NFL Notebook: Brady, Patriots have picked up pace offensively last couple of weeks

In this week’s edition of the NFL Notebook, we look at the Patriots’ approach the week before the bye, where New England stands when it comes to this unprecedented offensive explosion this season, and a few numbers that caught our eye this week. There's also a quick spin around the AFC East, and some updated penalty info. But first, we look at a Patriots’ offense that is starting to step on the gas the last couple of weeks.

1. The Patriots’ offense is getting faster. The last three games, Tom Brady has been quicker on the draw (from snap to release) than at any other point on the season, while the amount of no-huddle New England has run has also increased gradually over the last few games.

By our count, against the Packers, Brady averaged 2.27 seconds from snap to throw, the third-fastest time of any game this season. If we remove spikes and flipped passes on things like jet sweeps from the equation, in terms of quickest release time for Brady, it trailed only Chicago, where he averaged of 2.16 seconds from snap to release and Jacksonville, where it was 2.23 seconds. (For comparison's sake, his longest average time between snap and release was Detroit at 3.67 seconds.)

As for no-huddle, the Patriots ran a season-high 19 snaps out of no-huddle against the Packers. That was an increase from seven against Buffalo the week before. To be fair, this isn’t the sort of no-huddle like we saw from New England in 2011 and 2012, where the Patriots would routinely hit the turbo button in hopes of blowing teams out of the building, but it appeared to be an effective weapon in the win over Green Bay, as they caught the Packers on their heels a few times.

“We’ve used it kind of sporadically and it’s a good weapon for us,” Brady said of the no-huddle set after the win over Green Bay. “It doesn’t help to run bad plays fast. You’ve got to run good plays with good execution. So, whether we go fast or huddle, it really comes down to execution. So, the fact that we were executing well kept us in it probably longer, and that’s what we’ve got to keep doing.”

As Brady said, playing fast football doesn’t necessarily correlate with winning football. You have to pick and choose. But the fact things are getting quicker for this offense is a good sign. Newcomers are starting to feel more comfortable in the system, and the coaches and veterans have faith in them that they can handle an accelerated pace. Ultimately, whether it’s a level of familiarity with all of the new offensive pieces, taking advantage of an opposing weakness or scheme, or a combination of both, it’s clear the Patriots are becoming more comfortable with the idea of stepping on the gas when they want to take things to the next level.

2. James White became a 60-60 guy last week against the Packers, reaching 60 carries and 60 catches in one season for the first time in his career. He’s currently only one of four backs to reach the 60-60 mark at this point on the calendar. (Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey and Alvin Kamara are the other three.) In New England franchise history, there’s been only one back to hit the 70-70 mark in one season — that was Tony Collins in 1986, when he finished with 156 carries and 77 catches.

We’re already on record as saying he’s been the team MVP to this point in the season, while others are willing to go even further in their argument. One guy who sounds like he might agree with the latter is Mike Vrabel, who said White was “ridiculous” this week on a conference call.

“I hope by Sunday we have an answer (for White),” Vrabel said. “We’re working towards having an answer. Obviously, Tom trusts him. He catches the ball every time — 75 percent of the time he throws it to him, he catches it. He’s really turned into a nice player, another third-down back — first and second-downs, change-of-pace back. Tom trusts him and I know that’s the most important thing.”

For what it’s worth, the Titans have been pretty good at defending backs in the passing game — per Football Outsiders, Tennessee is eighth in pass defense against backs, having allowed an average of 5.9 catches and 30.1 receiving yards per game.

3. New acquisition Obi Melifonwu is a Bay State native, which means he’ll help put the “New England” in the “New England Patriots.” Local products have been few and far between for the Patriots over the years — Melifonwu joins Ron Brace (Springfield) and James Ihedigbo (Northampton) as Bay State natives who ended up with New England. Melifonwu, who is from Grafton, said he grew up as a Patriots’ fan, but never had a chance to attend a game before last weekend’s contest with the Packers. “It’s been a dream my whole life to go to a Patriots game, so I’m glad I got to fill that before I got to play here,” he said. “Being able to drive 40 minutes to home is something that makes me happy, makes my family happy and definitely makes my friends happy.”

4. Interesting story here showing the NFL is on pace to set records for most points, touchdowns and touchdown passes in a single season. Teams have scored 6,440 points, 736 touchdowns and 473 TDs in the air through Week 9. It’s also been one of the more exciting starts to any season — 71 games were decided by one score, eight points or less. That’s the fifth-most through nine weeks. Thirty-seven games have been decided by a field goal, which was fourth-most at this point. Ten games have reached overtime and 36 teams have rallied to win or tie after trailing in the fourth quarter or overtime.

Locally, the Pats have averaged 30 points a game through their first nine games, good enough for fifth in the league. If they stay on that pace, they’ll finish with 480 points, the fifth-highest point total of any Patriots’ team of the Belichick era. (For comparison's sake, the 2007 team finished with 589 points for top honors.) When it comes to close games, New England hasn’t been involved in any overtime games this year, and only three Patriots’ games have been decided by one score or less (eight points or less). That stands in stark contrast to last year, for what it’s worth, as New England had five games in the first two months of last season come down to the final two minutes.

5. It’s midway through the 2018 regular season, but it’s never too early to be thinking about the 2019 draft; specifically, where the Patriots might be picking. They have 12 picks overall, including six selections in the first three rounds. In addition to their three assigned picks, there’s the Bears’ second rounder and the Lions’ third rounder. Additionally, the Patriots seem on track (they're awarded at the league meetings) to receive a pair of third-round comp picks after the free-agent losses of Nate Solder and Malcolm Butler. Looking at the way things are shaping up, the Chicago second-rounder should be somewhere in the 40-50 overall range, while the Lions’ third rounder will be somewhere around the 75-90 range. Not a bad setup. (A reminder that the compensatory picks can be traded, but they are tacked on at the end of the round. And for the record, the Patriots could also receive additional comp picks for Danny Amendola and Cam Fleming, but we'll have to see how the Patriots' signings of Adrian Clayborn and Jeremy Hill are factored in.)

6. Let’s take a quick spin around the AFC East:

a) The Jets (3-6) have had their moments this year, but are also dealing with some growing pains for rookie quarterback Sam Darnold. The kid threw four picks last week in a 13-6 loss to the Dolphins in Miami and has been struggling with a right foot injury, but it sounds like the franchise is committed to him moving forward. “Sam is our quarterback,” head coach Todd Bowles said this week. This New York team won’t make the playoffs, but still has an outside shot at six wins this year if things come together for them. Will it be enough for Bowles to keep his job? We’ll see.

Games remaining vs. New England: Nov. 25 at Jets, Dec. 30 at Patriots.

b) The Dolphins (5-4) have ridden the roller coaster this year (three straight wins to open the season, followed by four losses in five games). But with two games left against the Bills and a home game against the reeling Jaguars, there’s a clear path to 8-8, which might be enough to be classified as a successful season in South Florida. They’re also dealing with quarterback issues, as Ryan Tannehill’s right shoulder injury has put his future with Miami in doubt. Could Miami be a player on the quarterback market this offseason?

Games remaining vs. New England: Dec. 9 at Dolphins.

c) The Bills (2-7) are waiting for the return of Josh Allen from an elbow injury, which has kept him sidelined the last three weeks. Without him in the lineup, the Buffalo offense has struggled to put together any sort of offensive rhythm. The Bills defense is pretty good, but it won’t get any help as long as Buffalo continues to trot out Nathan Peterman and Derek Anderson.

Games remaining vs. New England: Dec. 23 at Patriots.

7. Under Bill Belichick, the Patriots are 14-3 in games the week before the bye, with a nine-game winning streak. Multiple players talked this week about knowing this game is a chance to go a little harder than usual because you’re aware you have some extra downtime waiting for you on the other side.

“I think this week is really about emptying our tank,” Brady said. “We’ve been at it for a long time. This will be our 10th regular-season game (to go with) four preseason games. That’s a lot of football, and we haven’t had a break. So I think if we can get to 8-2 after starting 1-2, it’s a great place for us to be with -- you know -- the biggest football still ahead of us.”

“I think guys are just doing what they’ve got to do,” said veteran safety Devin McCourty. “Next week will feel good to get a little downtime. But as you know, here, we never know what the bye week looks like. So, we’ll see how it goes.”

8. Four numbers that caught our eye this week:

4: Brady needs four touchdown passes to surpass Peyton Manning (579 touchdowns) for the most passing touchdowns in league history, including the postseason.

5: The Patriots have scored 30 or more points in each of their last five meetings against Tennessee. (That streak dates back to a Dec. 31, 2006 win.)

18: The Patriots enter this week's game with a chance to lock up at least a .500 record for the 18th consecutive season. New England is currently tied with the Browns (1957-73) for the second-longest streak at .500 or better, behind the Cowboys' (1965-85) streak of 21 straight years.

21: The Titans are the No. 1 scoring defense in the league. In his career, Brady has faced the league’s top scoring defense 21 times, and is 16-5 in those games with 40 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

9. Not including calls that were declined or offset, on the season, the Patriots have been called for 43 penalties this season and 333 penalty yards, both of which are the second-fewest in the league behind Tennessee. Here’s a look at the flags that have gone against New England this season.

Penalties
Team: 7 (2 illegal formation, 3 too many men on the field, 2 delay of game), 35 yards
CB/ST J.C. Jackson: 5 (illegal use of hands, defensive holding, unnecessary roughness, illegal block above the waist, defensive pass interference), 49 yards
CB/ST Jonathan Jones: 3 (offensive holding, defensive holding, illegal contact), 20 yards
CB Stephon Gilmore: 3 (2 defensive holding, 1 defensive pass interference), 18 yards
S Duron Harmon: 2 (defensive holding, unnecessary roughness), 20 yards
C David Andrews: 2 (false start, offensive holding), 15 yards
OT LaAdrian Waddle: 2 (false start, offensive holding), 14 yards
S Patrick Chung: 2 (illegal use of hands, defensive holding), 10 yards
DL/ST Deatrich Wise: 1 (leverage — special teams), 15 yards
CB/ST Keion Crossen: 1 (unsportsmanlike conduct), 15 yards
S/ST Nate Ebner: 1 (facemask), 15 yards
WR Chris Hogan: 1 (offensive pass interference), 10 yards
LB Elandon Roberts: 1 illegal block above the waist), 10 yards
OT Trent Brown: 1 (offensive holding), 10 yards
QB Tom Brady: 1 (intentional grounding), 10 yards
G Shaq Mason: 1 (tripping), 10 yards
G Joe Thuney: 1 (offensive holding), 10 yards
OT Marcus Cannon: 1 (offensive holding), 10 yards
DE Adrian Clayborn: 1 (neutral zone infraction), 5 yards
WR Riley McCarron: 1 (false start), 5 yards
WR Cordarrelle Patterson: 1 (illegal shift), 5 yards
FB/ST James Develin: 1 (illegal block above the waist), 5 yards
CB/ST Jason McCourty: 1 (illegal formation), 5 yards
TE Rob Gronkowski: 1 (false start), 5 yards
WR/ST Julian Edelman: 1 (unnecessary roughness), 4 yards

By position
Special teams: 10 for 87 yards
Cornerback: 10 for 77
Offensive line: 8 for 69
Safety: 4 for 30
Team: 4 for 20
Wide Receiver: 3 for 20
Linebacker: 1 for 10
Quarterback: 1 for 10
Tight end: 1 for 5
Defensive line: 1 for 5

By penalty
Defensive Holding: 6
Offensive Holding: 6
False Start: 4
Defensive Too Many Men on Field: 3
Illegal Formation: 3
Illegal block above the waist: 3
Unnecessary Roughness: 3
Illegal use of hands: 2
Delay of Game: 2
Defensive Pass Interference: 2
Unsportsmanlike Conduct: 1
Illegal Shift: 1
Leverage: 1
Intentional Grounding: 1
Tripping: 1
Illegal contact: 1
Facemask: 1
Offensive Pass Interference: 1
Neutral Zone Infraction: 1

10. My straight-up picks for the week: Patriots, Steelers, Jets, Falcons, Saints, Redskins, Packers, Colts, Bears, Chiefs, Chargers, Rams, Eagles and 49ers. For more info and Greg’s selections, check out the rest of our picks here. Enjoy the games, everyone.