FOXBORO, Massachusetts — Whistles around both of their necks, Jerod Mayo stood at midfield next to offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, attempting to fathom how the New England Patriots attack had just been so comprehensively outplayed.
In order to gauge his team’s progress, Mayo decided to bring in a different squad for a combined practice, which they conducted on Tuesday with the Philadelphia Eagles. What he described as “a measuring stick”
But Tuesday’s practice exposed the unpleasant truth that the Patriots’ offense is, at least as of right now, horribly awful, with just three weeks until the team’s season opener.
As we reflect on Tuesday’s practice with the Eagles, let’s start there.
1. The offense is in trouble
The New England offense was not anticipated to perform well this season. It was hoped that just having a quarterback that could play well would be an improvement over the previous season. The season would be more exciting and hopefully successful if the Pats could field, say, a top-five defense along with their 20th-ranked offense.
But after a strong showing in seven-on-seven drills Tuesday, the Patriots offense was thoroughly outplayed by the Eagles in full-team drills.
In 11-on-11 play, neither Patriots quarterback, Blake Borsett nor Drake Maye, completed more than half of their throws; the majority of these completions were short, underneath routes that generated little yardage.
The deadly combination of a poor offensive line and poor wide receivers is at the core of the issue. Receivers are not skilled enough to swiftly get open to compensate for the poor O-line, and the line can not block for long enough to allow receivers to go open.
Dime 😮💨@DrakeMaye2 | @jpolk_22 pic.twitter.com/NtrmCD0tzc
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) August 13, 2024
2. Drake Maye had no chance
The most crucial portion of the exercise was the simulated drill that the teams conducted at the conclusion of the session. The two-minute offense was to be conducted by rookie quarterback Drake Maye in an attempt to score a touchdown that would win the game.
These drills do not involve tackling, but Maye would have been sacked after the first two plays. When he finally had time to toss on the third, he ended up sending the ball incomplete toward Kayshon Boutte since no one was open.
Maye would have been sacked five times in his final six dropbacks and six times in his final nine dropbacks if there had been live tackling. Nevertheless, he declined to disregard his O-line.
“Gotta get the ball out,” Maye said afterward.
3. It’s still sloppy
The inane errors that are still frequently made are possibly the most annoying aspect of the offense. The team was called for many penalties, including two holdings and one offensive pass interference, in addition to three false starts and a play-by-play rehuddle.
Indeed, the Patriots offense lacks depth, particularly when facing the Eagles, who have one of the league’s top defensive lines. For this reason, some of the pressure is justified.
However, the offense’s repeated fundamental errors are unacceptable. This team can not afford to lose time due to penalties like false starts, especially since every yard is already so difficult to get.
4. The receivers have issues
There are currently just two wide receivers on the Patriots that you might feel comfortable starting the season with. Now that he is recovered and is in good health, Demario Douglas is often used in practice. The offensive strategy is to hit Douglas on underneath routes and hope he can create plays after the catch because the offensive line is having trouble.
The other receiver who has regularly had good moments is rookie Ja’Lynn Polk. The Patriots’ play of the day came on Tuesday during one-on-one drills when he hauled in a fantastic catch. But aside from Douglas and Polk, the New England receivers have struggled mightily.
Maybe Polk, Douglas, and Kendrick Bourne together can convince themselves into producing a winning combination. However, Polk will be acclimating to the grind of the NFL, Douglas is tiny, and Bourne has not practiced this summer due to his recovery from an ACL tear. Bourne might start the season on the PUP list, missing at least the first four games.
5. The line seems set
It appears that the Patriots will have their starting offensive line decided by the end of this week, as Mayo had requested. Vederian Lowe at left tackle, Sidy Sow at left guard, David Andrews at center, Mike Onwenu at right guard, and Chukwuma Okorafor at right tackle have all been present at every session over the past week.
Has there been difficulty for the group? Without a doubt. However, it appears set, in part because the O-line on the second team has performed much worse.
6. The defense was better
It should not be shocking to learn that the Patriots defense outperformed the offense. Even though it is challenging to monitor simultaneous plays on neighboring fields, the defense appeared to perform well against the Eagles, despite not forcing any turnovers.
“I think we did a pretty good damn job,” Jabrill Peppers said.
Gonzalez’s plans for Year 2 have generated a lot of excitement, and with good cause. Before sustaining an injury that ended his season, he was outstanding in more than three games as a rookie.
Gonzalez’s training camp, though, has not been entirely smooth. Not because he is been a bad guy. Simply said, for someone who is supposed to be a genuine shutdown corner, he has not been as dominant as you would want to see. During recent workouts, he allowed touchdowns against Patriots receivers and was defeated on three of his four one-on-one reps with Eagles receivers.
Perhaps he is only brushing off some rust, but it is too early to worry. He is not yet playing at the level of a top corner, though.
8. Cornerback injuries
Although the Patriots are pleased with the starting cornerback combination of Gonzalez, Jonathan Jones, and Marcus Jones (slot), all three players had injuries a year prior, which makes Gonzalez’s camp performance more significant. Health is therefore by no means a given.
Already, both Joneses missed Tuesday’s practice with undisclosed injuries.
9. Screens aren’t working
The offensive has to improve in a few areas, one of which is running back screens. They may be quite powerful plays when executed properly, particularly on third-and-long. One club that excels at running screens is the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Eagles defensive line blew up many screens on Tuesday, which may have been a result of facing a top-tier D-line, but it is something to keep an eye on in the Patriots’ remaining preseason games. The team is also having problems in practice.
10. Barmore back
Christian Barmore, a great defensive tackle for the Patriots, was present at Gillette Stadium for the first time since he was diagnosed with blood clots. During the session, he stood on the sidelines and caught up with teammates.
Barmore is sidelined indefinitely, and it is doubtful if he will be able to play by season’s conclusion.
“It can be dark days,” Davon Godchaux said. “So I told him, ‘Come around more. We miss you.’”
(Photo of Drake Maye: Brian Fluharty / USA Today)
