PostGame Thread 2023 Week 2: Patriots Lose to Dolphins 24-17

[stcjones]

Tua got Tyreek and Waddle - enuff said

And he has a good OL….give both of these things to Mac and see how he does….I think Mac is a better QB than Tua ….he just has no elite weapons and a Horrible OL

 

[stcjones]

I feel like if Marcus Jones didn’t get hurt (or even if Jonathan Jones was active in the first place) this game would’ve been way different. The injuries at CB really hurt them badly. It was a good defensive performance overall considering that…

The OL just continues to be the pain point. It could’ve been worse, but they are still needing to scheme around it. Hopefully when Strange and Onwenu knock the rust off and Brown is back they’ll be in better shape but I don’t know. Anderson was just ok. I have to feel like trying Wheatley might be worthwhile. At least Lowe was serviceable backing up Brown.

Yes and Jack Jones could have helped tonight…

 

[patsfanfromoversea]

It's amazing this board is upset about these first two games. September is just an extension of the preseason. This team is built for December and playoff football.

Where is this poster who said this last year all the time? Can’t remember his name but mac was a hof caliber qb in his mind

 

[Triumph]

Sack Jones vs Sack Wilson next week.

Take aways
Mac played really well, he had some great throws while on the run and when under pressure.

Bourne is fine as a number 2 or 3 wr. He isn't a deep threat and he had to catch that deep ball.

Parker is the best wr on the team, but he has to stop that int.

The OL was horrible, tackles were terrible, strange was terrible, oweanu was terrible. No push at all in the running game.

Stevenson looks slow.

JuJu is not a wr that should get the ball at the LOS. HE IS SLOW SLOW SLOW.

Douglas fumbled. But he is the only guy who can do anything. Taking him out was dumb.

A toss sweep on 3rd and 3 or whatever that was? Too faulking slow.

Mac played well. He is throwing to guys who barely get open and cannot make plays.

 

[Ghost of Autumn]

Onto Cincinnati

I mean New Jersey

Bring your hazmat suits.

 

[patsfanfromoversea]

Yes and Jack Jones could have helped tonight…

Where? The defense, especially passing defense, wasn’t the problem… run defense a bit weak but jack jones would have not helped here

 

[Pape]

That’s a good time to turn on the game tho….3rd quarter…that’s when they seem to be finally waking up a bit

You ugh my post... yet reply by stating exactly what the issue is with this team.

As Alanis would say "isn't it ironic"...

 

[Pape]

It's amazing this board is upset about these first two games. September is just an extension of the preseason. This team is built for December and playoff football.

Except it's not an extension of preseason... these games count... and those December teams are impacted by what's happening now.

 

[Nunchucks]

Tavai wad getting embarrassed out there. He did have maybe 2 good plays, but the defense looked too slow with him being targeted.

 

[Pape]

Tavai wad getting embarrassed out there. He did have maybe 2 good plays, but the defense looked too slow with him being targeted.

I don't have an issue with tavai... think he plays his role pretty well

 

[patsfanfromoversea]

Tavai wad getting embarrassed out there. He did have maybe 2 good plays, but the defense looked too slow with him being targeted.

What is the point of having big statue lb to help your run defense if they can’t stop the run anyway
It starts in the trenches and first we should focus on a DT there. Then we may can afford to have a lighter Lb who has sideline to sideline and coverage skills maybe mapu

 

[Nunchucks]

What is the point of having big statue lb to help your run defense if they can’t stop the run anyway
It starts in the trenches and first we should focus on a DT there. Then we may can afford to have a lighter Lb who has sideline to sideline and coverage skills maybe mapu

Yes, the dl was getting blown off the ball

 

[State]

I would say having to make two trades at the end of camp was obviously a bad sign.

Yes. Bringing in those two tackles—giving up on Pierre Strong who has Miami speed—was obviously a desperation move. There I fixed it for you.

Calvin Anderson struggled enough to warrant bringing in Wheatley at RT.

 

[Toofy]

Correct, most of the QBs you listed pose a serious threat to opposing teams defenses and they have to game plan around their skills. I don’t think they do much for planning against Mac because he doesn’t have the arm that some of those guys have and doesn’t have the versatility either.

Those teams had some bad o-lines too but their QBs made it work. With Mac, if the o-line struggles then it’s game over because he doesn’t have the legs or the ability to avoid sacks. He needs that perfect pocket.

Game has evolved and you need to become a dual threat.

Hurts has one of the most loaded OLine and receiver tandems.

Mahomes is a future hall of famer and has Kelce and one of the best offensive lines aided by non calls on holding.

Goff - line is the best in league means more time for receivers.
Purdy - enough said about talent and McCaffrey just brings a complete. Ew dimension.

Lamar is the only one who has. A different skillset and even he has not gone to championship even once.

 

[Triumph]

He's a third-year player ... not a lot of third-year guys fall into that category. Like most young QBs, he needs guys to make him better. And that's going to be a theme unless we get lucky again.

So, the excuse this year is the WRs. Got it.

Tua threaded the needle and made a great throw to Braxton Berrios. Accurate ball with power.

Mac tried the same and got picked off by Howard. A duck coming in for a landing.

 

[50-yard-line]

Once again, the defense more than did its job. Bottom line: holding the Dolphins under 25 when the 3 of your 4 top CBs are out is pretty impressive. Gonzales is for real. Huge addition.

I'm not a Mac fan, never been, but I can't hang all of that on him (unless he's just not reading the D enough to adjust).

Biggest mistake the Pats made this year (and this is not hindsight - said it at the time, as did half the board or more) was not grabbing the best LT available in FA - Orlando Brown. Trent Brown just isn't reliable - you need OL who play 15-17 games every year.

The team, the O in particular, is a work-in-progress. I agree with Ian that they should be a lot better in a few weeks. That was Strange's first game. Onwenu doesn't look ready yet after missing the whole summer. But, but, but...every team deals with injuries.

Benching Pop? Boutte on inactive? (Is Boutte hurt, or being punished? If you won't play rookies, they won't get better.

I don't know. My prediction for wins was 6 - better team than last year, tougher schedule. Crappiest thing here is that we still won't know if Mac is worth a 5th year option if they can't get that OL together and gelling. Every extra dollar (with a couple of resigns out of the way) in FA should be spent bringing in talent on OFFENSE, because they can't keep scoring under 25 and expect to win anything.

 

[sb1]

Scar may be the mist underrated coach in NFL history. I don’t think that is hyperbole

I miss Scar. I think the team misses him too.

 

[patsinthesnow]

A defense so deep that Phillips, Mills & Uche play less than 50% of the snaps.

An offense so thin that Anderson is the starting RT, there is no swing tackle & two 6th round picks get early playing time at WR.

Belichick's skill position moves since 2018

2018: Re-sign RB Rex Burkhead 3 years 9.75 million Sign RB Jeremy Hill, WR Jordan Matthews & WR Eric Decker as camp competition Draft RB Sony Michel 31st overall (round 1) Draft WR Braxton Berrios 210th overall (round 6) Trade a 5th round pick for WR Josh Gordon & a 7th round pick Offense...

www.patsfans.com

2023 update:

Sign JuJu-Smith Schuster 3 years 25.5 million
Re-sign Devante Parker 2 years 10.8 million
Sign Mike Gesicki 1 year 4.5 million
Sign Ezekiel Elliott 1 year 3 million
Sign Ty Montgomery 1 year 1.15 million
Draft Kayshon Boutte 187th overall (6th round)
Draft Demario Douglas 210th overall (6th round)

Evidence continues to grow that BB can't construct a contending roster in today's NFL and should not be in charge of the team's $115 million in cap space next year. Not sure how the offense improves when they don't have anything resembling a #2 option IMO.

 

[Rob0729]

Some thoughts:

- First, the good. Christian Gonzalez is the real deal. He blanketed Hill most of the night. He just plucked that INT out of the air. That was a high degree of difficulty INT.
- The Pats need to pay Duggar before he goes on the open market. If he makes the open market, he is gone. Someone is going to overpay him.
- This loss is on Belichick. We knew the offensive line was awful last year, but I would take that o-line over the one they fielded the last two weeks. They can't pass block. They can't run block. They can't really do anything. The lack of quality receiver talent is also a huge issue. Parker and Bourne are good #2s, but they ain't #1s.
- Mac Jones really needs to work on passing to the right sidelines. It was a concern last week. It was an issue last night.
- Benching Douglas for the fumble is something you do when you have a good team. When you have piss poor o-line that is going to get your QB killed and he doesn't have the greatest options to throw to, you cannot take one of your more product receivers off the field to give them a teaching moment.
- What happened to Christian Barmore? One tackle last night. After his rookie season, we were talking of him possibly being one of the more productive tackles in the league. Now he is an afterthought.
- Another year and another bad run defense because the Patriots are too slow to keep up with the speed of some of these RBs.
- I can't believe I am saying this, but Felger is right. We are going to go another season without knowing what Mac Jones truly is. We know he isn't an elite QB. We know he cannot carry below average offensive talent like Brady did. We know some of his strengths and weaknesses, but we don't know if he can be a good QB with actually having some talent around him. And guess what? Most QBs in this league aren't good without talent around him. See Tua. See Hurts. See Geno Smith. See Baker Mayfield so far this year. If the Patriots replace Mac and give the next guy the talent Mac has, we will be in same boat unless the Pats get lucky and get the next elite QB. Mac Jones wasn't the problem last night. He shows signs of being a really good QB at times. But we cannot know if he can really reach that potential with the talent the Patriots have.
- It is only the second week of the season so this opinion could drastically change over the season. But if the team continues on this trend, it is time to move on from Belichick. Although last week showed some positive signs, this team is shaping up to be the same or worse team from last year. There is a serious talent issue going on with this team. Belichick's blind spot to the need for speed on defense and the value of an elite WR is also killing this team. He is running this team as if he still has Brady to cover up all the deficiencies on this team. Mac Jones isn't a guy who can do that. At this rate, Belichick won't get Shula's record until 2025. Do we need to have three years of mediocre football to allow Belichick to retire on his own terms?

 

[Triumph]

Lets talk 2024 draft.