FOXBOROUGH - Like in 2022-23, the Patriots aren't utilizing motion at the snap. They are at just 8% through the first four weeks (the two teams just above them run similar schemes, the Browns and Cowboys). The league average is over 26%. It's important to differentiate that number from their overall motion percentage, which is at 51.7%. Why? Because the motion the Pats are leaning on is to set and reset the formation. That can give you an idea of what type of coverage the defense is playing. What they aren't embracing is motion that stresses a defense's communication and/or creates a numbers edge going in that direction. Why?
"We motion with a purpose," said offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt Thursday. "If there's a reason to motion in and out of bunches, you know, moving the tight end from side to side, depending on how the defense responds to what we do with the motions dictates how much we motion."
But only tells part of the story. The other part of the limited use of motion traces back to - and stop me if you've heard this before - the offensive line. We know that group is in flux, even more so this week without the quarterback of that group, David Andrews, who is responsible for setting the protections in this West Coast scheme. Without him, and having started four different left tackles in the first four weeks and two left guards, they just aren't as equipped to handle more moving parts schematically, restricting some of Van Pelt's options.
"It does," admitted Van Pelt. "You know, it changes the picture often. So when you do motion right before the snap, the picture for the offensive line can change. So yes."
As we've seen, the offensive line has yet to see the game through the same set of eyes, or as Jerod Mayo likes to say, "goggles." This is a significant reason why teams are blitzing the Pats as often as they have the last two weeks. Neither the Jets nor the 49ers are known to be blitz-heavy teams, yet when they watched film of the Pats' offense, they made a major exception to their usual rule. I wouldn't expect the Dolphins - or any other opponent - to deviate from that formula until Van Pelt figures out how to solve the problem.
One way would be to push the ball down the field, at least occasionally. You can't telegraph it like the Pats did in weeks two and three - you had the coaches and players saying it would happen. Still, with cornerbacks sitting on all the short stuff because that's the only way the Pats have manufactured any semblance of a passing attack, what's been hard for the Pats to do is even more difficult now. Throw in the growing number of blitzes, especially the ones that don't get adequately handled (the pressure rate is in excess of 50% this season), and the ball has to come out quickly. Around and around we go. It's like my dog chasing his tail. You might catch it, but then what will you do with it, Dougie? Let it go and start all over again?
Another aspect of the passing game that has been relatively non-existent is the screen game. Remember, Van Pelt said they want to be one of the best teams in the league at that, yet aside from the tight end screen that Hunter Henry turned into an explosive versus Seattle, they haven't come close to living up to that billing.
Van Pelt is partly to blame. He dialed a couple up in San Francisco, putting Sidy Sow on the move. The kid hasn't practiced in a month, and they hurried him back into the lineup this past weekend because the man who replaced him, Michael Jordan, was injured and couldn't play. Sow looked lost in space — err, check that - he looked lost, period. The timing of those plays was terrible. It looked like some over-served guest at a wedding who thinks they're crushing it on the dance floor but, in reality, are comically bad. Do I expect Sow to improve? Yes. He's not what he showed on Sunday, but I can't turn the other cheek to it, either.
"I think this would be our fifth different lineup of offensive linemen in five games," said Van Pelt. "So, getting that continuity in every aspect is tough. ... We had a screen to Rhamondre (Stevenson) that wasn't how we would usually do it there, and that's just getting reps with the new guys in. It makes it difficult, but that's the challenge we are facing."
Van Pelt has also tried to sprinkle in some slip screens, but the execution has been lacking. They had a missed assignment on the one they threw to Pop Douglas in San Fran, and the week prior, one of the lead blockers didn't get out in front of the play. When it rains, it pours, and the storm hanging over this offense isn't letting up any time soon.
BOURNE MAKING HIS WAY BACK
Perhaps the return of Kendrick Bourne could aid this struggling unit. The team started his 21-day clock Wednesday at practice, and he was back out there again today.
"I'm kind of limited right now, so I can't do everything - I can do everything, but I have a count, so I just have to trust the process, know what they want me to do, and then whatever it is that they want me to do," he told us. "If they don't like me somewhere, try to get better at it. If they like me on it, just keep getting better at it. So just growing as I keep going."
Bourne said there were no setbacks in his return (he had promised he'd be ready to go for week one) and that he's used these four weeks as his training camp. He explained that all he had been doing prior was rehabbing and hadn't had the opportunity to work on his craft.
With the Pats at or near the bottom of the league in every passing metric, getting someone with Bourne's experience and energy can't hurt, even if it might be unrealistic to expect him to immediately be the guy we saw pre-ACL tear.
"I think I can help a lot. You know, just doing what I do best, trusting AVP's plan and just the offense's plan and doing what I can," Bourne said. "Whatever they want to do with me. Let's try to make it work and just do the best I can."