Not doing the 3am posting any more. Just a few general observations from this game and then it on to a VERY tough 4 game stretch that will tell the story of this team.
I was very leery of this game simply because it was an away game on Thursday night. Normally this is a very big advantage to the home team. I didn't know Bill was 14-3 on Thursday night. I knew it was good, but not that good. I have always said that coaching has more impact in football than any other team sport. Bill always says it all about the players, but in reality coaching plays a big part and last night you saw the results. Atlanta is a flawed team, no doubt, but they were good enough to beat the Saints on the road, a team that crushed us. I'm not saying it was a team that should have beaten us, but a dangerous team that should have at least been competitive to some degree....and they weren't. Good for us so here are a few thoughts before we move on.
It did feel like a 'trap' game didn't it? Fortunately the Pats didn't get your memo and just blew the Falcons out of the water to the tune of 25 unanswered points.
1. I was trying to think about who RStevenson reminds me of and it hit me this morning. Leveon Bell. It's the patience, the short burst in the hole, and the vision that Bell had that made him special when he was with the Steelers. THAT's what I saw last night when Stevenson ran the ball. Something special. What a pick in the 4th round. A pick,. btw, that was a head scratcher for me with Harris, Michel, White, and Taylor already on the roster. But with Michel traded, White on IR, and Taylor relegated to the inactive list, Stevenson is now firmly entrenched as the #2 RB's and will get 10-15 touches along with Harris.
Stevenson has been a great pickup. He kind of reminds me of Michael Turner, another big boy who could actually get some huge gains at time. Surprising speed is what I think when I see him run. It's like, he's pretty big so he can't go that fast right, and then he just runs by the defender.
2. Mac is a funny guy to evaluate. It would be easy to comment on the sacks he took, the pick he made, and the 2 missed passes for first downs he threw. Then when you look at the box score you come to find out that on 26 attempts he only threw 4 incompletions. Ho Hum, just another 85% completion day for Mac. Overall it was a mixed night for Mac even with the high percentage of completions. He took 33 yds of sacks, and I believe should have avoided 2 of them (see next comment). I thought he missed a few plays on the line where he could have gotten them out of bad plays. But when you think about it, he STILL yet to play his best game of the season, and we got out of Atlanta with a 25 point win.
3. I posted the other day that Mac has the same athletic ability (speed and short area quickness) as Russell Wilson, one of the more elusive QB's in the league. Clearly Mac doesn't have the instincts and experience to use those gifts. Hopefully that will come over the next few years (or few weeks even). This is a part of his game that he needs to work on.
Mac Jones does need to work on his pocket presence, awareness, and pocket manipulation. As far as running the football, clearly in terms of baseline combine measurements he 'could' run more if he wanted to, it just doesn't seem to be part of his makeup at the moment. He's most comfortable passing the football and staying in that pocket for the most part.
4. The Pats are now 14th in the league in rushing at 113 ypg, BUT they are averaging 156 ypg over the last 3 games. The best rushing team in the league are the Ravens and Brows at 154 ypg followed closely by the surprising Eagles. Since RStevenson has been inserted into the rotation, the Pats running game has gone from decent to formidable. That's the good news
5. The bad news is that 3 of the next 4 games come against teams that are ranked 4th (Buffalo) and 7th (Titans) in the league against the run.. This is a team that NEEDS to run the ball around 30 times per game to synch up with its passing offense. We have no idea how well Mac will do if he has to carry this offense...and I don't want to find out.
Obviously the Pats are best when they are running the football early and often. That's part of their identity. But if the run gets taken away, can Mac Jones carry the load? Oddly I'm comfortable if that happens to just wait and see what Mac Jones can do when asked to carry the load. I don't think he's going to wet the bed like a Baker Mayfield when put into that type of situation.
Mac just looks too poised and in command of the offense to not at least have a competent game where he doesn't hurt the team. And with the defense that we have this year, mostly that's all he has to do. That and just continue to improve week to week. With his attention to detail and growing mastery of the nuances of the game, I just feel like we are just scratching the surface on Mac Jones right now. The Browns game was his comeout party. Now he has to put that type of game together on a more consistent basis. Believe it or not, we're still dealing with a rookie here.
10. Now for the "slow your roll" part. We are now a respectable 7-4, on a 5 game win streak, and every mediot's flavor of the day. HOWEVER over the next 4 games that can all change in the blink of an eye. In the next 4 weeks we will have 3 games with the top 2 teams in the conference as well as a Colt team who has won 4 out its 5 games IN Indy. Not an easy task at all. We have to do all this with a rookie QB, a thin defensive backfield, and passing attack that doesn't seem ready to play from behind.
The next 4 weeks is the toughest stretch the Patriots have left. The conference leading Titans, two games against the Bills who were picked to win the division at the start of the year, and a red hot Colts team that is imposing their will through the run game with Jonathan Taylor.
If the Pats only manage to split 2-2 during this stretch, unless we lose both games to the Bills we should still be topping the AFC East regardless. 1-3 would be very hard to come back from, 0-4 would be disastrous.
BUT if we can win 3 out 4 games here, the Pats should be in firm control of their destiny and well on their way to winning the AFC East, a feat that most 'prognosticators' didn't believe possible. Certainly I didn't see this coming when we were sitting at 2-4, but 5 straight wins later and these 2021 Patriots have woven a new story for themselves.
As far as 'slow your roll' goes, I'll return those words back to you. Kyle Dugger is a solid player, but I don't see enough to dub him an 'all-pro' as you're seeing. Not even close to that yet.
The most vital cog I see on this defense that I don't want to lose next year - is that man on the outside - JC Jackson. If you pull JC Jackson from the starting lineup, do you really believe the Patriots are leading the league in Turnover differential over the past 5 games? I don't think so.
Regardless of what you believe he 'should' get paid, I'll tell you this, If the Patriots don't, someone else WILL. Because this league is STARVED for high end CB talent. JC Jackson is a premium talent ballhawk and he enables this defense to tick at such a high level. But don't take my word for it.
Check out these stats.