The New England Patriots have landed in Germany where they hold a pair of practices before taking on the Detroit Lions at 9:30 a.m. ET on Sunday.
So, let’s get into this week’s edition of the #PostPulpit Mailbag.
Like a lot of people, I was mightily disappointed (to say the least) in the recent performance of our resident highest-paid cornerback in the league. But I find myself wondering if he’s the only one deserving blame. When he repeatedly lines up in such soft coverage, not pressing at the line of scrimmage
— indeed, giving the receiver an obscenely huge cushion to release — that’s not entirely HIS decision, right? Isn’t that pre-snap alignment dictated by the coaches and their game plan, at least much of the time? How much of the problem do you think lies with coaching schemes that play away from Gonzalez’s strengths? – BriGuy301
What happened to Gonzalez last game and why? Was it a one-off, or did the Packers figure something out that other teams might be able to emulate? – fdsafdsa
Gonzalez is certainly not blameless and needs to play better. However, he is also being asked to do a lot within a Patriots secondary that leans heavily on disguising coverages. While the All-Pro cornerback is at his best pressing receivers at the line of scrimmage and playing man coverage, he has been asked to handle a variety of responsibilities, including off-man coverage, inverted Cover 2 (where he is responsible for the half-field safety), playing the deep third in Cover 3 and more.
The question here is whether the Patriots have leaned too heavily into those disguises and reached a point where simplifying things would benefit the defense. New England has a talented secondary that is playing well below its capabilities as they rank dead last in the league in zone coverage EPA per dropback. Opposing offenses like the Bears and Packers have also appeared to be one step ahead with coverage beaters and using tools like quick snaps to catch the defense out of position and generate explosive plays.
At some point, the Patriots may need to prioritize letting their defensive backs play more straight up and to their strengths.
With all the pressure that Maye faces each game, and especially against teams like the Packers who blitz a lot (46.5% of his drop backs against Green Bay), why do we not see more hot reads or short patterns? It looks like the Patriots rely predominantly on mid- to long-range routes, which take more time and require the Offensive Line to hold up longer. I would think that Pop or Chism – who both have short-area quickness – would be great at those routes, especially given that they seem to run a lot of them during the preseason. So I’m curious if A) they’re doing it but I just don’t see it? And/or B) is there a good reason to not run quick slants and crossers and hot reads? – PatsFanFromNH
The Patriots’ offense does feature sight adjustments and hot routes. Earlier this season, players credited opposing defenses for dropping defenders off the line of scrimmage to take away those routes. New England will need to find ways to counter those adjustments or develop other answers against the pressure packages that have repeatedly given the offense trouble.
In recent weeks, both the Bears and Packers have found success attacking the Patriots’ offensive line with overload pressures, sending two defenders off the same side of the formation and dropping defenders off the line of scrimmage on the other side. In both games, New England struggled to pick up those pressures early before settling down and finding answers as the game progressed.
Moving forward, the Patriots need to determine how they want to handle those situations out of the gate, whether that means identifying the right protection calls before the snap or trusting Maye and his receivers to make plays after. Finding those answers earlier in games will be critical to avoid early deficits.
Brian, if the Patriots lose to the Lions to fall to 5-5 with 4 very difficult games left, is it time to switch gears and root for draft position? It’s been a tough year full of injuries. That happens in football, and the draft is supposed to be a good one. On the other hand, if they pull off the upset in Germany, it’s full speed ahead going for the playoffs, with a bye week plus the Chargers game to get healthy. – New England Guy
Sunday’s game against the Lions feels like an inflection point on the season, so it will be interesting to see which Patriots team shows up in Germany.
As for the playoffs, 10 wins has historically been a good benchmark for securing a postseason spot. If the Patriots take care of business against the winless Chargers, Jets and Dolphins, they would need just two more wins from their remaining matchups against the Lions, Vikings, Chiefs, Bills and Broncos to reach that mark.
And looking at the current AFC landscape, the threshold could be closer to nine wins. There appears to be a relatively clear-cut top seven in the conference unless the Houston Texans catch fire during the second half of the season.
Why didn’t the pats trade for a nose tackle, 3rd safety, or/and a 3rd outside cornerback? Any one, two or all 3 of these positions were a must have to right the ship! – sjamesbossports
After investing significant draft capital in A.J. Brown and looking to avoid taking on a major financial commitment, the Patriots were never likely to make a significant addition at the trade deadline. You could certainly make the argument for adding defensive depth in exchange for late-round draft capital, but the lack of movement at those positions around the league suggests there wasn’t much of a market at those spots.
A question more long term :what are your thoughts about next year patriots cap big moves renegotiation with major players (or potential cut or trade) to absorb anticipated Maye super contract ? – 7i165
Who do you think will be the cap casualties next year? Onwenu, Barmore, Davis, Hunter, Byard, DeVitto, Moses, Landry? I know they are a veteran core, but almost all of them don’t produce to what they are being paid at, so we might need to cut bait. How much would we gain from trading or letting them walk? – Maxxwell
The Patriots did not sell at the deadline as they still can be a competitve team especially as they get healthier on offense. It will be a different conversation this offseason as there is definitely an argument for the team getting younger and adding draft capital.
Among the names mentioned, I would imagine the team moves on from Christian Barmore, Harold Landry, and potentially Carlton Davis as the veterans have no guaranteed money remaining. Byard’s play has not been worthy of a second contract while the guess would be Moses retires. Henry was extended this offseason while there’s no rush to move off DeVito. All the moves would free up a substantial amount of salary cap space.
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.
