Patriots Ups & Downs: Week 2

September 20, 2021 by Tom Shaw-Mellors

The Patriots are back in the win column with a 25-6 victory over the New York Jets. Let’s take a look at yesterday’s Ups & Downs from Week 2!

Ups ⬆️

Damien Harris

After a disappointing end against Miami, Damien Harris came back with an encouraging performance against the Jets yesterday, which was capped off with an unbelievable touchdown run.

Harris led the carries out of the backfield, which saw Rhamondre Stevenson sit out and J.J. Taylor get minimal touches. He finished with 16 carries for 62 yards and a touchdown. His stats alone don’t get him on this list, but that touchdown run sure does.

Damien Harris BULLDOZED for this TD. pic.twitter.com/YeMwgBSgq6
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) September 19, 2021

The Secondary

Instead of listing them individually, I thought I would honor them as a collective unit, after all, their work as a unit was one of the deciding factors in the win overall. Their coverage was good enough to cause rookie Zach Wilson into early mistakes, which he never recovered from.

Wilson threw four picks, two for J.C. Jackson, who has the most in the league since he entered the league in 2018, one for Devin McCourty, and one for Adrian Phillips who had the pick of all four with an exceptional diving catch.

Another view of Zach Wilson's second interception…

Right through Corey Davis' hands pic.twitter.com/1YDsOdXbaa
— Ben Brown 🌻 (@BenBrownPL) September 19, 2021

Jackson’s performance had me thinking about his future with the team after this season, for me, regardless of if he fits in a particular style or scheme, he’s shown the ability to find and intercept the ball on a regular basis, I think they should pay him.

Nick Folk

Big kick Nick, that’s how it goes right? Folk broke the franchise record for consecutive field goals made yesterday at 33. He has settled back into the starting kicker for the team, and even with a missed extra point in yesterday’s victory, he makes the up list.

Josh Uche

Uche still hasn’t quite been given the free reign I’ve been hoping to see, but he got after it against the Jets and managed to get to Zach Wilson for a couple of sacks. He was my noticeable stand-out on a quieter day for the pass-rush.

James White

Where to start, the double-pass? The touchdown run? James White proves time and again why he is one of the greatest Patriots ever. Mr Reliable has carried on his work to be a safety valve for Mac Jones, and he was active once again for the team, both on the ground, and in the air.

Downs ⬇️

Offensive Line

Again, I’ll cover these as a collective. Overall, the performance wasn’t great and the right tackle position is certainly a problem for the coaches to deal with. With Trent Brown missing due to injury, Yasir Durant got the start until he was benched and replaced by Justin Herron, the same thing happened last week, just the other way around.

Mac took more hits yesterday, against a Jets team that really didn’t have any business getting to the Patriots QB with the lack of blitzes they called. This needs fixing, and quickly. Don’t be surprised to see a move in the trade market for additional depth if they can’t sort this out with the players they already have.

Run-Defense

My concerns are also growing with the front seven and their inability to stop the run. How on earth the Jets found it that easy to move the chains yesterday on the ground I’ll never know, another thing to monitor going forward, especially with Alvin Kamara in town next week.

The Patriots intercept a win in New Jersey!

September 20, 2021 by Clare Cooper

It’s still early in the season but most will take the win as a win. And it was a win, Patriots 25 Jets 6.

However…

(So, if you saw Sunday’s game you knew THAT was coming.)

My biggest question to stem from the match up was this; is the offensive line really struggling or is the Jets defense actually that good? And I think, it is probably a little of both.

But I gotta say, did anyone think to tell Zach Wilson that it wasn’t the Patriots who had drafted him, and that he shouldn’t be throwing to J.C. Jackson and Devin McCourty? I jest.

There’s plenty of negativity to take away from this road game, and that’s the truth. I’m not going to sugarcoat it, there were many times that this game could have gone a bit of a different way and the Patriots still have plenty of work to do. Next week there is a good running game heading into New England and the defense has to tighten up, the offense does too!

Mac Jones did not have the best game, he still acts like a rookie a little. Well, he is a rookie, on his second ever NFL game, so I don’t know about you, but when it comes to that, i’m definitely looking at the whole journey rather than just the stop over in New Jersey.

The defense had plenty of interceptions, 4 to be exact, but should those be credited more to Zach Wilson than to J.C. Jackson, Devin McCourty and Adrian Phillips? Not to say those guys didn’t play well, as those three did, but maybe they cant take the full credit.

So, the offensive line perhaps could do with a little bit of a shuffle. Maybe Ted Karras at guard and Mike Onwenu moving over to right tackle for a while. With all due respect to Yasir Durant, he may have saved the ball following a sack on Mac but he didn’t hold his guy so good, which possibly caused the sack on Mac.

Unfortunately, after the penalty-heavy game against the Dolphins, this trip to MetLife Stadium still had plenty of penalty calls, and disappointingly, Isaiah Wynn’s name was associated with many. One even erased a nice 8 yard pick-up run by J.J. Taylor. And I don’t mean to bore you with tight end talk, but did anyone else wonder where Jonnu Smith was? He displayed some concerning “not great” hands. But you know what, these are all things that they can work on.

What doesn’t need any work is Nick Folk’s field goal finesse. 32 straight successful field goals for Big Kick Nick! Yes, he missed an extra point, but sometimes you gotta let the small stuff go.

The offense still doesn’t light up the night sky, and plenty of fans want that WR1, but Jakobi Meyers has been playing great. His “snatch out of the air” catch towards the latter half of the first quarter was *consults notes to find exactly what she wrote* utterly delicious.

Damien Harris had himself a nice little game, 62 yards and 1 touchdown. James White was utilised and back on form with 20 yards and a touchdown.

Not only did he have fingers on the ball in a possible almost-interception near the 2 minute warning towards the end of the first quarter, but Ja’Whaun Bentley had a powerful take down at the commencement of the third quarter, holding down the Jets run.

I was excited towards the end of the second quarter when Hunter Henry had a great catch with a 10 yard gain, and then in the third quarter he was targeted again and made 32 yards. Not sparkling, I know, and I was hoping for way more, but I feel like it’s a progression.

And to be honest folks, that is what I think this whole season is about. I know as fans we want to win, we want to witness fabulous plays, aggressive defense, tonnes of touchdowns. But we are also realistic, and deep down we know this year is for Mac Jones – the first round draft pick quarterback to learn, to grow and to develop a team around him that will win championships.

Go Pats!

PatsProp Preview – We’re on to New York

September 18, 2021 by Tom Shaw-Mellors

A very frustrating loss to Miami has stuck with me all week, but I’m feeling good about the team’s bounce-back chances in New Jersey this weekend against the New York Jets.

One’s To Watch

Here are the Patriots I’ll be keeping my eye on this weekend and why.

Mac Jones

Look out for Jones to build on his good start again this Sunday. The Jets has a very young/unknown secondary which could have a long day if Mac can find some rhythm in the pocket.

Jones will need to have better protection this Sunday, but I also don’t expect the Jets to blitz as much as the Dolphins did, so hopefully, that will come hand in hand. I watched a breakdown of Mac’s film this week from J.T. O’Sullivan, he made some really good points about Mac leaving a lot of yards on the field against Miami. Basically, there were more lucrative options on some plays that could have led to massive gains or even a score, but, with that being siad, he did just fine.

Mac attack is back on Sunday.

Trent Brown

The running attack stuttered after a bright start last Sunday against Miami, and it’s no coincidence it did so following Trent Brown leaving the game with a calf injury. Brown is officially questionable for Sunday’s trip to New Jersey with that same injury, but if he’s able to get out there, it would be a massive boost to the run game, which in turn would help Mac when passing.

If Brown is inactive, look for Yodny Cajuste or Yasir Durant to step in at RT.

Damien Harris

Let’s keep things positive, the game-ending fumble is all in the rearview mirror now, and I’m expecting a big resurgence from Damien Harris this weekend. The Patriots showed flashes of what they could do on the ground, but after Trent Brown left the game, any consistent production was thwarted.

I think we’ll see J.J. Taylor get the nod over Rhamondre Stevenson, who may still be in the doghouse for his own fumble last week.

In their opening game, the Jets gave up over a hundred yards to the Panthers, with that in mind I think Harris could have a huge game this weekend, keep an eye on him.

James White

Jimmy White had a solid game last week, and I think he’s worth keeping an eye on specifically this week. Mac showed his tendency to check down a bunch through preseason and Week 1, and White is a perfect candidate for that safety blanket type partnership with Jones.

Not to mention, I’d love to see more of this on Sunday…

Mac Jones to James White.

Pretty much perfect.

pic.twitter.com/JiMViDHMoO
— Henry McKenna (@henrycmckenna) September 12, 2021

Josh Uche

A big chance for Uche this week in the pass-rush attack, especially with the news that Kyle Van Noy will be out on Sunday. Uche had some good plays last week, most notably, his first sack of the season after crushing that Dolphins offensive tackle, I think both he and Matt Judon will be important in bringing pressure to Zach Wilson this weekend.

Watch the Left Tackle, Josh Uche just emptied his pockets. FREAK. #ForeverNE pic.twitter.com/v3G3WQojrE
— PatsPropaganda (@PatsPropaganda) September 12, 2021

J.C. Jackson

J.C. has been talking a bunch of smack in the last week which has really put the pressure on for him to back it up. The secondary wasn’t great against Miami, they didn’t give up ridiculous numbers, but, at the same time, they didn’t prevent Miami from moving the chains when they had to. We need a solid game by Jackson, as the Pats starting corner, it would make me feel a lot better.

[Read more…]

Patriots Ups & Downs: Week 1

September 13, 2021 by Tom Shaw-Mellors

The Patriots experienced their first Week 1 loss since 2017 at the hands of the Miami Dolphins, a disappointing loss, but I came away with some optimism about the position that means the most in the NFL.

Here are my ups and downs from yesterday’s loss to the Dolphins.

Ups ⬆️

Mac Jones

And this is where my optimism lies. A very solid debut for Mac yesterday, I think all of my hopes were satisfied from what I wanted to see out of him. He quickly moved on from a shaky start in the first quarter and had a very accurate afternoon.

Sure, the loss was frustrating, but if there’s one thing we should be pleased with as a fanbase, it was Mac getting off to a good start in the league as QB 1.

Nelson Agholor

A productive game for Agholor on his Pats debut, he scored the team’s only touchdown and had 5 catches for 75 yards whilst teaming up with Jakobi Meyers to be Mac’s main targets.

Agholor shook off any concern of him being just a 1/2 play a game player and was the best of the group yesterday.

Matt Judon

What a beast Matt Judon is, he carried on from his strong preseason with plenty of disruption for the Dolphins offensive line to deal with. His play of the day was when he speared Tua, resulting in an interception by Jonathan Jones.

Judon is going to be the spearhead of the Patriots defense, Uche also showed some flashes, the pass rush, in general, was an up yesterday.

Nick Folk

Was activated as one of the practice squad elevations and had a perfect night of kicking as he went 3/3 on field goals and 1/1 on extra points. There was some question about who would be handling the kicking duties, Folk turned out to be the man for the job and continued his good streak of kicking on the back of last season.

With Quinn Nordin still on the 53 man roster, I can’t see the Patriots carrying him for an extended period of time throughout the season, he could go down to the PS when someone like N’Keal Harry returns from IR.

Downs ⬇️

The Offensive Line

Yeesh, for how much the offensive line was bigged up this offseason to be a force, they really underwhelmed against a blitz-heavy Dolphins attack yesterday. They really didn’t quell a lot of the pressure Mac Jones was experiencing. Then they lost Trent Brown with a calf injury, which fortunately sounds to be minor from a report by Adam Schefter earlier today.

Justin Herron came in to replace Brown on the right side and was eventually benched following a poor performance.

Now, the line didn’t stink all day, they enabled Damien Harris to have a good day on the ground and it isn’t easy to stop the sort of pressure Miami was bringing all day, but they have to be better in pass protection, Mac can’t be taking as many hits as he did yesterday all season.

Damien Harris

The only reason Harris makes the list for a down day was because of the game-ending fumble, it completely overshadowed all of his good work throughout the game for me.

He did have a solid start in terms of numbers as the franchise lead running back, and I think he’ll be back strong and will learn a lot from that mistake.

Rhamondre Stevenson

Stevenson had a fumble of his own which should have been reversed after a review, but regardless, it was the first turnover of the day and Stevenson was put in the doghouse for it. He ended the game with just one rushing attempt, a down day for him.

Penalties

This was driving me insane yesterday. The Patriots finished the game with 8 penalties for 84 yards, totally unacceptable and something I’m sure Bill will be addressing in the coming days.

Penalties kill drives and lose games, the team needs to find some discipline in this area, and I think they will.

Coaching Strategy

I’m stealing this one from the guys from Patriots.com post-game show, they were talking about how they were disappointed that Mac didn’t have any shots into the endzone (apart from the touchdown to Agholor). Especially as both Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry were playing, I agree, perhaps a specific game plan for Jones in his first game, but they gotta get him slinging it into the scoring areas.

I’m not saying Josh’s playcalling was bad, but at times it feels they’re trying to be a little too cute, but it’s early days and I think the offense will evolve over the early part of the season.

The Dolphins increased the tempo to add extra heat in New England

September 13, 2021 by Clare Cooper

As I accidentally take a sip of my now cold coffee (okay ew!), I mull over how I feel as a Patriots fan about the first regular season game being a loss.

In my preseason wrap-ups I urged you to not look at the numbers, meaning mostly the scores, and as cliché as it may sound, I would urge you still not to.

Instead, maybe look at this big picture as a whole. For starters, the defense put down numbers that would make them look better than they really were, and perhaps the scores on the board made the offense not look quite as good as they performed.

The game day surprises came early with the release of the inactive list. The addition of Nick Folk over Quinn Nordin didn’t shock many; disappointed a few – maybe, but the inclusion of Devin Asiasi and J.J. Taylor on the list had many of us fans somewhat stunned. Taylor’s beast like efforts in the preseason were expected to make him a game day lock and with the niggles of injury between the two free agency signing tight ends, Asiasi was a name fans were perhaps expecting to be featured in the first regular season game, at least a little.

But the confidence in Hunter Henry’s fitness, who hadn’t featured in any preseason games due to a shoulder injury, must have been high because he lined up for 54 of the snaps (72%) and was utilised as an excellent blocker. Hunter was even targeted 3 times for 3 receptions and 31 yards.

And Hunter wasn’t the only tight end to show up to the Boston TE party, Jonnu Smith was featured here, there, and everywhere with 55 snaps. Undertaking blocking, 1 hand off with a rush for 6 yards and 5 receptions for 42 yards. Smith did fumble (more on that later) but fortunately the dependable David Andrews moved like lightning and had his body on that ball to keep it safe, and save Smith’s butt.

That’s not to say the tight endage was sparkling and amazing, but it was there, and it was seen, and I will take that, thank you very much!

Now, I mentioned Smith’s fumble, and as much as David Andrews saved it, that wasn’t the only one. Thanks to Damien Harris and the call on Rhamondre Stevenson too, the Patriots racked up 4 fumbles during this 1 game, and the amount of penalties was equally as concerning.

I know I know, I asked you not to get hung up on the numbers, and I assure you I am not, but some things you just can’t gloss over.

Although my score prediction was incorrect, I had the Patriots winning 22 to 18, I predicted the game would be messy for both sides, and I think I got it right (for once!). But I’ve gotta admit the Patriots’ Alabama rookie quarterback looked better than the Dolphins’ one — and if you watched the game you’d know I’m not being completely biased there.

But, the Patriots defense didn’t hold the Dolphins the way that I predicted. Whilst Matt Judon definitely earned his dolla dolla bills, the majority of the secondary was rather inconsistent. J.C. Jackson had some beautiful coverage with a knock away in the middle of the second quarter but he, along with Jonathan Jones, displayed plenty of instability during this first game. And at times, it appeared to me as though the Dolphins receivers were coated in butter, they were so slippery.

Still, there were plenty of positives as well as negatives to take away from this match up and perhaps the most important one was how Mac Jones performed. This young guy, just turned 23, is the first rookie signal caller to start for the Patriots since Drew Bledsoe in 1993, and I don’t think I am out of order to say most of the time he didn’t look it. What I mean is Mac was cool, calm, and collected. He had some pocket presence awareness, he was decisive and in command, throwing 39 times for 29 completions and 281 passing yards.

Okay folks, Mac isn’t perfect, he has a way to go. As does the defence, and I guess the team as a whole. But the show isn’t over yet, in fact it is literally only just beginning. So don’t get swept up in the loss, get excited for the next win!

Go Pats!

PatsProp Preview – We’re on to Miami

September 11, 2021 by Tom Shaw-Mellors

The season is finally here, and Patriots football is just a day away. Tomorrow, the New England Patriots welcome the Miami Dolphins to Gillette Stadium, along with thousands of fans, for the first time since the 2019 season.