The Patriots have played three games. And have left their followers with different impressions in each of those efforts.
So who are they?
The team that stunned the Cincinnati Bengals Week 1, playing a near flawless game?
Are they the team that played well enough to win against the Seattle Seahawks in their home opener, only to blow it?
Or, are they the team that got smoked by the Jets Thursday night?
The hope would be that they’re somewhere close to the middle. But the fear is that it’s closer to what everyone just witnessed against the Jets.
The way they looked in the 24-3 loss to the Jets at the Meadowlands was what many had expected at the outset.
Only this was worse, because along with an offense that can’t score, can’t block, and has no player in the huddle that any opposing defense fears, the one phase that gave them a chance every week – their defense – was picked apart by Aaron Rodgers.
Along with poor play in the secondary, and having an anemic pass rush, the Patriots put on a bad tackling clinic. They registered 14 missed tackles in the game. They were dreadful across the board.
“We just didn’t play well at all,” defensive captain Jabrill Peppers said. “Too many missed tackles. Missed assignments. Lack of hustle at times. Just super uncharacteristic of us… They had a good game plan and A-Rod was A-Rod tonight.”
Let’s just say it doesn’t bode well for any team when the best player in the game was the punter. And Bryce Baringer was just that for the Patriots. His booming punts that pinned the Jets deep time and again were the only reason to cheer.
Outside of Baringer, it was eye-opening how bad the Patriots were in this game.
From the coaching end, the team didn’t seem prepared. It was a short week, but that can’t be used as an excuse given both teams had the same deal. Coach Jerod Mayo didn’t sugarcoat the effort.
“We’ll watch the film. Like I said before, we’ll do a self-scout to see where we are,” Mayo said following the game. But once again, it comes back to fundamentals. I hate to keep saying that. That’s what it is. We can sit there and talk about, ‘We should do this, we should do that.’ No, it’s blocking, it’s tackling, it’s throwing, it’s catching, it’s running. It’s all those things that we just did a poor job at.”
Yes, it’s fundamentals, but it’s also a lack of talent. The Patriots just don’t match up. They have to play a perfect game to be competitive against the good teams.
They weren’t anywhere close against the Jets Thursday night both offensively, and defensively.
“I don’t think we really did anything well to be honest with you,” Brissett said, speaking for the offense. “Hats off to the (Jets) defense. Their defense had a hell of a plan for us.”
This was one of the worst offensive line performances in recent memory, and that’s counting last week. The unit allowed 22 pressures. Brissett was sacked five times before taking a seat in favor of Drake Maye late in the fourth quarter. The rookie got to live in Brissett’s shoes for one series. He was sacked twice, and forced to scramble on two other occasions.
The line also couldn’t get much push up front to get the run game (6 carries, 23 yards for Rhamondre Stevenson) going. That wasn’t a problem the first two games.
And the situation isn’t getting better.
Down two left tackles already, rookie Caedan Wallace was forced into action. He didn’t fare particularly well, and now he’s hurt. And so his left guard Michael Jordan, a practice squad player who has also been forced into a starting role. On the other side, right tackle Michael Onwenu has had two bad games in a row, while rookie right guard Layden Robinson hasn’t been much better.
Stevenson, their best player in general, has had three fumbles in three games. He’s only lost one of them – that coming against the Jets – but it’s reason for concern.
As for the quarterback play, Brissett is making $8 million on a one-year deal. It’s nowhere near enough. He should be given a raise for standing in there, and taking all the shots he’s endured the first three games. He might be limited in what he can do, but he’s not the problem.
Maye took over for Brissett with 4:24 to play in the game. He got popped pretty good on a run, and got smoked on one of the sacks. Maye made a few plays, but the issues with the offense remained.
Of course, the debate will rage all week on whether the rookie should take over. Mayo sounded like he was at the very least entertaining the possibility.
“I don’t know,” Mayo said when asked. “We talk about it every single week. You’re competing for a job. So, we’ll get together as a coaching staff and see where it goes.”
It should go nowhere. Developing Maye is the priority, not putting him in harm’s way.
As for the team as a whole, they’re going nowhere, too. They might not play this poorly again, but the biggest problems they have, cannot be fixed.
The Patriots just aren’t that good. That’s the reality of who they are whether they win or lose.
