinking of, thanks. I mentioned Baldy-- but it was "the Good/ the Bad" from O'Sullivan.
 

SMU_Sox

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By the way JT said that about Mac last year going into the draft. That he was playing fast but sometimes it was too fast and he was leaving meat on the bone. Brand Name and I might have brought it up here but I can’t remember. I think it’s too early to worry about it.
 

Harry Hooper

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In J. T. O'Sullivan's vídeo about Mac's performance in the first game, his conclusion was that sometimes Mac was playing too fast.

According to his analysis, Mac was generally making the right decisions, but that there were times when he had enough protection to let plays/routes develop a little more and Mac moved on too quickly. It's not that he passed over uncovered receivers, but that he didn't gave them the needed time to get uncovered.
I suspect this is a valid observation. Seemed like Mac got a little too sped up in today's game.
 

Eddie Jurak

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In J. T. O'Sullivan's vídeo about Mac's performance in the first game, his conclusion was that sometimes Mac was playing too fast.

According to his analysis, Mac was generally making the right decisions, but that there were times when he had enough protection to let plays/routes develop a little more and Mac moved on too quickly. It's not that he passed over uncovered receivers, but that he didn't gave them the needed time to get uncovered.
This seems correct to me, and I would add that, on the whole, Mac played faster this week than last. Except on a 3rd and 19 play where he held that ball until he got sacked. I think we'd see a better Mac Jones than we have if the Pats had not had so much difficulty in pass protection.
 

Eddie Jurak

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BTW, does anyone know what happened with the weird exchange between Mac and Harris on a late game running play? It looked like Mac turned to hand the ball off and was hit in the backfield, the ball was in the air for a moment, and Harris took and and ran for a nice gain.

Did Mac lose the ball due to the hit or did he improvise in getting the ball to Harris as he went down? If the latter was it a good decision by Mac or a poor one. The play went for a good gain but a turnover there would have been bad.
 

JohnnyK

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I just quickly grabbed this from Gamepass:
View: https://youtu.be/0FZztbD6YMY


Looks to me like Johnson is late to block the rusher (although at least partial blame has to fall on whoever set the protection this way) and Mac is swallowed up immediately, loses the ball but in such a way that it basically falls into Harris' hands who I don't think realized what happened.
 

rodderick

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Dink and dunk continues but 75% completion percentage is nothing to sneeze at.

Harris brought the good again, while leaving the fumble behind. I liked that he got the first carry of the game (back on the horse) and he wasn’t afraid to keep grinding even when the Jets piled on and tried to strip it out (the beast mode TD run).

TEs were again ok but nothing extraordinary.
It kind of is because a high completion percentage that amounts to a low third down conversion rate and low yards per attempt is as empty as it gets. I thought Mac was perfectly fine yesterday, but only Jimmy Garoppolo threw the ball shorter on average (and they had nearly identitical statlines). I think this offense would be a lot more dangerous if they had guys who could grab those passes and turn them into 30 yard gains, which is kind of what I hoped Jonnu would be.
 

Bowhemian

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I just quickly grabbed this from Gamepass:
View: https://youtu.be/0FZztbD6YMY


Looks to me like Johnson is late to block the rusher (although at least partial blame has to fall on whoever set the protection this way) and Mac is swallowed up immediately, loses the ball but in such a way that it basically falls into Harris' hands who I don't think realized what happened.
Yeah, Harris was totally expecting a handoff, you can tell by the alignment of his arms/hands. He wasn't looking at the ball it all, it just happened to hit him in the gut. It was a very lucky play.
 

DJnVa

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I suspect this is a valid observation. Seemed like Mac got a little too sped up in today's game.
There was a play yesterday that ended with a screen to Meyers by the announcers said that it looked a bit slow because Mac was seeing if something else had developed.

Overall, these are not bad issues to have with a rookie QB--it gives a base level of performance that we can win games with.

Jones: 51/69, 73.9%, 467 yards, 1/0, 96.7 rating
Wilson: 39/70, 55.7%, 468 yards, 2/5, 56.1 rating
Lawrence: 42/84, 50%, 450 yards, 4/5, 57.1 rating
 

Captaincoop

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In the game thread folks were jumping to the conclusion that receivers aren't getting open deeper down the field. I'm curious to see if that's true after someone breaks down the coaches' film. The times we saw an angle that showed some of the routes, it looked like Mac was checking down in some cases when a bigger play was available. Nothing to panic about at this stage if true, but I'm not convinced that the receivers are the issue there.

Also, the offensive line was so bad, I don't blame him for just looking to get the ball somewhere quickly. Wynn and whoever is at RT need to get stuff figured out before Mac gets hurt.
 

Jungleland

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Through two games, my initial impression is that relative to respective positions, Mac has been better than just about every other player on the offense save maybe Damien Harris. While if that holds that's a disappointing result for the spending spree, and faulty in itself in that a true top QB is going to play mediocre guys into looking like studs with some consistency, it's a significantly better problem to have than the alternative.

As an aside, I'd like to see Henry more involved - of the pass catchers, that's the guy that looks most like he could start for 25 other teams to me right now.
 

Over Guapo Grande

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There was a play yesterday that ended with a screen to Meyers by the announcers said that it looked a bit slow because Mac was seeing if something else had developed.
rating
I believe it was a double slant , and he checked those first before going back to the screen . The Pats were going left to right, so maybe 3rd Q?
 

BigSoxFan

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Through two games, my initial impression is that relative to respective positions, Mac has been better than just about every other player on the offense save maybe Damien Harris. While if that holds that's a disappointing result for the spending spree, and faulty in itself in that a true top QB is going to play mediocre guys into looking like studs with some consistency, it's a significantly better problem to have than the alternative.

As an aside, I'd like to see Henry more involved - of the pass catchers, that's the guy that looks most like he could start for 25 other teams to me right now.
I’m with you on Henry. I know we’re still figuring out the 2 TEs but he’s a really good TE that we’re probably underutilizing a bit. A dependable pass catcher who can work the middle of the field should be exactly what Mac needs.
 

JohnnyK

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I believe it was a double slant , and he checked those first before going back to the screen . The Pats were going left to right, so maybe 3rd Q?
just re-watched it, 6:30 left in the first quarter. After the play is over Green talks about Mac checking the slants but on video it is clear he never takes his eyes of Jacobi, so not sure what Green saw there.
 

ehaz

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It’s not like Mac got a ton of reps with Jonnu and Henry due to their preseason injuries, right?

They’ll probably get on the same page soon.
 

Captaincoop

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A couple of somewhat interesting early stats:

*Pats have the lowest red zone percentage of any team that's played two games so far...2 for 7 in the Red Zone (28.6%). The top 10 teams are all around or above 80%.

*Pats lead the NFL in average time per offensive drive (4:35).

*Pats are tied for 3rd-worst in the league in % of drives ending with a turnover (25%!). Last year they were bad - over 12%. In the good years, they dominated the league in this stat and were between 4-8%.
 

tims4wins

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It’s not like Mac got a ton of reps with Jonnu and Henry due to their preseason injuries, right?

They’ll probably get on the same page soon.
Through 2 games they have 14 catches on 17 targets for 143 yards. It's not Gronk/Sweetleaf levels, but it is a pace of 119 catches and 1,215 yards for 17 games. If they aren't on the same page now, those numbers could get very good. Pats TEs had 18 catches for 254 yards all of last year!
A couple of somewhat interesting early stats:

*Pats have the lowest red zone percentage of any team that's played two games so far...2 for 7 in the Red Zone (28.6%). The top 10 teams are all around or above 80%.

*Pats lead the NFL in average time per offensive drive (4:35).

*Pats are tied for 3rd-worst in the league in % of drives ending with a turnover (25%!). Last year they were bad - over 12%. In the good years, they dominated the league in this stat and were between 4-8%.
With good TEs and a (on paper) good running game, you'd think they would be a good red zone team. Let's give them some time on this one. I would expect them to end up in the upper half of the league. Which they will need to do in order to win a lot of games.
 

chilidawg

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A couple of somewhat interesting early stats:

*Pats have the lowest red zone percentage of any team that's played two games so far...2 for 7 in the Red Zone (28.6%). The top 10 teams are all around or above 80%.

*Pats lead the NFL in average time per offensive drive (4:35).

*Pats are tied for 3rd-worst in the league in % of drives ending with a turnover (25%!). Last year they were bad - over 12%. In the good years, they dominated the league in this stat and were between 4-8%.
They've only had 2 turnovers, how can their % of drives ending in a TO be that bad? Surely they've had more than 8 drives?
 

8slim

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*Pats have the lowest red zone percentage of any team that's played two games so far...2 for 7 in the Red Zone (28.6%). The top 10 teams are all around or above 80%.
This is, by far, my biggest concern with the O two games in. And it's a concern of mine because we're now in season three of being fairly lousy in the red zone. I do think we have time to work through it, and I just have to believe that with Smith, Henry, Bourne, Meyers, Harris and White, we have a ton of talent to utilize in more productive ways. I just would have felt a lot better about yesterday's result had we turned two of those FGs into TDs.
 

Cellar-Door

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A couple of somewhat interesting early stats:

*Pats have the lowest red zone percentage of any team that's played two games so far...2 for 7 in the Red Zone (28.6%). The top 10 teams are all around or above 80%.

*Pats lead the NFL in average time per offensive drive (4:35).

*Pats are tied for 3rd-worst in the league in % of drives ending with a turnover (25%!). Last year they were bad - over 12%. In the good years, they dominated the league in this stat and were between 4-8%.
The turnover/drive number is clearly only through week 1(they had 2 turnovers in 8 drives), it's now at 10.5% (2 turnovers through 19 drives, after the 11 clean possessions vs. the Jets
 

Over Guapo Grande

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just re-watched it, 6:30 left in the first quarter. After the play is over Green talks about Mac checking the slants but on video it is clear he never takes his eyes of Jacobi, so not sure what Green saw there.
I, at least, had the direction of the play right. That and $7 will get me a coffee at Starbucks,
 

Captaincoop

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The turnover/drive number is clearly only through week 1(they had 2 turnovers in 8 drives), it's now at 10.5% (2 turnovers through 19 drives, after the 11 clean possessions vs. the Jets
That's right...weird, pro football reference had them listed as playing 2 games, and had other stats updated through 2. My fault for not noticing that.
 

BaseballJones

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They've only had 2 turnovers, how can their % of drives ending in a TO be that bad? Surely they've had more than 8 drives?
Yeah that makes no sense at all. They had 8 possessions in the first game (2 turnovers) and 11 possessions (0 turnovers) in the second game.

So 2 turnovers in 19 possessions (10.5%). A far cry from 25%.
 

Cellar-Door

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That's right...weird, pro football reference had them listed as playing 2 games, and had other stats updated through 2. My fault for not noticing that.
i think pro football reference hasn't pulled the drive data yet just standard box. If you go to the game and click on drives it isn't there. So when it populates it will fix.
 

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I’m sure the Pats will be working the waiver wires hard for OL help… any obvious trade candidates? NFC teams with good OL depth?

And can cap be maneuvered to accommodate anything other than street FA’s?
 

Shelterdog

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Through 2 games they have 14 catches on 17 targets for 143 yards. It's not Gronk/Sweetleaf levels, but it is a pace of 119 catches and 1,215 yards for 17 games. If they aren't on the same page now, those numbers could get very good. Pats TEs had 18 catches for 254 yards all of last year!

With good TEs and a (on paper) good running game, you'd think they would be a good red zone team. Let's give them some time on this one. I would expect them to end up in the upper half of the league. Which they will need to do in order to win a lot of games.
Looking back at this I think it's pretty well established that red zone efficiency is a pretty useless predictor of future red zone success (particularly compared to how predictive overall efficeincy should be). That intuitively makes a lot of sense to me when you're talking about small sample sizes; a holding penalty/dropped ball/lucky tackle can kill a team's red zone effiicency and a DPI or a defender blowng a coverage can swing things the other way pretty quickly. Here's an article on the topic; there are many more. https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/7170232/red-zone-efficiency-meaningless-predictor-future-performance-nfl
 

Pesky Pole

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I’m sure the Pats will be working the waiver wires hard for OL help… any obvious trade candidates? NFC teams with good OL depth?

And can cap be maneuvered to accommodate anything other than street FA’s?
Marshall Newhouse is a free agent still. Played a season for the Patriots two years back and was pretty mediocre but he knows the system and could plug in easily. He was signed late by the Titans last year to fill in and did reasonably well.

If we found money, Rick Wagner and Mitchell Schwartz are UFA. Schwartz is still recovering from back surgery though, it appears.
 

chilidawg

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Looking back at this I think it's pretty well established that red zone efficiency is a pretty useless predictor of future red zone success (particularly compared to how predictive overall efficeincy should be). That intuitively makes a lot of sense to me when you're talking about small sample sizes; a holding penalty/dropped ball/lucky tackle can kill a team's red zone effiicency and a DPI or a defender blowng a coverage can swing things the other way pretty quickly. Here's an article on the topic; there are many more. https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/7170232/red-zone-efficiency-meaningless-predictor-future-performance-nfl
I'm more concerned that they've just looked bad in the RZ, other than the drive that ended up in the White TD. That's the only time they ran the ball effectively, and it came out of a spread formation. OL hasn't shown it can impose it's will.
 

Kenny F'ing Powers

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just re-watched it, 6:30 left in the first quarter. After the play is over Green talks about Mac checking the slants but on video it is clear he never takes his eyes of Jacobi, so not sure what Green saw there.
Yeah, I didn't see if there was a primary option aside from the bubble screen, but based off of Mac's body language (and my memory), he was pretty much locked onto the screen from the get go.

The only reason I remember the play is because after it occurred, I thought to myself that he needed to get that ball out much faster if he wanted to give the WR a chance to break a tackle. I assume he either saw something with the corner that made him nervous he would jump the screen or he didn't think the blockers were set and he was trying to give them time. Either way, that play is broken if it doesnt get off quick.
 

tims4wins

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Looking back at this I think it's pretty well established that red zone efficiency is a pretty useless predictor of future red zone success (particularly compared to how predictive overall efficeincy should be). That intuitively makes a lot of sense to me when you're talking about small sample sizes; a holding penalty/dropped ball/lucky tackle can kill a team's red zone effiicency and a DPI or a defender blowng a coverage can swing things the other way pretty quickly. Here's an article on the topic; there are many more. https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/7170232/red-zone-efficiency-meaningless-predictor-future-performance-nfl
I'm more concerned that they've just looked bad in the RZ, other than the drive that ended up in the White TD. That's the only time they ran the ball effectively, and it came out of a spread formation. OL hasn't shown it can impose it's will.
Part of it feels like style of play. Right now the offense looks like it needs to go 10+ plays to sustain TD drives. They need to convert multiple 3rd downs. Etc. So one mistake in the red zone can (and has) derail a drive easily.

Interestingly, on the two TD drives yesterday, they didn't face a single 3rd down (granted one of the drives was only two plays, but still).
 

Cotillion

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One thing that seemed bad was Mac and I think Henry not being on the same page on that scramble drill... where Henry was a good 5-6 yards past the line to gain covered... and Mac had to motion several times for Henry to come back... all stuff that should get worked out soon. Then Mac shortarmed the throw as he wasn't in a good form...

it should have been an easy first down gain.
 

NortheasternPJ

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Marshall Newhouse is a free agent still. Played a season for the Patriots two years back and was pretty mediocre but he knows the system and could plug in easily. He was signed late by the Titans last year to fill in and did reasonably well.

If we found money, Rick Wagner and Mitchell Schwartz are UFA. Schwartz is still recovering from back surgery though, it appears.
Can you put spoiler tags on this and label it NSFW? I had blocked NewHouse out of my memoeries and were now floating him as an upgrade. Scary place to be.
 

snowmanny

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I thought Marshall Newhouse was the worst offensive lineman on easily the worst Patriots offensive line of the past twenty years, but, if I recall correctly, some metrics did have him as pretty mediocre. Suspicious of those metrics.
 

Pesky Pole

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Can you put spoiler tags on this and label it NSFW? I had blocked NewHouse out of my memoeries and were now floating him as an upgrade. Scary place to be.
Mediocre does mean 'not very good' so we kind of agree. I'm confident his first 6 snaps won't yield a sack and 2 QB hits. It will probably only be a sack and a holding penalty.

Kidding aside, I knew this reaction was coming but the Patriots always seem to want to go back to someone who was here before. Plus our cap position is so awful that it's got to be someone who takes veteran minimum. I'd love someone like Rick Wagner and still don't understand how he's still out there. Guys like Schwartz (old guy with a bad back who seemingly only wants the Chiefs) and Okung (already on record saying he's only playing if he gets paid) are seemingly off the table.

Maybe they should invite Dante Scarnecchia to practice for a few days to visit with the line.

Maybe it's practice squad fishing time. Carson Green from the Texans practice squad was considered one of the standouts of preseason and Prince Tega Wanogho (ex-Auburn, on Eagles last year) is now on the Chiefs practice squad.
 
Last edited:
Apr 24, 2019
1,278
The silver lining here - and it's a big one - is that it sure seems like Mac is precisely the kind of QB who will eventually - sooner than we think? - see the field more fully, and with more confidence, things will slow down, and he'll see and hit those. You can't more readily say that about some of the young QBs, but given the strength his mental game shows us, it's a tremendous reason for optimism.
 

SMU_Sox

queer eye for the next pats guy
SoSH Member
Jul 20, 2009
8,878
Dallas
Part of me is wondering what they do from here. They like to run 12 but Henry and Smith haven’t blocked well. You can’t run 12 if the TEs don’t block well. They asked them to take on DTs in all 3 games and it’s gone how you think it has - not well. Jonnu was known as a decent blocker but Henry is not. But worse yet they haven’t been a major impact in the passing game either! Hard to run 12 when the TEs perform like afterthoughts.

Jonnu had 5-6 drops and a bad penalty. He put the ball on the ground game 1. They invested a lot in those two. The offense was supposed to run through them and the OL. But the OL and the TEs have been bad or underwhelming. They don’t have the WRs to compensate for it. And if they can’t execute what they need to how do you add wrinkles on top of wrinkles to game plan for individual teams? They are in a hard place because their base offensive identity is not working and they don’t have the personnel to compensate. They really just need the OL and TEs to play much better or this is a fucked season.

‘Minor note: Mac was inaccurate again on deep balls. I’ll look at the all-22 later to see what’s there. There were plenty of reasons aside from Mac that would impact it so let’s see what shows up.
 

Cotillion

New Member
Jun 11, 2019
4,926
Part of me is wondering what they do from here. They like to run 12 but Henry and Smith haven’t blocked well. You can’t run 12 if the TEs don’t block well. They asked them to take on DTs in all 3 games and it’s gone how you think it has - not well. Jonnu was known as a decent blocker but Henry is not. But worse yet they haven’t been a major impact in the passing game either! Hard to run 12 when the TEs perform like afterthoughts.

Jonnu had 5-6 drops and a bad penalty. He put the ball on the ground game 1. They invested a lot in those two. The offense was supposed to run through them and the OL. But the OL and the TEs have been bad or underwhelming. They don’t have the WRs to compensate for it. And if they can’t execute what they need to how do you add wrinkles on top of wrinkles to game plan for individual teams? They are in a hard place because their base offensive identity is not working and they don’t have the personnel to compensate. They really just need the OL and TEs to play much better or this is a fucked season.

‘Minor note: Mac was inaccurate again on deep balls. I’ll look at the all-22 later to see what’s there. There were plenty of reasons aside from Mac that would impact it so let’s see what shows up.
Be interested if you can take notes on if it seemed like he started bail out of throws and just throw with arm after the O-line was collapsing so quickly...

there were a couple of throws that live seemed like he didn't throw with good form even though there was no reason not to.
 

Big McCorkle

Member
SoSH Member
May 9, 2021
231
Yeah, outside of reverting primarily to 11 personnel and stopping to operate with 12 as often as they have been until/unless the tight ends can get their shit together (or maybe just tight end, Smith, since I don't think Henry has been all that bad), I'm not sure what there is to do from a strategic standpoint. Of course, going heavily to 11 would not be a small change, but everything else is pretty much execution.