Patriots: First week takeaways

Patriots: First week takeaways

It wasn't the start the Patriots or their fans were hoping for. Off-seasons are for dreams, illusions, and hopes. New coaches are automatically assumed to be better than previous coaches. Second-year quarterbacks are expected to make huge leaps. People talk about rookies and free agents coming in and changing fortunes.

A team coming off back-to-back four-win seasons is suddenly being talked up as being a nine- or ten-win team and a playoff contender. But talk is cheap. It is the play on the field in the regular season that does the talking.

And after a lackluster 20-13 home defeat to a mediocre Las Vegas Raiders team, Patriots' fans and media are whispering instead of screaming from mountain tops.


Anyone who has lived in New England their whole lives should know one thing by now – things are never as good as fans make things out to be and things, also, are never as bad as the media makes it out to be.

Here's what I took away from the first game of the season:

It all starts with Mike Vrabel and the coaching staff

I've already heard a lot of blame being put on Drake Maye for the loss. Maye threw the ball 46 times and completed 30 of them for 287 yards. I'll take those numbers every week.

Actually, I take that back. I don't want to see him throwing the ball 46 times. That's almost four times as many attempts as he had in three preseason games.

What's your point, Tony? What does that have to do with coaching?

A couple of things. First, I am being critical of the way camp was run and the playing time that was allotted during preseason games.

Maye played a total of two drives in each of the first two preseason games and didn't play at all in the final one. It's one thing to do that with a veteran who is comfortable in the system, it's another thing to do that with a second-year quarterback learning a new system and new receivers. Especially if you intend on being a pass-first offense come the regular season--which no one expected.

Secondly, the team seemed to stress the running game in the preseason and in practice. That made sense considering the strengths of the offensive line and also the quality of the team's top three running backs.

But, in the first game of the season, the coaching staff ditched the running game and relied heavily on the passing game--something they really didn't work on in camp.

People forget Vrabel spent a year away from head coaching. He showed rust, poor judgement, and indecisiveness.

Down 20-10, with under five minutes to play, Vrabel was set to go for it on 4th-and-5 at midfield. A false start on Will Campbell made it 4th-and-10 and Vrabel sent out the punting unit down by two scores and needing two possessions. There was no defending the decision.

After the game, Vrabel tried. He reminded me of the time Mayo threw Alex Van Pelt under the bus after a game last year when a reporter asked him why they didn't utilize Drake Maye's running ability in short yardage situations. Mayo said, "You said it, not me"--meaning he was wondering the same thing, blaming Van Pelt.

When asked about his decision in this game, Vrabel threw his punter, Bryce Baringer, under the bus saying:

“I made a decision on 4th-and-10 with close to five minutes to punt and would like a better punt. We had them stopped, and that was the plan, and that didn't work. Then they hit one, and we just didn't have enough time there at the end to do anything. That was the decision that I thought was best for us at the time, and that didn't work out."

Essentially, Vrabel was saying there was nothing wrong with his decision, but his punter and defense didn't execute. It was their fault!

Guess what? A head coach needs to factor in variables.

It didn't help that the coaching staff called an all-out blitz on 3rd-and-20 and got burnt by a long pass when they should have been sitting back, satisfied to get the ball back after a punt.

Instead, Vrabel went on WEEI on Monday morning and said they were trying to be aggressive to try and force a turnover, citing some stat about 65% of fumbles in the NFL last year were by quarterbacks.

In the same interview on WEEI, Vrabel also cited the huge percentage drop in success rate on converting 4th-and-5s to 4th-and-10s for the reason he changed his mind about going for it on fourth down. What is the success rate of converting on 3rd-and-20 if you just sit back on defense, I wonder?

(I asked ChatGPT and it said less than 5% while converting 4th-and-10+ was less than 30%).

Why did the Patriots not run the ball more?

I touched on this with the discussion about the coaching staff. Let me expound:

-- The Patriots running backs ran the ball 13 times

-- The Patriots led at halftime, 10-7, yet rushed the ball only three times in the second half.

-- Antonio Gibson was the only running back to have a carry in the second half. The other two rushes were by Maye and DeMario Douglas.

This is inexcusable. I've heard Vrabel on WEEI say something to the effect that the way the game played out dictated they had to pass more because they fell behind.

But they weren't behind at halftime. The Raiders didn't take a two-score lead until midway through the fourth quarter.

I hate to paint Jerod Mayo in a more favorable light than Vrabel--and this should be the only time I do it--but in last year's season opening victory against the Bengals, the Patriots had a 10-0 lead at halftime and rushed the ball 39 times in the game. Stevenson had 25 carries for 120 yards. The talk after the game was that was going to be the Patriots' formula for success. For one game, they followed it perfectly. They almost did it again the following week against Seattle, but we all know how the rest of the season played out.

Everyone wants to see the young kid sling the ball around the field like a young Drew Bledsoe or Dan Marino, but the Patriots need to play to their strengths. And right now that is Stevenson, Henderson, and Gibson.

TreVeyon Henderson was left on an island

The big story of the preseason was TreVeyon Henderson. After his kickoff return for a touchdown on his first touch in NFL action, people were calling to put him in bubble wrap until the season started. Apparently, someone forgot to take the bubble wrap off.

Henderson only had five carries and six catches. Most of the catches were on swing passes with no blockers in front of him. It didn't look they had any plays designed for him other than one wheel play which they showed over and over in preseason and camp. The Raiders were ready for it.

Going forward, I'd like to think they'll design game plans which involves giving Henderson more than zero carries in the second half of games and maybe designing some screen passes with Will Campbell blocking out in front of him. Just a thought.

Hey, Remember Me?

Harold Landry III was the first big free agent signing by the Patriots last offseason. He was hyped at first because he had nine sacks last year for the Titans. Then he was dissed when people discovered he had only a 4.8% pass-rush win rate which ranked last among all qualified edge rushers. Then he was forgotten when the Patriots made bigger free agent signings like Milton Williams, Carlton Davis III, and Robert Spillane.

Landry reminded everyone that he is on the team on Sunday. He recorded five tackles and 2.5 sacks. He was constantly in the backfield--accounting for five pressures according to Patriots.com.

I miss Jabrill Peppers

The evaluation of New England's safety position was a mixed bag against the Raiders. Jaylinn Hawkins epitomized the unit's up-and-down performance. He became only the fourth Patriot since 1982 to record both a sack and an interception in Week 1.

However, he also got toasted by Tre Tucker for a 26-yard touchdown reception only three minutes into the game.

Fourth-round pick Craig Woodson may have had the best game of any Patriot rookie. He had seven total tackles--second only to Christian Ellis's game-high eight tackles. More notably, I didn't hear Woodson's name mentioned on any bad plays.

Even still, I missed Jabrill Peppers' leadership and toughness on the field. The defense played well, but something just felt missing--fire, intensity, intimidation, a presence.

Kayshon Boutte is legit

It has been a thrill to watch the growth in Boutte. I love these kind of stories.

He was a sixth-round draft pick who got buried in Bill Belichick's full-occupancy doghouse for most of his rookie year for making an innocent rookie mistake. Then it looked like his Patriots' career was over when he was charged with creating a burner account while in college to allow him to gamble while underage.

The charges were dropped in July 2024, but there were still serious doubts if he would make the opening day roster under Jerod Mayo. He went on to be one of the few bright spots in a nightmare season--catching 43 passes for 589 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Even still, he had some moments where he still showed his immaturity. After catching Drake Maye's first touchdown pass, he said after the game:

“For me personally, in the game, I get frustrated when I’m not getting thrown the ball knowing that I’ve caught every ball that’s thrown to me this season. So, I just feel like I would always go to the sideline and demand the ball. So, whether it was that deep ball — I asked for that. The Texans game, I asked for that. So, I feel like I shouldn’t have to really ask.”

After quotes like that which comes across as entitled, I was a little concerned if there would be a personality clash between him and Vrabel. Instead, Boutte hasn't made any negative waves in camp and has been the most reliable receiver throughout the summer.

That carried over into the first game of the regular season against the Raiders. Boutte–not Stefon Diggs or DeMario Douglas--led the team with six catches for 103 yards.

Let me remind you that a 100-yard receiving game is no small feat for a Patriots player. In fact, Boutte has both of the only two 100-yard receiving games for the Patriots since Julian Edelman retired in April 2021. He has proven to be a bona fide, solid NFL wide receiver--also no small feat for a wide receiver drafted by the Patriots.

Borregales rebounds nicely after missing first FG attempt

I felt John Parker Romo deserved to win the kicking job out of camp, but I can certainly understand why Vrabel and, especially, Eliot Wolf chose Borregales. It would have been horrible PR if the team used a draft pick on a kicker and he didn't make the team.

In my bold predictions article, I predicted Romo would have a better year than Borregales. I'm not rooting against Borregales and I hope he proves me wrong, but, I must admit, I was feeling pretty good about my bold prediction after he missed his first career FG attempt--a 40-yarder that he pushed barely wide right in the second quarter.

Vrabel did not look happy on the sidelines afterwards and he may have been tempted to call Romo at halftime. Borregales bounced back, though, and made a 35-yard and a 44-yard field goal later in the game. More importantly, they were no-doubters, right down the middle. Had either one barely snuck inside the upright, we'd be talking more about the place kicker today.

DeMario Douglas has yet to prove me wrong

In that same bold prediction article, I predicted Efton Chism would have more catches than Douglas at the end of the season.

I just think Douglas is so overrated. Despite catching a touchdown--only his fourth in his career–Douglas finished with two catches for, get this, -2 yards. Those aren't numbers you expect to see from someone who many believe is the best receiver on the team.

Douglas had a bad drop on New England's second drive. For a quarterback like Drake Maye who, admittedly, comes into games too hyped up, it is incumbent on his supporting cast to settle him down early on. One way to do that is by catching balls when thrown into your hands.

Chism is waiting in the wings.

Offensive line wasn't a disaster

That's a compliment after what we've witnessed the last couple of seasons. All eyes were on Will Campbell. For three quarters of the game he played well. A disturbing trend with Campbell. however, is he tends to let bad plays snowball. In the fourth quarter, he had two false start penalties and gave up a sack.

On the bright side, rookie Jared Wilson started at left guard and we didn't hear his name called, at all. That's a good thing for an offensive lineman.

Maye dropped back 46 times to throw and was sacked only twice. He was pressured seven times. For the most part, he had time to pass. If anything, Maye suffered from happy feet towards the end of the game which is a bit disconcerting, and is worth monitoring.

Final Thoughts

You will be reading and seeing a lot of doom and gloom about the Patriots this week. Just remember--the Chiefs, Ravens, Texans, and Lions are all 0-1, also. There is a long way to go in the season. There will be growing pains. Almost half this roster has changed from last season. It will take some time to build chemistry and an identity. The key is to keep getting better and better each week.