The New England Patriots benefited from improved offensive line play in latest weeks, together with their upset win over the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.
The attention check will inform you that and the stats again it up. New England allowed 11 pressures on 39 pass-blocking snaps in opposition to the Jets, per Professional Soccer Focus. New York completed with one sack. That’s significantly better than when the Patriots allowed a stress fee resembling a coin flip.
The Patriots deserve credit score for that. However head coach Jerod Mayo nonetheless may develop to remorse his latest assessment of the group and people accountable.
“What was perceived, I might say, earlier on as a weak point on this crew has now grow to be a energy,” Mayo advised reporters throughout a convention name Monday morning. “And that has been via Eliot (Wolf) and his crew and the acquisition of fellows like Lecitus (Smith).”
There are a couple of head-scratchers there.
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“Energy,” for one, is a stretch. The Patriots don’t have a ton of strengths and the offensive line won’t even rank within the prime 5 behind quarterback Drake Maye, New England’s cornerbacks, tight ends and working again Rhamondre Stevenson forward of it.
And a “perceived” weak point? New England’s offensive line was one of many lowest-graded cross blocking models via 5 weeks. Veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who began the primary 5 video games, was beneath fixed stress. That was not notion, it was actuality.
Even Mayo admitted the offensive line performed a task in Drake Maye beginning the season on the bench. That was after Mayo initially mentioned the road wouldn’t play a task within the rookie’s timeline, one of many handful of occasions he’s backtracked. Wouldn’t that imply Mayo “perceived” it a weak point, too?
Then there’s the nod to Patriots government vice chairman of participant personnel Eliot Wolf and omission of offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, offensive line coach Scott Peters or assistant offensive line coach Robert Kugler.
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Mayo credited Wolf for the midseason additions of gamers like Lecitus Smith and middle Ben Brown could be included, as nicely.
Brown stepped in admirably in Week 6 and performed 100% of snaps in every recreation since then. However Brown’s arrival got here after Wolf failed to discover a backup middle behind David Andrews. And Smith, signed off the Inexperienced Bay Packers observe squad in mid-October, performed simply three offensive snaps in opposition to New York. It may be just a little too early to sing his praises.
A theme via eight weeks is Mayo backtracking on his feedback, and in some instances full on stepping in them. Ought to the Patriots offensive line not be a “energy” within the close to future it is going to possible would be the case once more.
