- At one point in the first half Sunday in Miami, I took note of the offensive personnel on the field and wondered if I overestimated a pre-game prediction of a convincing win.
- WR4, WR5 and WR6 were starters
- TE3 was thrust into a top role when TE1 left after 8 snaps
- LG4 was starting
- RG4 was starting
With a handful of self-inflicted wounds, and porous pass defense in the secondary, things weren’t looking good at halftime. I didn’t see that coming but maybe I should have. Miami’s defense was lower-rated, but it wasn’t as if this was the Patriots’ fully-stocked offense going against it. And the pouring rain at times added a higher degree of difficulty. Thus, how the offense responded after halftime – with QB1 and RB1 playing starring roles – was my ultimate takeaway from the Patriots’ 24-19 win. They needed their best two offensive players to rise up and Drake Maye and Rhamondre Stevenson sure did.
- On the four defensive offside penalties (FOUR!), three were for jumping the snap (Dre’Mont Jones, Gabe Jacas, Cory Durden) and one was for aligning incorrectly (Joshua Farmer). Add in two false starts on offense from TE Eli Raridon and that’s six of the team’s eight total penalties that could be avoided with better mental discipline/focus. The other two penalties were holding (rookie TE Tanner Arkin) and unnecessary roughness (LB Christian Elliss). That might be OK against the Dolphins, but hard to imagine it would be OK against better competition, starting this week vs. Green Bay.
- Vrabel on the offside penalties: “Those are always going to be critical. I think those never really hurt you until they hurt you, until there’s an interception or there’s a fumble. Lining up offsides is one thing, I think trying to be aggressive and jump the snap count is another. So we’ll keep repping it, we’ll keep reminding them, but I think that there’s a fine line. There’s a lot of guys that get sacks that also are in the neutral zone or start moving a little bit early. I don’t love to see that, but unfortunately that kind of happens when you want to get into a pass rushing mode, and that’s how it goes.”
- The play in which Durden jumped offside (4Q/10:31), most of the defense stopped playing even as QB Malik Willis handed off to RB Ollie Gordon, who ran up the middle for 5 yards and what could have been a lot more. Not good. The play wasn’t whistled over. Vrabel sometimes talks about the good, the bad, and the sh—that gets you beat, and that play would be near the top of the list in the final category because it was the antithesis of the desired “effort and finish” identity.
- TE Hunter Henry’s foot injury that limited him to eight snaps thrust Eli Raridon into the top role, and it has lingered into this week with Henry missing practice Wednesday. Juggling the roster due to injuries has been a season-long theme and one could feel how much that hit Drake Maye when he was asked about Henry on Wednesday. “He’s been someone for me that I can count on since my first snap in there my rookie year, a security blanket and a great guy in the huddle, a great leader on this team. So any time you lose a guy like Hunter, a captain that does everything the right way, talks to the guys in the huddle, knows what I like, my body language, route running, does stuff in the run game – it’s tough. But I know he’ll do his best to get back out there as quick as he can.”
- Vrabel has stressed multiple times the importance of investing and developing in rookies, and that thought came to mind with undrafted TE Tanner Arkin (Illinois). The Patriots have carried Arkin (6-4 ,262) on the 53-man roster all season, with one of his top assets a physical approach in the blocking game. Arkin has struggled at times, but after an initial holding penalty Sunday, he delivered some effective blocks in his best game of the season (16 snaps; fill-in work on the punt protection unit). There will be more ups and downs, for sure, but it felt like a reward for the team’s patience/investment Vrabel speaks of.
- While it was probably a fair expectation that CB Carlton Davis III (neck) would be a bit rusty at times in his return to action, one thing I wasn’t expecting was CB Christian Gonzalez to have multiple technique breakdowns in coverage before turning it on at times later in the game. Perhaps there was a little bit of the “substitute teacher” factor in play. No disrespect to the hard-working substitute teachers, but the thought is that when a student knows their regular teacher isn’t there, they might be more inclined to let their guard down and it takes an extra level of discipline to stay locked in. The Dolphins don’t have a high-end No. 1 WR. Gonzalez should be sharpening his blade this week against Christian Watson and Co.
- Not-so-silver linings: Andy Borregales’ missed 40-yard FG … WR Efton Chism III losing a fumble and not straining enough at times on run blocks … LG Walter Rouse’s pass-blocking on multiple stunts, which might have contributed to Ben Brown replacing him in the second half … C Jared Wilson rolling back a snap in the wet conditions (2Q/3:07) on third-and-4 … S Craig Woodson losing TE Greg Dulcich on a 19-yard catch on third-and-8 … CB Charles Woods slipping after being summoned from the sideline for Carlton Davis III late and allowing a 35-yard TD.
- Silver linings: Everything about Maye (decision-making, elusiveness, accuracy, ball-handling etc.) and Stevenson (patience, decisive running, receiving, blocking, onside kick recovery etc.) … DT Milton Williams’ motor to help the D get off to a fast start … Likewise with DT Cory Durden, who received one of four game balls (first career sack etc.) from coach Mike Vrabel after dominating highly regarded center Aaron Brewer at times … LT Will Campbell leading the way on an initial third-down conversion – a 3-yard run as he pulls left … TE Cameron Latu drawing a hold on kickoff coverage and almost blocking a punt … Borregales’ placement on kickoffs … DT Daquan Jones getting his hands up to tip the pass that S Kevin Byard III intercepts.
- This has potential to be one of the signature home weekends of the season, with Rob Gronkowski’s Patriots Hall of Fame induction on Saturday, Tom Brady in town to call his first-ever Patriots game as part of his Fox duties, and a solid opponent in the Packers making their first visit since 2018. Gronkowski’s knack for bringing a light-hearted touch was always appreciated, as I am often a little too much on the serious side. He is the big TE with the big heart. I’m looking forward to appreciating this one, and hope you do, too.
