new england patriots

The good news about watching the All-22 offense is that they don’t have a lot of plays so it doesn’t take very long! But seriously folks, taking an emotionless look back at what has been haunting us all week really helps. 

Things are never as bad as everyone would have you believe and I actually came away from the re-view with a feeling like this offense will take strong strides soon.

I continue to believe the offenses struggles start with the offensive line and they started in training camp. They are not a coordinated unit yet and the sooner they can stick with a starting five, the sooner things will get better.

I thought the pass protection was better in this game. They still had their problems, but there were plenty of times where Brady had the time he needed. The third quarter sack where Hali went right around Solder was a tough play – Hali got a perfect jump on the snap. Not sure any LT has the quickness to get over on him when that happens.

Connolly looked a little lost, especially when asked to pull. As Greg Bedard pointed out this week, he just hasn’t repped at LG very much and I agree that it shows. He took some bad angles and was a little slow pulling. But I did see him improve a bit over the course of the game.

But what is most troubling to me about the offensive line is their downfield blocking. It’s rarely clean and that doesn’t leave much room for the ball carrier to avoid the free hitter. The backside linebacker made plenty of plays for the Chiefs as the Pats OL just didn’t seem to have the quickness or keep their blocks sustained long enough to open up a big play hole.

Stork was solid outside a couple plays and I think he should get the starting nod again. He earned it. And he is a master of picking up his fellow Patriots off the ground. 

Communication for the entire OL is still not where it needs to be and a lot of the interior pressures were the result of miscommunication by Connolly and the two rookies. That’s understandable. It will get much better with experience.

I thought Wendell actually looked okay at left guard. At least he had some quickness and athleticism to get to the second level. If Fleming is out this weekend could we see a Wendell-Stork-Connolly interior?

Brandon LaFell had one of the few positive days and the more i see of him, the more I understand why the Patriots coaching staff likes him. He’s got size and physicality, and he fits the Pats underneath offensive focus.

Wish Tim Wright could get more involved. He’s another one that looks like a perfect fit for what they do, but we do know it takes time in this offense.

Brady’s first interception seemed just lazy to me, like he was trying to force it. Even if Edelman kept running it still would’ve been picked I think.

Tons of single high safety looks with stacked boxes. Understandable why Brady took a shot to Edelman on the second play of the game. Hopefully when that’s Dobson he can separate a little better. But I also think Brady thought it was press, which Edelman could’ve gotten off of to get free, but the corner bailed just before the snap and already had a running start going down the field.

Garoppolo is clearly a good fit for what the Pats do and it’s a minor silver lining that he got two drives in this one. His release is quick even by NFL standards and that will make him efficient and tough to sack.

Finally, everyone has a theory as to what is wrong with the Pats offense. The simple truth is that the machine isn’t working yet. We can debate which pieces don’t fit or are declining or sub-par, but there are pieces in place to make the machine run far better than what they showed here.

Developing the downfield blocking is a concern, because guys don’t suddenly get more athletic, but as far as the passing game they will be able to protect Tom Brady eventually. Hopefully this weekend. Once that domino falls and becomes consistent, they’ll be back to the kind of offense we expect to see.

Finding that consistency could decide the fate of the season.

Missed tackles. Inability to get off blocks. Blown contain. Falling down. Those four things summed up about 90% of the Patriots defensive problems in reviewing the All-22 game film this week.

It was almost a carbon copy of what we saw against Miami, where the players are in position to make plays, to get stops on third downs, but those fundamental mistakes proved the difference.

Once things began to unravel, the problems were hastened by players try to do too much. And their inability to stop the run early put them on their heels and severely hurt the pass rush.

I remain optimistic about this defense. The front seven leaders that are emerging are Chandler Jones and Dont’a Hightower. When they don’t play well, and they certainly didn’t against the Chiefs, the rest of the defense seems to follow suit.

Here are some player specific observations:

Chris Jones made some good plays early in the game and appeared to be returning to form. He had a good pass rush in the first quarter, showing good violence in his hands to knock the offensive lineman off balance. 

Rob Ninkovich hasn’t shown up in many big plays this year, but his ability to set the edge is solid. Chandler Jones on the other hand was up and down setting the edge all night and it eventually got him pulled, though he did appear to injure his shoulder and that could’ve played into the benching as well.

It comes back to DO YOUR JOB for Chandler. He’s trying to beat guys inside instead of setting a hard edge and it came back to hurt him at least four times for big gains. He has to shoulder a good deal of blame in this one.

Dont’a Hightower was up and down as well, and is another guy trying to do too much later in the game resulting in him being out of position due to overaggressiveness. He and Jones must bounce back this week and the rest of the defense will look a whole lot better.

Revis has caught some flack but I think he’s really close to being the player we thought he was. He has perfect position but he’s just millimeters off right now. That will change.

And as for those people worrying about the scheme, it’s the least of their problems. Again, set the edge and tackle and they’re forcing at least 3 more punts in this game easy.

Jamie Collins is not a downhill player inside. He has trouble taking on offensive linemen coming to block him and relies on his athleticism (as he should) to get around them. But he will not defeat them with physicality and thus he gets lost in the wash a lot. In space however, he is very strong and athletic.

A down game for Jerod Mayo who struggled to get off blocks and could possibly seem a step slower than I remember him. He’s never been that savvy in coverage and that problem was once again apparent, though covering Jamaal Charles is no easy task.

Easley saw his first extended action of the year, including time at defensive end, a spot where I don’t think he’s a great fit. Still he was solid and showed ability to set the edge. His pass rush started to show signs of life in this one, including the play below where he was partially responsible for getting Alex Smith out of the pocket. This is so critical for this defense and exactly why Easley was brought in.

Bunch formations really gave the Pats a hard time. They showed poor anticipation to defeat them until Jamie Collins got in there on one in the third quarter.

The Pats similarly had no answer for Travis Kelce, which, after practicing against Gronk, seems a little strange.

I think this defense is set to elevate their game in a major way. It really comes down to fundamentals – wrapping and tackling, getting off blocks and playing within the system without trying to do too much.

If they do those things, look out.