- The Patriots’ win over the Steelers falls into the “no style points” category — wasn’t good enough offensively and pretty good defensively against a subpar offense. But the result was badly needed considering only four of the 120 teams to play in the Super Bowl started the season 0-2.
- QB Drake Maye hasn’t started the season the way many expected (me included). So the obvious question to answer is why. Going to dive a bit more into that, but first: Specific to Sunday against the Steelers, he was better than I thought after reviewing the game. I isolated 4-5 plays/decisions that were poor and reflect, to me, what is holding him back:
- On the Rhamondre Stevenson fumble, checking it down too early and missing tight end Eli Raridon wide open/left seam
- Running into a sack late in the second quarter and being reckless by holding the football out with one hand
- On the interception to Hunter Henry immediately after a 29-yard gain to Romeo Doubs, failing to see LB Patrick Queen dropping so deep and missing wide-open FB Reggie Gilliam underneath
- Losing track of the play clock after a long pass to Romeo Doubs and getting a delay of game penalty
- Throwing behind Doubs on third-and-9 in the fourth quarter (although that might be more on Doubs’ route – hard to know simply by watching and not reporting it out)
- My take on Maye: He isn’t seeing things as confidently as he was last year and it is, in part, impacting his fundamentals such as footwork. Reasons for this include: He has played two games since Feb. 8, there has been significant personnel turnover around him (most notably receiver), the Patriots are still learning what they can hang their hat on offensively, and strong defensive fronts from the first two opponents forcing the issue at times. I think it’s fair to say Maye can still be better despite these factors, as there is never an excuse for holding the ball out like he did on the T.J. Watt sack or making all three INT decisions he did in Seattle (“can’t get bored doing the right thing”). Added up, I think it’s more likely we’ll be seeing improvement as the season progresses; he’s too good of a player to continue making those types of mistakes.
- Five players didn’t finish the game with injuries – starting RG Mike Onwenu (broken right ankle), starting OLB Dre’Mont Jones (shoulder), starting safety Craig Woodson (shoulder), No. 2 tight end Eli Raridon (thigh) and reserve safety Dell Pettus (ankle). And the Patriots were already without starting CB Carlton Davis III (neck) going into the game. Mike Vrabel noted Monday that veteran players on the practice squad – such as safety Mike Brown – could be more likely to factor into the game-plan this week. Hat tip to safety Jaylen Reed, who I believe is the third option as the personal protector on the punt team, for assuming those duties after Woodson and Pettus were knocked out of the game. That’s the type of thing that is easy to overlook until there’s a blocked punt.
- My biggest takeaways defensively is that the Patriots took advantage of the Steelers’ vulnerability on the offensive line, rookie OLB Gabe Jacas’ non-stop motor is fun to watch, and second-year OLB Elijah Ponder (pictured) is growing into a Rob Ninkovich-type unheralded player/story (e.g. makes the first two tackles of the game, one in which he fights through a double-team). Mike Vrabel said on sports radio WEEI that he is keeping the defensive performance in perspective because the Steelers aren’t one of the top offenses they will face. At the same time, the play speed/pursuit reflected what Vrabel wants — when players leave the game-day locker room at Gillette Stadium, they see a mural on the wall that says “Win the Identity Battle.”
- Vrabel’s game management along with VP of Game Strategy and Operations John Streicher late in the second quarter hasn’t been as tight as expected the first two weeks of the season. Vrabel acknowledged he “blew it” against the Steelers by calling a timeout on the snap immediately after an injury to Marcus Jones, which resulted in a delay-of-game penalty because Jones’ injury assessed a timeout to the team and there can’t be back-to-back timeouts (pushing the Steelers closer to a FG). This comes a week after leaving a timeout on the board and not giving Jones a chance to return a punt/rush team a chance to block one.
- Rookie LB Namdi Obiazor (sixth round, TCU) was in on the tackle on the opening kickoff for the second week in a row. He has five special-teams tackles, which is tied for second in the NFL. When you are the 212th pick in the draft, and trying to establish yourself in the NFL, this is how you do it.
- Not-so-silver linings: Five running plays for negative yardage … RB Rhamondre Stevenson’s lost fumble … WR Romeo Doubs fumbling the ball out of bounds … RT Morgan Moses’ false start on first-and-goal from the 6 … C Jared Wilson in pass protection … Rookie CB Channing Canada with some struggles as the vice/gunner in the punt game … Josh McDaniels’ predictable play-call on a third-and-1 WR screen to Efton Chism III that the Steelers seemed to know was coming before the snap (3Q/4:38) … LB Christian Elliss sometimes dropping too deep in zone, giving up too much underneath.
- Silver linings: CB Charles Woods answering the call (60 of 70 snaps) in place of Carlton Davis III and showing up with generally strong coverage and run support as he totals 10 tackles and a pass breakup … Eli Raridon’s 30-yard catch and presence in 2-TE packages that produced a mismatch with the Steelers matching in base D … LB Robert Spillane in pass coverage, which hasn’t always been a strength … LB Christian Elliss coming free on a blindside rush to crunch QB Aaron Rodgers … QB Drake Maye as a running threat when the defense plays man … RB TreVeyon Henderson’s blitz pickup (3Q/14:55) and textbook blocking on his 39-yard TD run … WR Kyle Williams checking an important box for his development with a willingness to go over the middle and take a hit on a 10-yard reception on third-and-6 (3Q/7:19) … RB Rhamondre Stevenson bouncing back from a first-drive fumble with some impressive second-half running (back to back runs of 24 and 9 yards) … Back-to-back plays from DT Christian Barmore with a drawn holding penalty and then a strip sack … WR Efton Chism III with a tackle on kickoff coverage …DT Joshus Farmer registering his first career sack with an assist from LB Christian Elliss’ pick.
- The Patriots’ road game against the Jaguars is their first trip to Jacksonville since Sept. 16, 2018 – a 31-20 loss. The Jaguars pummeled the Browns in Week 1 and lost a close game on the road to the Broncos in Week 2. Their pass rush was swarming in the opener and wasn’t as effective against Denver. Their offensive line might be vulnerable. Second-year head coach Liam Coen grew up in Rhode Island and starred at UMass, so he’s well-versed in Patriots history. He’s one of the NFL’s top offensive minds. The Patriots’ conditioning will be tested in the heat (current forecast is 82 degrees and sunny).