The Patriots were demolished on Thursday.
The Patriots suffered their worst loss since “A Bug’s Life” and “You’ve Got Mail” dominated the box office, so it’s easy to say things went badly.
Here’s a closer look at how some key groups reacted to the loss, both positively (don’t laugh) and negatively:
STRATEGIST: C-
Jacoby Brissett deserves a medal for the beating he took in the first few weeks of the season, but the fact is there were things that could have been done better by both guys who got snaps Thursday.
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Brissett fumbled a couple of passes early in the game, while Drake Maye was nearly intercepted after announcing where he was going with his very first pass attempt. Should we blame the QBs for what happened? No, but there are still standards to be met.
WIDE RECEIVERS: C+
The Patriots entered the night with 85 total receiving yards this season, and fell one yard short of matching that total against the Jets. DeMario Douglas found ways to stand out, especially after getting hit a few times. Ja’Lynn Polk is a guy, he just needs more opportunities. This wasn’t a disaster!
(Yes, we’re hanging on to anything with this one.)
OFFENSIVE LINE: F-
Is it possible to expel a student for poor grades? The Patriots might want to look into that.
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We don’t need too much explanation here. New England’s pressure rate allowed through three weeks is the 16th worst of any team since 2006, by Chad Graff of The Athletic, and was even worse after they gave up seven total sacks and pressured more than half of Brissett and Maye’s drop backs.
PASS-RUSHERS: D
Aaron Rodgers is almost 41 and his ankle blew out a little over a year ago. We could only fire this guy twice?!
The Patriots’ lack of pressure isn’t really the problem. New England has lacked discipline, which has allowed Rodgers to escape the pocket and make plays in space — including a touchdown and nine (!!!) first downs.
LINEBACKERS: D+
Jahlani Tavai and Raekwon McMillan did a poor job trying to replace Ja’Whaun Bentley in the middle of the defense. It’s as simple as that.
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SPECIAL TEAMS: B+
Bryce Baringer is pretty cool!
Baringer had four punts inside the opposing team’s territory, which gave New England solid field position throughout the night. Joey Slye had his only attempt. Brenden Schooler and Joe Cardona each had a couple of impressive tackles. It wasn’t a bad night for Jeremy Springer’s unit.
COACHING: D
Alex Van Pelt is essentially calling offensive plays for the first time ever. DeMarcus Covington is doing the same thing on the defensive side of the ball. Yes, it will take time for them to find their rhythm, but two specific examples stood out as contributing factors to Thursday’s mess.
Covington’s mistakes are tied to his defensive style, as his desire to attack the opponent came back to haunt him when Rodgers tried to take on two quick hitters under pressure to get some first downs. Covington can easily adjust, and there’s no reason to think he won’t, but we still would have liked to see him make that adjustment mid-game given he was without several starters.
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Van Pelt hasn’t quite figured out the passing game yet, and we saw exactly why on the final third down of the game for Brissett and the starters. AVP called all vertical routes, despite the fact that they only needed nine yards to pick up the first down. Brissett was forced to hold onto the ball as the routes developed, leading to his final sack of the night and a proverbial nail in the coffin. This was four-down territory, so there would have been no shame if AVP had called short crossers to pick up a few yards and at least give his offense a fighting chance.
The Patriots need improvement from nearly every group on the team, but the coaching staff could be the biggest loser in the first few weeks of the season.
