I figured there would be plenty of points during Sunday’s game between the Patriots and Packers. But surrendering 45 to a Green Bay team that, while good, is not without some serious flaws along the offensive line and in the running game is embarrassing.
The Pats didn’t do enough to affect Jordan Love, and the Pack finished with a season-high 129 yards on the ground, led by someone named Kaleb Johnson and former Patriot legend Pierre Strong (yes, I know it mostly came after the game was over. Don't care). That adds insult to injury, and don’t think Matt LaFleur didn’t have a little something extra for his former boss, Mike Vrabel. They weren't close, and many in the NFL believed LaFleur would be dismissed after his one year as Titans OC if he hadn't landed the Packers job. My, how the tables have turned.
Meanwhile, Vrabel took his team to task in the immediate aftermath, when he declared that the coaching staff will “put 48 guys out there that care and that want to try to exhibit some sort of identity. We'll see how we respond.”
Between that and saying, “when your best players don't play good, you don't have much of a chance in this league,” eyebrows were raised here, there, and everywhere. Perhaps that’s why Vrabel went from bad cop to good cop (ish) the morning after, when asked if he had a locker room problem.
“No… my intent was just to remind everybody that when we want to build a program, we have to have it look a certain way,” he said. “I think that when you have the most success is when everybody has the same mentality and that they see it the same way.
“…we have to do all the things that come with winning, and that's the preparation, that's the connection that you have to make with guys that are in there, whether the guys are injured or not. The identity that shows when we win: the ability to take care of the ball, the ability to create turnovers, to get off the field, to play sound and complementary special teams. That's all-encompassing. And so no, there's not a locker room problem.”
I haven’t sensed one either, but it’s clear the identity Vrabel speaks of doesn’t show up each week, and until it does, there will be questions about the leadership he’s providing and whether there’s enough in his locker room. The Pats bounced back once before from a one-sided loss (Jaguars). Can they do it again?
“I feel like we've seen adversity already this year,’ Will Campbell said postgame. “I mean, same shit happened in Jacksonville when everyone said the same thing. …we have the guys to do it, and on offense, defense, the special teams. We have the players. It's just about doing it on a consistent basis for four quarters.”
On to Musings…
I wrote a bunch about Drake Maye after the game, and upon rewatch, my feelings didn’t change. Oh sure, there were a dozen or so big plays and good reads and so forth, but this was a regression. Plain and simple. Cover 6 may no longer be his kryptonite (though the 2nd INT was vs. that look), but Maye still struggles with split-safety looks and two-high because they are designed to take away the throw he wants most: outside vertical routes.
Of course, it would help that when he throws them, Kyle Williams keeps running (on the drop). But by closing off or discouraging those options, it forces Maye to attack the middle of the field with anticipation, and he’s just not there yet, at least consistently.
It didn’t help that Maye was under pressure on around half his pass attempts. This wasn’t a case of individuals getting overwhelmed regularly (multiple hurries allowed by Ben Brown, Matt Pryor, Lan Larison, Walter Rouse, and Maye himself). Instead, the heat Maye faced was more about the game plan Packers DC Jonathan Gannon drew up. He tested and exploited the Pats’ protection rules with overload blitzes, interior stunts and late-committing defenders from the 2nd level.
There were free runners galore - I counted 11 - and Maye completed just 4 passes for 32 yards and took a sack on those dropbacks. Pre-snap, these are on Maye. Post-snap, it sure would be nice if the line handled games better. Will Campbell and Brown, in particular, had a couple of moments they’d like back, including being in the area on a three-man stunt that resulted in a sack. Otherwise, Campbell was the best of the bunch.
I’d go further into detail about the run blocking, but this quickly turned into a dropback pass game. I will say, left guard remains a hole, and with Brown likely out this weekend, it’s either back to Rouse or activating Greg Van Roten, and that didn’t go well the first time around.
Postgame, a couple of players let me know they were concerned about Rhamondre Stevenson. Turns out they were right. The Pats running back will miss at least this week with a knee injury. That is troubling, given how well he's played and how often he plays -38 of 44 snaps on Sunday. Stevenson had a pair of explosives, including the 30-yard TD catch when Josh McDaniels got him isolated on a backup linebacker who had played exactly two plays on defense over the last two (!) years. The fumble was unfortunate, and he had at least one poor rep in pass pro. Still, Vrabel has already said Corey Kiner needs to keep improving in that regard, and Larison definitely didn’t look sharp in garbage time. I’m a no on Jonathan Taylor, but they may need to do something here before the 4 p.m. trade deadline. Short of that, maybe sage smudge the running back room….
As a slot receiver, DeMario Douglas isn’t