PostGame Thread OFFICIAL PostGame Thread: Patriots lose the opener to Las Vegas 20-13

[ViperGTS]

Drake has not progressed much. I was hoping for a leap but it is going to be baby steps. He rushed throws, stared down receivers, had bad footwork at times, and tried to throw into double and triple teams. On the positive side, Drake did look like he was trying to be a professional QB, stay in the pocket, read the field, etc., as opposed to the constant scrambling and recklessness of last year. I think he will progress over the season but he is young and we have to be patient to see if he emerges.

And to be fair I am seeing some horrid QB play across the league today from otherwise decent QBs. Don't know what that tells me, but today I thought Maye was a bad QB. Too many bunnies he just flat out missed. We shall see.

 

[borg]

Didn't Biscuit finish his one win game??

Maye is credited with 3 wins in 2024.......however......he was replaced in 2 of these 3 games when NE was tied or losing.
Week 8 verses NYJ, Brissett entered in the 2nd quarter after a Maye injury with NE losing 14-7.
Week 18....Maye played 1 series (0-1, 1 sack) and Milton then took over and pantsed Buffalo's 2nd and 3rd stringers

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

Just that people kept talking about the intangibles regardless of performance and time played.

I know. Gonzo has to stay on the field. The knock on Gonzo in the draft was that he was flashy but not tough. Gonzo did stretching classes all winter, Pilates I think, to avoid soft tissue injuries. It didn't work.

 

[catent]

This **** is hard when the previous administrations did such a crappy job of bringing in talent over a number of years.

Talent that has remained through multiple front-office shakeups, suggesting perhaps some of the talent is actually talented ... ? Christian Barmore, Marcus Jones, Kayshon Boutte, DeMario Douglas, Kyle Dugger, Christian Gonzalez, Anfernee Jennings, Mike Onwenu, Brenden Schooler, Rhamondre Stevenson. Heck, while we're on the topic, Jabrill Peppers, legitimate talent acquired during Belichick's tenure, was released by the new management, a decision that was hard to understand at the time and nothing that occurred during game 1 did anything to alleviate the head scratching.

And the big free-agency splurge that had many here convinced this team could be a dark-horse playoff contender ... what about that? The much touted additions at DL and OL? Of the players who played today, among the ones who were acquired by the Vrabel-Wolf front-office, who made a positive impact? Maybe Carlton Davis?

Many were pointing to the talent added by Vrabel/Wolf, claiming the team had effectively restocked. Yet despite this influx of talent, new coaching and leadership, the on-field product very much looked the same.

The extent to which Wolf (and Groh) were (and may still be) involved in personnel decisions (at Kraft's behest), and their role/impact re: personnel management vis-a-vis the perceived lack of roster depth, is also potentially highly relevant to this discussion.

Putting all that aside, though, I don't care how good your roster/coaching is; without high-level QB play, you will struggle to consistently win, and with mediocre QB play, you'll be lucky to win more than a few games. That was very much the issue BB faced during his final several years, and it continues to be a problem per today's game, with a similarly disappointing outcome.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

And to be fair I am seeing some horrid QB play across the league today from otherwise decent QBs. Don't know what that tells me, but today I thought Maye was a bad QB. Too many bunnies he just flat out missed. We shall see.

Yeah, Maye was bad today. No way to sugar coat it except be patient. Maye did look more professional. Now he has to settle down his mechanics as the game slows down for him.

 

[borg]

Glad to read people are keeping their level heads one game into a three to five year contention rebuild.

Some might argue it's year 6 of the post-Brady rebuild.... though I get why some prefer to selectivity edit out the past half decade.
Whatever gets you through the night terrors.

 

[ausbacker]

While I agree with your general sentiment, 5 year rebuilds don't exist in the NFL.

Three year rebuild followed by hopefully, the Pats establishing themselves as perennial contenders over the following years.

 

[Ununcle]

I know. Gonzo has to stay on the field. The knock on Gonzo in the draft was that he was flashy but not tough. Gonzo did stretching classes all winter, Pilates I think, to avoid soft tissue injuries. It didn't work.

I'm loosing patience. I was so happy thinking we got a major steel in the draft because i trusted the draft gurus. I want to believe, but I'm tired of seeing people say he's "arguably the best player on Defense." At this point for me he's "arguably" a bust. I hope I'm wrong. But right now, in my book until he proves otherwise, he's not even "Arguably" the best CB on the team never mind the best player on Defense.

 

[PScottman]

That^.

WARNING AI ANSWER BELOW... (and apparently wrong)


"Peyton Manning's second NFL season was 1999, when the Indianapolis Colts roster included key players like RB Marshall Faulk, WR Marvin Harrison, and WR Reggie Wayne. Other notable players on that roster were QB Kelly Holcomb, TE Ken Dilger, OT Tarik Glenn, DE Dwight Freeney, and K Mike Vanderjagt."

 

[catent]

Gordon was a drug addict with mental health issues. Not sure I see a correlation to Gonzo.

A player who is oozing with talent but is unable to get (or stay) on the field (in this case, for different reasons).

That is the (relatively obvious) analogy.

 

[WhatJustHappened]

Looked like #****ies out there today, defense was ****, and Drake Maye looked like my dead grandmother, and I don't think she ever played football.
Hate to say it, but that was fkn HORRENDOUS.
No excuse for that performance.

 

[DoubleDeluxe]

Some might argue it's year 6 of the post-Brady rebuild.... though I get why some prefer to selectivity edit out the past half decade.
Whatever gets you through the night terrors.

Rebuilds generally refer to a new coaching staff with a young roster and a new QB. Not multiple coaching changes over many years. Those are 2 or 3 distinct failed rebuilds. BB post Brady, and hiring Mayo. Since Maye was here last year I will say we are 2 years into the current rebuild, with 2 failed ones post Brady

 

[upstater1]

Brady wasn't the Third overall selection.

Brady was in his second year as a starter.

Third year on the team.

That's all that matters.

Where you get drafted is absolutely irrelevant. As the Brady example proves.

 

[catent]

I'm loosing patience. I was so happy thinking we got a major steel in the draft because i trusted the draft gurus. I want to believe, but I'm tired of seeing people say he's "arguably the best player on Defense." At this point for me he's "arguably" a bust. I hope I'm wrong. But right now, in my book until he proves otherwise, he's not even "Arguably" the best CB on the team never mind the best player on Defense.

I've lost touch a bit over the past year or so, but Gonzo is absolutely one of the most talented DBs in the NFL (even with his inexperience).

If he can't get (and stay) on the field, it'll be moot, but I wouldn't write him off one game into his third NFL season. Give him more time get/stay healthy and (hopefully) play some games. The talent/ability is there in abundance.

 

[lancerman]

"Peyton Manning's second NFL season was 1999, when the Indianapolis Colts roster included key players like RB Marshall Faulk, WR Marvin Harrison, and WR Reggie Wayne. Other notable players on that roster were QB Kelly Holcomb, TE Ken Dilger, OT Tarik Glenn, DE Dwight Freeney, and K Mike Vanderjagt."

Context matters.

A lot.

Wtf?

Did you forget that Reggie Wayne was drafted in 2003 and that Faulk was on the GSOT on turf in 1999 when they won the Super Bowl? Dwight Freeney was drafted in 2002.

 

[bresna]

I was there and Patriots fans were almost outnumbered by the Raiders fans. It was a pretty sad statement on a stadium that has a huge STM waiting list - current STM members are dumping tickets.

Maye sucked. His throws were almost all too high or behind the receivers. He missed open receivers and some of his biggest plays were all on the receivers, who made some great catches on underthrown balls.

This D... WTF were they playing? Was it some weird zone where they hand the TE off to an open field? How many wide open TEs do you need to see before you say, "Hmm... maybe we should cover that guy?" And we heard that Peppers was cut because he didn't fit the new scheme? So I guess the new scheme is, "Our safeties can't play"?

I'm serious though... can someone tell us what scheme the pass D was playing? It almost looked like Cover 1 but that would have meant the other safety is covering the TE, but that didn't happen, unless I am wrong.

 

[lancerman]

I've lost touch a bit over the past year or so, but Gonzo is absolutely one of the most talented DBs in the NFL (even with his inexperience).

If he can't get (and stay) on the field, it'll be moot, but I wouldn't write him off one game into his third NFL season. Give him more time get/stay healthy and (hopefully) play some games. The talent/ability is there in abundance.

Expectations are part of it. Gronk was frequently out but we had a contending team without him and he was an x factor who we hoped would be healthy when it mattered to get us over the top.

Gonzo is on a talent deficient team that needs consistent bodies to play at a standard to be respectable. Him being out and then a boost when he's back is not helping us all that much for where we are. We would almost be better off trading him and seeing if we can get a 1st rounder and a solid B level defensive back in return that is reliable.

 

[Dedhampatsfan]

I'm really curious why I keep seeing this take. I really am. He has like 3 picks in 20 games. He's injured over 30% of the time. What am i missing? I'm getting Josh gorden "the most talented player on the field" vibes, but at least Gordan had some mind blowing plays. Can we at least wait for him to be good first

OK. So, tell me who is your pick for the most talented player on the team?

 

[PScottman]

And to be fair I am seeing some horrid QB play across the league today from otherwise decent QBs.

Because no one plays their starters in preseason anymore. It's all the "joint practices" as the prep. Teams will a high number of returning core (incl. coaching) are automatically advantaged in the new system.

Need to get used to it - its the new reality of the league.

 

[DoubleDeluxe]

Expectations are part of it. Gronk was frequently out but we had a contending team without him and he was an x factor who we hoped would be healthy when it mattered to get us over the top.

Gonzo is on a talent deficient team that needs consistent bodies to play at a standard to be respectable. Him being out and then a boost when he's back is not helping us all that much for where we are. We would almost be better off trading him and seeing if we can get a 1st rounder and a solid B level defensive back in return that is reliable.

Wow. Let's trade one of the best young CBs in the NFL because he pulled his hammy. Good plan.