Three-Up, Three-Down from Patriots’ 23–6 preseason finale loss
The Patriots’ first team offense had no shortage of opportunity to inspire confidence on Friday night. New England’s probable starters were on the field for seven drives, more than a full night’s work by normal preseason standards. But against a Raider’s defense mostly populated by second-stringers, the Patriots’ starting offense had two three-and-outs and one interception while only managing 74 yards and 3 points.
In the seven preseason drives with Mac Jones under center, the Patriots were forced off the field in three plays four different times.
Less than two weeks away from the season opener against the Miami Dolphins on September 11, the Patriots offense is still looking for traction.
But there were a few bright spots — if you look hard enough.
THREE DOWN
- Offensive Line Continues to Struggle
Since the retirement of long-time offensive line maestro Dante Scarnecchia in 2019, the title of offensive line coach has changed hands three times in as many seasons. Wether the lack of coaching continuity has finally caught up or the line just has an aversion to new coach Matt Patricia’s heavy dose of zone blocking, the struggles of the offensive line have been a consistent theme in training camp.
Instead of blocking individual defenders, zone blocking relies on the o-lineman communicating with each other to wedge off specific targets or areas of the field together. After drafting hyper-athletic guard Cole Strange in April, the Pats seemed to want to make use of their newfound athleticism up front, pulling blockers further out for their starting blocks to try and create bigger and wider gaps for their running backs to hit.
It’s a methodology that has yet to bare fruit; frustrating both QB and lineman throughout training camp.
During Friday’s loss, the Patriots again tried their luck at a few outside zone runs with their first unit with little to show for. The first attempt pushed the Pats four yards backward and the follow-up attempt to open up the offense’s second series was wiped away because of a holding call on Michael Onwenu.
Right tackle Isaiah Wynn was particularly porous in pass protection, allowing several Raiders rushers to step into Mac Jones’s throwing pocket.
2. Mac’s Miscues
Even accounting for the struggling offensive line, quarterback Mac Jones made a few mind-boggling decisions that clearly frustrated the sophomore pro during the game.
The interception that ended the Patriots’ second drive was particularly poor. After stepping outside of the pocket, Jones tried to field a cross-arm ball to Kendrick Bourne. While the Raiders linebacker spying in short yardage was the one to come up with the turnover, Bourne was surrounded by black jerseys and it’s unlikely the ball would have been completed anyways. An unnecessary risk the young QB will have to learn to eliminate.
An interception near the 12-minute mark of the second quarter also stood out- an inaccurate deep ball to the Raiders’ sideline that was never put into a competitive position for DeVante Parker to make an attempt at.
“I got to do a better job of getting the ball out and stepping up in the pocket instead of running around and putting my line in a bad position,” Jones said post-game.
3. Coverage Collapses
Even with most of Las Vegas’ high power weapons on the sideline, the Patriots let up huge chunks of yardage to the Raiders backups.
Cornerback Terrance Mitchell found himself on an island at the nine-minute mark of the second quarter and after the Raider receiver hauled in the lofted ball from Raiders third stringer Chase Garbers, cameras caught the corner frantically looking at his teammates, clearly expecting safety help over the top.
Former Patriot Jarrett Stidham also tallied pickups of 35 and 25 yards during his two series; the former after safety Kyle Dugger bit on play action and abandoned the middle of the field.
In two weeks the Patriots will be lining up across from Tyreke HIll and Jaylen Waddle. If the Patriots’ coverages don’t tighten up, Miami’s offense may gash New England.
THREE UP
Fans looking for a reason to be hopeful entering the regular season may have been left wanting by the Patriots’ first-team offensive performance but there were inspiring performances on Friday to cling to-particularly on the defensive side of the ball.
- Jack Jones Shines Bright
While he likely won’t see extended playing time as a starting corner in 2022, fourth-round rookie Jack Jones has been impressive in camp and displayed some of the physical tools Friday that likely would have rocketed the ASU product into the top half of the draft if not for some character concerns.
Jones was solid in coverage on Friday, and also forced a fumble courtesy of a teeth-chattering hit in the third quarter. Jones still has parts of his skillset to refine and will likely misplay a route or ball here and there.
New England seems to have landed on Jalen Mills and Jonathan Jones as the outside corners with rookie Marcus Jones in the slot but Jack Jones has the physical tools and ball instincts to become a starting-caliber NFL corner and could make an impact in 2022 if forced into extended action.
2. Kevin Harris Productive in Relief
Rookie running back was productive after Ty Montgomery was knocked out of the game early with a reported ankle injury.
The sixth-round selection tallied 54 yards on just 4 rushing attempts.
Even if Ty Montgomery is shelved for an extended period of time, Harris will have an uphill battle to feature in the Patriots’ running game. Montgomery was more likely to feature in a swiss army knife role while Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson split the majority of feature back snaps. Harris is likely looking up at fellow 2022 draft class alum Pierre Strong Jr as well.
Still, Harris’ production is a good sign that the Patriots will be well prepared for an emergency in the running back room if they can keep Harris in Foxboro, practice squad or otherwise.
3. Jabrill Peppers Active in Debut
After missing the first two preseason games and a portion of training camp as he recovered from an ACL injury, newcomer Jabrill Peppers was finally able to strap a Patriots helmet on for live game action.
The safety was active amidst a heavy workload, totaling three tackles in 23 snaps.
When asked what he views as one of the team’s strengths on Monday, head coach Bill Belichick told reporters “the safety group,” mentioning Peppers alongside the returning trio of Devin McCourty, Kyle Dugger and Adrian Phillips.
Belichick’s name drop should let fans know the Patriots have a plan to feature Peppers heavily on defense, even if a limited preseason keeps it behind the curtain for a bit.
Before the Patriots’ Week 1 matchup against Miami, Belichick and co. first have to trim the roster. The 53-man roster cutdown deadline is at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
