FOXBOROUGH - Just when I thought the Patriots might have learned their lesson, they spring this gem on me. During both Wednesday's and Thursday's practice, Mike Onwenu was seen playing...wait for it...left guard. I have no words, but Greg pays me to find them, so here goes.
I.
Don't.
Know.
What.
The.
Hell.
They.
Are.
Doing,
Worse yet, I am concerned they don't know what they're doing, which is far more egregious because this staff is paid, in part, to identify and solve problems. We are now entering the 10th week of the regular season, in addition to the spring workouts and, more importantly, this summer and training camp, and there are times when it feels like they're just making it up as they go along.
This is a prime example. Onwenu hasn't played on the left side since 2021. Oh, and this season, he's been far from his usual self and admitted that when talking to reporters today.
“I’m not really happy with how the season has gone for me personally," he said. "I definitely think I can play better and be a better player all around."
Why might that be?
"Some of it could be the (position) movement (he's yo-yoed between right guard and right tackle)," he opined. "Some of it could just be mental."
Do Jerod Mayo, Alex Van Pelt, and/or offensive line coach Scott Peters agree? I imagine they see what I've seen on tape - it hasn't been to his previous standard - and have a better idea of what they're looking at than I do. So, why would they now decide to move Onwenu again? Bueller? Bueller?
"Continuity would be great. We're just not ... we don't have that luxury right now," said Van Pelt, who had the bodies available to him last week to run out the same starting combo but chose not to. "Mike's our best offensive lineman, so we're going to put him where he can be successful for us as well. He's been very versatile. We'll see what happens this week.
"But I feel really good about Mike's play. He needs to be available wherever he needs to be. So if he plays left guard, he plays right guard, he plays right tackle again, he's our best offensive lineman. We're going to put him in an area where we need him."
How can the move be explained beyond those words? I'll take a stab at it. Left guard Michael Jordan has remembered he's a journeyman, and his play has fallen off dramatically in the last three weeks. With Sidy Sow unable to find his form since returning from injury and Cole Strange still on PUP, the team is out of options at that spot.
Of course, what they could have done — should have done — was cross-train Layden Robinson. Instead, the rookie was treated like he had already accomplished something in this league and has been married to the right guard spot. Returning from injury, Robinson laid an egg on Sunday in Tennessee versus Jeffrey Simmons, forcing him to the bench and Onwenu back inside before the first half was over. Still, as the Pats continue their youth movement, Robinson appears in line to start in Chicago. I don't have a problem with them seeing what they have in the kids - this year has always partly been about that - but moving your best lineman, Onwenu, off his best spot (RG) repeatedly only weakens two places, and perhaps Onwenu's baseline play to begin with. That's lousy roster management.
I can already hear the defense from certain media circles. It goes back to injuries. David Andrews. Sow, Caedan Wallace. Chuks Okorafor taking his ball and going home. But aside from Andrews, a mainstay on that line for years, what are/were the others we're talking about?
Many of you took your pants off for Sow based on his PFF grade last year, but I wrote several times that his pass blocking is subpar, and now, it feels like he's not a great fit for their scheme, something else I've written about.
Eliot Wolf and company insisted that Wallace, a third-rounder who played exclusively at right tackle in college, had the skills to transition to left. That didn't take in the summer, and his one start there - week 3 in Jersey - was, to be polite, bad. He's been on IR, though he does appear to be trending toward a return (he's lost his walking boot).
As for Okorafor, it was a low-cost gamble, but when that was Wolf's biggest move at tackle, I don't know how you can spin that any other way than as a big mistake. Okorafor's supposed to be starting at either left or right tackle at the moment. He's not even on the roster. Combining it with their other 'solutions' makes this a disaster, at least through the first week of November.
ODDS AND ENDS
Van Pelt was asked how the Patriots ended the first half, running the ball on second and third downs, needing just a yard (and not getting it). Drake Maye had completed two straight passes prior and was in a good groove.
"Disappointing. I mean that to me, that was the most disappointing two plays of the day. We had a second and one and a two-minute drive. We had two direct runs downhill and didn't pick up a yard. So we got to be better there. Anytime you hand it off and go straight downhill, you expect to get a yard, even if it's poorly blocked. But we have to be better there. That was an opportunity for us to stay on the field. We had plenty of time timeouts and an opportunity there to go down and get points. And that that, to me, that was my the most disappointing two plays of the day."
Van Pelt indicated they blew a double team on the second down call and followed it up with a misidentification of the front on third, allowing the linebacker to shoot the gap and stuff the play.
As for his latest update on Drake Maye, I asked the offensive coordinator if Maye has shown he's not an error repeater (by and large).
"Absolutely. That's one of his qualities, I think, is not being a repeat offender. He's a very intelligent guy. Learns from his mistakes. Rarely makes them twice. That's a definite."
