I guess we don’t have to cancel the rest of the season after all. The Patriots are back to playing like the team we expected when training camp started more than two months ago, and they're now 2-2 and just a game behind the Bills in the division.
This was a Mike Vrabel spot, through and through. He is now 10-8 as a head coach when his team is a 6-or-more-point underdog. That’s straight up. Not against the spread, which I know some people care about, but it doesn’t mean diddly-doo when it comes to calculating the standings.
On Monday, Vrabel didn’t offer much insight on why his teams have found success in these situations, but I can tell you he coached the Pats very hard this past week and they responded. That should reaffirm to you that he still knows what buttons to push, and when to push ‘em.
On to Musings…
Some of you didn’t like my Drake Maye take postgame, though many of you were guilty of ignoring the positive to focus on the negative (weird). Upon rewatching the game, the 24-year-old still has plenty to clean up, but man, he was better than I thought.
Maye’s pocket management was elite. Oh sure, he put himself in harm’s way a couple of times, but when you drop back over 40 times, that’s going to happen. But I counted eight escapes that either resulted in positive plays (his scrambles were always well-timed) or avoided negative ones (sacks). In fact, his entire offensive line probably owes him a week-long vacation somewhere tropical. That’s how good Maye was in those spots, covering up for the OL’s deficiencies.
As for the throwing part, Maye played with much more rhythm, especially early, and that settled him into a nice, confident groove. His jump pass to Hunter Henry, albeit after a fumbled snap, showed a level of poise that had been lacking in weeks prior. Ditto the pump fake to the right flat, followed by the 1st TD pass to Romeo Doubs.
The second TD to Doubs was beautifully dropped in the bucket, as was that deep shot to #87 that he couldn’t quite reel in. Maye also ripped that 19-yard deep dig to Mack Hollins that he wouldn’t pull the trigger on in Week 3. He made that same throw to Efton Chism on the game-winning drive (looser coverage). And the fade-away toss to Chism for the winner was put where only his guy could get it. All in all, I had him for 14-plus plays (and 6.5 negative. Holding onto the ball does matter…)
PFF’s grading sucks. They had Will Campbell as one of the highest-rated tackles in football through the first three weeks. Yes, he had been good, but Josh McDaniels also protected him. The Bills went after him hard on Sunday, giving