Don't beat a dead horse.
To hell with that.
I've got a sledgehammer out because on further review, the defensive plan was just as bad as I first thought.
Blitzing Matthew Stafford, on nearly 60% of the snaps especially with an offensive line that's been a hot mess from the very beginning of the season, is illogical. Yes, he's struggled against pressure this year, but if you're going to leave his best targets 'covered' by defensive backs who aren't on their level, you're bound to lose far more than you win, and that's precisely what happened.
As for the curious usage of Christian Gonzalez (which I wrote about immediately following the game), it's even more damning when the second-year corner got Cooper Kupp a couple times in the fourth quarter and locked him up. Gonzalez has been the best thing the defense has going for it. To keep him on the boundary for much of the game is a dereliction of duty. He should have been matched up with Puka Nacua from snap one (Nacua has more juice than Kupp right now) and then shifted to Kupp in certain situations.
Did DeMarcus Covington/Jerod Mayo go into the lab this past week and think they would out-scheme Sean McVay? I am willing to admit that they know more about why they decided this plan was right. They have far more insight into the whys and wherefores of how the Rams were playing and how their own team has been performing. But when it wasn't working - and it unraveled after the second possession of the game - to stay stuck in that coverage plan was as poor a job as this defensive staff has done this season (and I know they got their doors blown off several times). This was a winnable game, and the coaching played a massive role in the Pats losing it.
BEST OFFENSE YET
Just a couple of weeks ago, Jeffrey Simmons almost singlehandedly ruined the Pats' offense during that overtime loss in Tennessee. Jared Verse may play a different position — edge vs. interior disrupter — but Alex Van Pelt did a better job planning for the rookie.
There were multiple double teams or multiple deterrents (it is possible, DeMarcus), and they didn't always come from the same spot.
Hunter Henry, Mike Onwenu, Michael Jordan, and Rhamondre Stevenson all lent a hand at one point or another to tackles Vederian Lowe and Demontrey Jacobs. Kayshon Boutte even got into the act - I'm sure he was psyched - lining up in the tight slot to act as a screen, slightly impeding Verse's rush.
Van Pelt also used Verse's strength — he gets upfield in a hurry — against him. On their first touchdown drive, the Pats OC dialed up a tight end screen to that side, which resulted in a 19-yard gain. The touchdown pass to Lowe came with Verse lined up directly across from him, but he was obviously unaware the tackle was eligible. There was another successful screen, this time to Stevenson, to that same side.
The plan also featured plenty of quick throws, negating a defensive line that has been a wrecking crew for the last month. Thirty-three of Drake Maye's 40 attempts were thrown behind the line of scrimmage or within the 0-9 yard range. His average time from snap to release was 2.55, his best number of the season (previous best was 2.74 in week 7).
It wasn't perfect. It never is. I didn't like the run just before the two-minute warning on the final drive. It seemed like a wasted play when the Pats didn't have time to waste. Van Pelt also got conservative, down 21-10 midway through the third quarter. Maye was nearly intercepted on first down from the 5, which led to back-to-back runs and Mayo's unpopular decision to kick a short field goal. But the third down run was poorly executed. Henry motioned across the formation but couldn't get a body on the edge rusher crashing down, and Jordan got beaten inside. Stevenson was stopped before he started.
This reminds me that Jordan and Ben Brown continue to have issues passing off interior stunts, and the latest and most costly example was the Braden Fiske strip-sack of Maye. That Fiske got there for the fastest-recorded sack by an interior lineman this season (per Next Gen Stats) only heightens my concerns about their communication and play, particularly Jordan, who, after a marginal bounceback in Chicago, was back to being their most unreliable starter up front (Lowe wasn't great either). Jordan did get hurt late in the 4th, so that'll be something to monitor this week. Sidy Sow assumed the spot in his absence. It would be nice for the second-year pro to get an opportunity and run with it. Sow hasn't found his footing since his injury this summer.
UP AND DOWN
Thumbs up for Maye. Way up. His best game as a pro. His ability to identify the blitz and throw at its holes has been impressive. He saw it well, right up until the end. Yes, ten turnovers in six starts are not ideal, but for now, I'm willing to live with most of it, though that interception in Chicago was horrid, and the game-ender in Tennessee wasn't much better. It's hard for me to say on his final throw on Sunday. He and Pop Douglas read the play differently. Maye took more responsibility post-game, but when I rewatched it, I think the quarterback had the right idea trying to put it on Douglas. That said, I don't think he threw it well enough to make it work, even had the shifty pass catcher been looking for the ball. Anyway, learn from it.
Thumbs up for Henry, who caught six of his nine targets. He doesn't outrun too many linebackers or safeties, but he does get open, and his physical toughness has always been an underrated aspect of who Henry's been since he got here.
Thumbs down for Boutte. His failure to hitch up quickly led to Maye double-clutching the strip sack. Brown and Jordan take the "L" right there with him.
Thumbs down to Jonathan Jones. Jones was responsible for the Nacua TD and the 69-yard score to Kupp. He owned it, which is a lesson to some of his brethren who have been loathe to do so this season, but it still doesn't change the performance.
Thumbs down for Kyle Dugger. He had three missed tackles and a lot of rust in his game. That is to be expected, considering he's been down since week seven with the ankle, but with Marte Mapu (neck) out, Dugger went wire-to-wire.
I'll end with a thumbs up for Kendrick Bourne. He and Maye had a good feel for each other, and it makes me wonder if Ja'Lynn Polk's snaps plunge again. Good on Bourne to rebound from his benching in Chicago.
ODDS AND ENDS
Yannick Ngakoue was largely unseen during his 14 defensive snaps (11 as a rusher). I didn't have him for a single pressure (he came close on one play in the red zone). The Pats are lean on the edge, and claiming a guy off waivers is hardly a risky proposition. Still, it's just another example of the poor roster build that started with the previous boss but wasn't solved this past off-season, either.
Christian Barmore logged 21 snaps and three tackles. I didn't see him stand out much, but it's a starting point for someone who has done very little on the football field since late July.
Marco Wilson couldn't tackle and wasn't very good in coverage in recent weeks. He was also responsible for a few communication breakdowns on Sunday. Wilson was released to clear a spot on the roster for Alex Austin. His 21-day clock was almost expired (ankle), and he should get some run at outside corner.
Also, happy trails to Tyquan Thornton:
"If you want to get faster, you'd better get fast guys. I don't know how many guys out there are faster than Tyquan." - Matt Groh, April 2022.
Or, Groh, on the same night:
"This isn't just a linear guy. You see him really be able to get off the line. And for as fast as he is -- I'm sure you guys are all grinding film on Tyquan and Marcus -- to be able to see him get in the red zone and do some things, and it's not just speed, it's 6'2", ability to get up and really pluck the ball out of the air. So, there's going to be a lot of different things that he's going to be able to do to help."
I don't doubt that's what Groh and the Pats scouts saw, but it never remotely translated to the NFL. Thornton got his ass kicked almost any time he was pressed, his routes were sloppy, and his football IQ didn't work for this system or the last. Or the one before that.
That draft was a hot mess. Just three players from the 2022 class remain, and only one is contributing, Marcus Jones. Cole Strange remains on PUP (knee), and Kevin Harris is on the practice squad.
