After a Week 2 victory that came with the injury bug, the New England Patriots are set to head down to Jacksonville for a Week 3 matchup with the Jaguars.
So, let’s get into this week’s #PostPulpit Mailbag.
What defensive schemes do the Jags run? How are the coverage corners? Will we see some man? How good are they in 2 deep zone? Have they effectively run cover 6? What’s their blitz rate? How effective are they at just rushing 4? What did the Broncos do to turn that game around and put up 17 unanswered?
How are the Jags vs stopping the run? – Maye The Force Be With You
Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile has quite the coaching background, having come up under defensive coaches Vic Fangio, Brian Flores, Jeff Hafley and other respected defensive minds.
“He’s got his own style. I’ll say that,” offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said. “I know where he’s come from and who he’s been subjected to and I’m sure he’s learned an immense amount from those people. But he’s got his own personality. You can see it on the film. There’s games where they do some different things and challenge you schematically.”
Similar to Fangio, Campanile leans heavily on zone coverages, running them more than 75% of the time. And speaking of the infamous Cover 6, the Jaguars have used it at the second-highest rate (19.6%) in the NFL since 2025 — only behind Fangio himself — with strong results. Campanile’s background under Flores then shows up in his exotic blitz packages, where Jacksonville sends extra rushers at the ninth-highest rate in the NFL (36.7%).
As for their personnel, Jacksonville has a unique rotation in its secondary, with four cornerbacks — Montaric Brown, Jarring Jones, Travis Hunter and Jourdan Lewis — each playing between 53% and 77% of the defensive snaps. Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker bookend the defensive front — a good, but not great unit like the Patriots have played the first two weeks.
The scheme and aggressiveness have led to plenty of turnovers, with Jacksonville forcing three in two games after ranking second in the NFL last season with 31. But that aggression can also be exploited, as the Jaguars have been one of the NFL’s worst deep-pass defenses through two games. Denver also found success getting Bo Nix on the move, something the Patriots could look to replicate with Drake Maye.
I have a feeling the injury to Onwenu could prove to be a disaster for the Offensive Line. I thought Van Roten was scary awful when Onwenu went down. Will they give someone else a shot next week. Like Walter Rouse, they even had Lomu play some Guard in camp. Will Lomu, Rouse, or someone else get a chance at Guard? – Elderly Lothario
It certainly wasn’t perfect in relief on Sunday for Van Roten, who admitted he was a bit rusty, but we’ll give him some grace getting thrown into the fire just weeks after signing with the team. The veteran played solid football at right guard for the Giants last season and I’d expect him to continue to get the opportunity to hold that spot in Onwenu’s absence. His experience playing next to Morgan Moses should also help.
As for Lomu, I would prioritize continuing to get him ready at tackle. It could be an option down the line, something Mike Vrabel did not rule out, as well as a few other options.
“So, we will get [Van Roten] working there with Morgan [Moses]. I think Walter [Rouse] will get some opportunities to go there and practice,” Vrabel said. “Walter Rouse is a player we got from Minnesota who has been working really hard, and we will see how he does. Ben Brown is back and working. So, we’ll get a bunch of guys in there the next couple days and try to make a decision.”
The Pats offensive line has been a headline for years. Almost always a concern. Is it the same for the other NFL teams but we don’t hear about it or is there more stability on other teams? – funnyattimes
Outside of a few teams around the league who have found consistency up front, this is life in the NFL up front. There simply aren’t enough good offensive lineman, specifically tackles, in football today and the lack of padded practices over the offseason make it harder to develop the position.
With Woodson and Pettus injured what are the chances we try to sign John Saunders Jr. off of the Jets Practice Squad? – naplesme
Pettus landed on injured reserve with a high-ankle sprain. As for Woodson, he was spotted in the locker room this week without a sling — which he wore post game — and avoided injured reserve. Still, he did not practice Wednesday and Thursday and seems set to miss this Sunday.
As for Saunders, I would have kept him around on the practice squad in the first place after an impressive summer. The fact they did not and signed other safeties in the process would indicate to me they will role with Mike Brown off of the practice squad.
Any chance of adding to our tight end depth via a trade or is it too soon for that path? – jpd985
Eli Raridon’s (thigh) status is worth watching this week after he was downgraded from a limited participant on Wednesday to a did not participate on Thursday. If he can’t go, Cameron Latu and Tanner Arkin remain on the 53-man roster.
With Raridon’s injury not a long-term issue, that group appears to be fine to move forward with. They did also add tight end Tanner Conner to the practice squad this week.
I know it’s hard to say, but realistically how guys on IR with designation do we really think 1) will come back, 2) be able to contribute and 3) before the season is too late? – Patriot in Chicago
Among the nine players on injured reserve, Julian Hill, Jeremiah Webb, and Myles Montgomery will miss the entire season being placed on IR during the offseason. As for the rest of the group, I’d expect them all back at some point except for Mike Onwenu (outside of a potential return during a deep playoff).
That means A.J. Brown, Marcus Bryant, Khalil Jacobs, Dell Pettus, and Bryce Baringer will return at some point. Obviously Brown is the big one, but I’d expect the majority, or all, of that group to contribute as depth pieces and on special teams.
How concerned are you about the Pat’s dwindling salary cap? Seems to be around $6 Million left, and that doesn’t leave much room for October trade deadline maneuvers to backfill or upgrade down the stretch. – WannaBe Pats GM
No concern. As always the salary cap can easily be tinkered with and any midseason addition should not come with a large price tag.
A lot of doom and gloom going around due to the series of injuries. What positive regression do we have to look forward to this year? And where is the team improving/has room to improve? – LandenPatz1
I do not believe the Drake Maye we’ve seen through two games is the version of the quarterback we’ll see the rest of the season. He’s too good of a player to continue making the early season mistakes and should settle in with new players around him.
From there, the Patriots defense has certainly been a positive through two weeks. While it has come in matchups vs. Drew Lock and 42-year old Aaron Rodgers, I’d say the encouraging sign is that they’ve seemed to find their blueprint of a man blitz defense. With Christian Gonzalez and the group of corners they have, keep it coming.
That’s all for this week’s #PostPulpit mailbag. If you have questions you’d liked to be answered next week, submit them online in our weekly submission post on the Feed. Make sure to follow @iambrianhines and @PatsPulpit as well.
