The status quo remains unacceptable at Gillette Stadium, even after a sub-mediocre Aaron Rodgers and an utterly underqualified New York Jets coaching staff gift-wrapped a Patriots victory on Sunday.
New England’s need to be proactive as it rebuilds sparked a unique thought after watching the all-22 film of the Mayo “masterpiece,” over Gang Green.
Maybe, the time has come to turn Marcus Jones into a full-time offensive player.
Jones has football skills. Every time he catches a punt, the opposition holds its breath, as we saw Sunday when Jones busted a 62-yarder on the New Yorkers.
Jones has played offense before under Bill Belichick with four catches on 19 career snaps.
Maybe the time has come.
Left to cover Garrett Wilson for the most part on Sunday, Jones had the toughest of days, getting ripped to shreds. At just 5-foot-8, you have to wonder if Jones will ever be a truly competent corner.
Now, step over to the other side where the Patriots offense severely lacks big-play potential.
I’m ready to give Jones the opportunity to be that guy – not just as a gadget but as a full-time offensive player.
It likely won’t happen. New England management isn’t exactly considered a “think outside the box” group. But I would take the shot now where you have absolutely nothing to lose.
On to the rest of the film study.
Maye’s day? Not great
He only made six throws before leaving with a head injury in the first half, but looking at the film, rookie QB Drake Maye struggled.
Give Maye credit on his three runs. On two of the three, he saw man underneath and two-deep safeties downfield, meaning he had tons of room to operation.
On the other, his 17-yard TD, he read a one-on-one battle with a linebacker – and former UNC teammate – Chazz Surratt.
Maye’s speed made that a mismatch and translated into a touchdown.
Perhaps, after the 3-of-6 start, Maye might have found his groove throwing the football. We just never got the chance to see it.
Play of the game I
Facing a third-and-nine from the 43 on the game-winning TD drive, Jacoby Brissett moved the chains with a 14-yard scramble.
Big props to the much-maligned New England offensive line on this one. The Jets sent pressure. It was six rushers vs. six blockers, and the Patriots held up, ultimately giving Brissett a giant lane to run through and move the chains.
Play of the game II
Three plays later, again on third-and-9, seeing pressure again, Brissett makes the best throw of the season, a 34-yard post to Kayshon Boutte, who cleanly beat Sauce Gardner.
On a brutal day of football, it might have been the only playoff-worthy play that afternoon, and the Patriots delivered it.
Definitely not special
Lost in the “euphoria” of winning, and masked by Jones’ punt return, was the poor special teams play from the Patriots.
New England had a punt block and endured two big Jets punt returns.
Covering kicks is a key cog on Jerod Mayo’s “soft” scale.
Odds and ends
When I watched the Jets try to trick the Patriots into jumping offside after a spectacular Xavier Gipson punt return to the plus-49, I knew that the New Yorkers had gone from bad to worse since jettisoning Robert Saleh. Imagine playing it that conservatively that early. …
I still don’t get the usage of Antonio Gibson in the Patriots backfield in non-third-down passing situations. Taking Rhamondre Stevenson off the field makes you worse, not better. …
Aaron Rodgers takes all day pre-snap to try and cipher what the opponent is doing defensively. His ridiculous over-studying of the situation results in blown timeouts and countless delay penalties. The bottom line is he’s not really good at it.