It's been a bit since I shared thoughts collected from around the league about the state of the 2-7 Patriots. As we've just hit the halfway point of the 18-week season, this was as good a time as any.
OVERALL STATE
AFC scout: "What do they do well? I'm asking because I don't know. There are times when I've thought, 'Okay, they're on to something,' and then that quickly gets tossed out the window the following week. They thought the quarterback (Drake Maye) would be the tide that lifts all boats, and yet, here they are. Have they even won a game he played from start to finish (editor's note: no)? And I'm not knocking the kid. Liked him coming out UNC, and he's done nothing to change my mind. He's dynamic. Too bad he's the only one on that team unless you want to count the punt returner (Marcus Jones). They need players - lots of 'em - and aside from Maye, has anyone else that Wolf brought in shown he can be that (editor's note: not yet)? They are a year away from being a year away unless some of the younger players emerge."
Someone in pro personnel: "I've seen Mayo say he wants a tough team that's hard to play against. I'm curious if any of the good teams they've played on their schedule would say yes. Ours didn't feel that way."
Different AFC Scout: "I see a disorganized program, which leads to disorganization on the field. On defense, you've got guys in the wrong gaps, players freelancing, and they don't play cohesively from front to back. Do you want to know why they've fallen off so much on that side of the ball? That's it. You can't do that and expect to be good. And they could still make it work even without some of the big pieces they've lost (Barmore/Bentley/Peppers). Maybe not to the level it's been previously, but they're not good. They should be better.
"Offensively, they don't move people. (Rhamondre) Stevenson is doing everything on his own. Maye is doing everything on his own. If they didn't have Hunter (Henry), I have no idea who the quarterback could trust. This is a big stretch for them to close the year. If it keeps looking like this, I'd be worried that big changes could come. I know I'd have the house ready, and I'm not trying to make light of it. They inherited a bad roster. I'm not sure they did anything to improve it or that the coaching is hitting home, and it shows on the field."
I asked for thoughts on the wide receiver room, which has been an obsession of mine for several seasons. I was hoping for someone to give me reason for optimism...
AFC assistant coach: "After the little slot (Pop Douglas), they're just guys. The tape is littered with bad drops, bad routes, and bad details."
Assistant DB coach: "Unremarkable. Douglas doesn't fit what they do. They need the best wideout to be someone who can win inside and out. He's not that guy. Nice player and a piece going forward, depending on what direction they go with the offense, but the rest? Nothing to get excited about. And what happened to (Ja'Lynn) Polk? He was a tough player at Washington. Smart. He doesn't show up on tape and looks nothing like our scouting reports said."
AFC Scout: "At best, you've got threes and fours, which means they're back in the market heavily this offseason. What's going to be out there? Tee Higgins. I'd be cautious about giving him too much cash, but they probably have to be serious about him. Trade for (Chris) Olave? Concussion history is scary. D.K. Metcalf? It probably will cost you a second. Is that a price you want to pay for a roster short on young talent? Eliot (Wolf) didn't win last offseason either with splash or substance. He's going to need to get the latter taken care of this spring."
What's good about the team? Anything?
Someone in pro personnel: "(Christian) Gonzalez is a good player. He has terrific movement skills for a guy his size. Not much of a tackler, but if he can take the opposing's number one and be competitive weekly, I can get over that."
AFC defensive assistant: "Look, Drake hasn't been perfect. I'm not suggesting that. But his skills are translating despite being as raw as he is, and he's carrying that offense. Of course, there will be turnovers. They're asking more of him than Washington is asking of Daniels or Chicago of Williams, But if he can get some of those mistakes coached out of him - and improve his mechanics/footwork - they could very well be set at the position. I can't say that definitively after four games or whatever, but it's been a nice start."
CLEANUP IN THE BAYOU
Losers of seven straight - four by 13 or more points - the Saints finally pulled the plug on head coach Dennis Allen. His run as Sean Payton's replacement in New Orleans was unsuccessful. He finished 18-25 in his two-plus seasons there and missed the playoffs in 2022 and 2023.
General manager Mickey Loomis cited the "abnormal" numbers of injuries the Saints have suffered this season, and he's not wrong. The team has ten players on IR and three more on the PUP. But the team has been hemorrhaging for nearly two months now, and it's clear that Allen's message wasn't hitting home.
"Dennis Allen, I think, is a fantastic football coach," said Loomis. "I think anybody in our league who would talk about him thinks he's a fantastic football coach; he is. I think, in this case, the circumstances created the record. That's just the truth, and a lot of people don't want to hear it."
However, the more significant issue here is roster construction, which falls mainly under Loomis' purview (although Payton certainly carried plenty of clout). The GM had a draft for all-time in 2017. That year, Marshon Lattimore, Ryan Ramczyk, Marcus Williams, Alvin Kamara, Alex Anzalone, and Trey Hendrickson were selected by pick 103. They breathed new life into the back end of the Drew Brees/Payton run, and if not for a blatant miss of a pass interference call in the NFC Championship game in the 2018-19 season, the Saints would have played the Patriots in that year's Super Bowl. But Loomis' drafts have been subpar since. In fact, since that 2017 bonanza, only one player he selected - center Erik McCoy - has been named to the Pro Bowl. That's very Belichickian of him. His plan at quarterback post-Brees has also been suspect, yet he doubled down on Derek Carr this off-season to create more salary cap room. That seemed regrettable then and now.
Loomis did get a decent haul for Lattimore at the trade deadline (a third, fourth, and sixth-rounder in 2025) as the rebuild appears to be underway finally. Still, you could argue strongly - and I would - that the Saints GM for more than two decades shouldn't be the one authoring the next chapter in franchise history.
Special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi has been named the interim head coach. On Sunday, the Saints host the 6-3 Falcons.
SAME OLD, SAME OLD WITH THE RAIDERS
The Raiders have a bye this weekend. I want to thank the NFL schedule makers for giving my eyes a break. Watching this team is about as fun as having your head stapled to the carpet, or so I've been told.
Vegas is 2-7, and earlier this week, head coach Antonio Pierce fired offensive coordinator Luke Getsy (he interviewed in NE), his quarterback coach, and his line coach. Pierce didn't necessarily get this wrong.
The Raiders offense stunk on wheat, rye, and pumpernickel. They're currently last in rushing and 29th in total offense. Then again, what did they expect? Gardner Minshew was their answer at quarterback, barely beating out second-year pro Aidan O'Connell. Neither is the long-term answer. Based on how both have played, short-term is also a problem.
“Had confidence in Luke that we would get it turned around,” said Pierce. “And once I felt like we needed to make a change, I did.”
Getsy wasn't Pierce's first or second choice. Kliff Kingsbury had agreed to join Vegas, but the team balked when he asked for a third year on his contract. Kingsbury is laughing now, ripping it up with Jayden Daniels in Washington and probably positioning himself as a head coach in this league again. Chip Kelly was option number two. He's currently the OC at Ohio State. That left Getsy, who, in the words of Pierce, "whooped our ass" with the Bears in 2023 and whooped it again, only this time as the team's play caller.
Pierce is turning to assistant coach Scott Turner as the interim OC and has hired his father, longtime NFL coach Norv Turner, to join the staff as a consultant. But unless the league allows Tom Brady to come down from the proverbial owner's box and bring the ghosts of Dave Casper, Tim Brown, and Marcus Allen in their primes along for the ride, I can't imagine much changes.
RAMS ON A RUN
Don't look now, but Sean McVay has the Rams rolling. Certainly, getting Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua has played a role, but take notice of the job that's being done on the defensive side.
Not only did McVay and GM Les Snead have to find a replacement for defensive coordinator Raheem Morris - they hired Don Shula's grandson, Chris, to fill the role - but Aaron Donald retired. One man can't do what Donald did. So Snead replaced the future Hall of Famer's presence by drafting two standouts on the defensive line in the first two rounds, Florida State teammates Jared Verse and Braden Fiske.
Verse is currently the odds-on-favorite to win the DROY. He has 39 quarterback pressures in eight games, 33 tackles, nine for loss. To say he's come a long way from SUNY-Albany, where he started his collegiate career, is an understatement.
Fiske is a bit undersized on the interior, much like Donald was. But his quickness is off the charts, and the Rams are letting him grow, not exposing him to playing all three downs. He had a pair of sacks last weekend against the Seahawks, and his 26 QB pressures dwarf the next closest rookie at that position.
But it's not just those two. Five of the Rams' defensive linemen are above the league average in pressure rate, including second-year pros Byron Young and Kobie Turner. After years of embracing the "F them picks" motto, Snead has made the most of his plethora of picks, rebuilding the Rams on the fly. LA has won three straight since the bye week and is allowing just over 18 points per game over that stretch.
“The film doesn’t lie,” said Fiske. “We’re a young defense. We’re coming together.
NERD NUMBERS
- Maye has led (or tied) the Patriots in rushing in 3 of 4 career starts, joining Jake Locker and Mike Vick as the only QBs to do that in three of his first four starts (since 1950). Per Next Gen Stats, Maye leads the NFL with 197 rush yards on scramble plays since becoming the starter in Week 6
- David Montgomery has forced a missed tackle on 37.8% of his touches in 2024, 2nd highest among all players with 100+ touches (per NGS). Jahmyr Gibbs has forced a missed tackle on 29.% of his touches. That's 8th among 31 players with 100+ touches.
- Jared Goff hasn't thrown an incomplete pass to wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown since week 3. Since then, St. Brown has been targeted 30 times and has 30 catches. That's the longest single-season stretch by a quarterback/receiver (or TE) combo since 1991. St. Brown also has a touchdown in six straight games.
- The Vikings have allowed 17 or fewer points in 5 of their eight games in 2024 (T-2nd most). Only the Chargers (7) have more games, allowing no more than 17 points
- Saquon Barkley has 925 rushing yards in 2024 (2nd in NFL, Derrick Henry). That total is the most in Philly history over the first eight games of a season (100 more than the next closest). The former NY Giant has accounted for 33.8% of the Eagles' scrimmage yards in 2024, and that is the highest % in the NFL.
- Rookie Ladd McConkey leads the Chargers with 35 rec, 440 rec yards & 4 TDs. Per NGS, McConkey has gotten 316 of those yards (tied for 7th) and all his TDs (tied for first) coming out of the slot.
- Kirk Cousins is 3-0 with 7 TDs, 0 INT, and a 122.4 passer rating on the road in 2024. Goff is the only QB with a better passer rating on the road (131.5).