The McDaniels Effect... Passing Numbers up across the board

[Pape]

looking at the numbers in the passing game here, comparing last year to this year through four games...

2025 11 different receivers have caught passes... they have gone 91/121 (75%), 988 yards, 10.9 ypc, 7tds through 4 games
2024 10 different receivers caught passes... they went 65/103 (63%), 558 yards, 8.6 ypc, 2 tds through 4 games...



Inside the 20 is even better...

2025 6 receivers, 11/16 (68.75%), 88 yards, 6 tds
2024 5 receivers, 7/11 (63.63%), 30 yards, 2 tds




The additions the Pats made in the off season have really paid off so far... From the front office, head coach, position coordinators/coaching... and don't forget to toss in the draft picks and free agents who have been worth every penny.... McDaniels in particular has really breathed life back into the offense... Overall the team is playing much better football than last year... demonstrably better numbers in the Passing Game through four weeks of the season... Its good to see... I know the EP gets knocked on around here, but i am not sure why... Its just as effective as the wco or mcshanny (mcvay/shannahan) ball...

we still have work to do... we can always be better... but the team is moving in the right direction after spending the last four years treading water...

2025 Advanced New England Patriots Stats | Sortable 3rd Down, Red Zone Passing and Rushing Patriots Stats.

The Best Patriots Stats Source with sortable 2025 3rd Down, Red Zone Passing and Rushing Stats for this season.

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2024 Advanced New England Patriots Stats | Sortable 3rd Down, Red Zone Passing and Rushing Patriots Stats.

The Best Patriots Stats Source with sortable 2024 3rd Down, Red Zone Passing and Rushing Stats for this season.

www.patsfans.com

 

[Pape]

I want to dig into some of the personnel groupings Ian has available... be a good way to see what personnel group they are favoring... just haven't had the chance to do so yet and honestly, what I am looking for within his stat database

 

[WhatJustHappened]

2 words, among others....

Jacoby Brisset

 

[maust]

Well to be fair, the 'McDaniels effect' has also greatly benefited from being run by a QB that isn't constantly on his ass or on his way there. So there's that to also consider. It's amazing, no matter who it is, what an upright QB can do with McDaniels in his ear

 

[n1997y]

2 words, among others....

Jacoby Brisset

You really meant Drake Maye, right?

 

[Pape]

2 words, among others....

Jacoby Brisset

its more than that though... its the play calling... the routes being run... Jacoby, for all his faults, is a veteran player who had more than a passing familiarity with the offense Alex VanPelt installed... 2 passing TDs in four games? thats bad... in a passing league? its horrendous...

There were a lot of reasons why the team failed last year... one of the biggest was the coaching staff and their inability to play situational football... That is one of (but not the only) the biggest differences between 24 / 25

 

[WhatJustHappened]

You really meant Drake Maye, right?

No, I didn't

 

[Pape]

You really meant Drake Maye, right?

JB played the first four games last year... moving forward we can compare drakes numbers from last year to this year...

 

[Pape]

Well to be fair, the 'McDaniels effect' has also greatly benefited from being run by a QB that isn't constantly on his ass or on his way there. So there's that to also consider. It's amazing, no matter who it is, what an upright QB can do with McDaniels in his ear

absolutely... I did mention that, noting the rookies and the free agents were worth every penny spent... but unless those players are put into positions "to win" its meaningless...

the coaching in New England has dramatically improved... is it perfect? nah... but its a hell of a lot better than what we had last year

 

[Patsfan1645]

Having an actual offensive line instead of the Walmart door greeters doesnt hurt either.

 

[maust]

You really meant Drake Maye, right?

I'm thinking he meant Jacoby vs Maye in those 1st 4 games and yes to be fair Jacoby was running for his life behind that horse hockey line just like Maye was once he started. Either way it's great to once again have an offense where the QB runs because it's the best option he sees vs trying to run because it's the only option he sees

 

[maust]

absolutely... I did mention that, noting the rookies and the free agents were worth every penny spent... but unless those players are put into positions "to win" its meaningless...

the coaching in New England has dramatically improved... is it perfect? nah... but its a hell of a lot better than what we had last year

Not implying you didn't my man, just saying imho McDaniels has significantly better tools in his box than AVP had. It's not easy trying to hammer a nail with a coping saw

 

[Pape]

Not implying you didn't my man, just saying imho McDaniels has significantly better tools in his box than AVP had. It's not easy trying to hammer a nail with a coping saw

Has better tools? yeah, no doubt, understatement of the year.... And why do they have significantly better tools?Because the current staff reviewed the deficiencies this team had and went out and addressed them...

in 2024, Mayo/Van Pelt& Co were the guys who put the team together... they signed, or more pointedly didn't sign, the players needed to fill the gaping holes Belichick left... last year we were Club Kiddie Camp based on the way the franchise was run... the only thing they did right was draft Drake Maye...

so you are right, the talent is much better... but now they have the play calling to compliment that talent...

 

[denverpatsfan]

Now let's get the run game fixed!

 

[mgteich]

So, against truly terrible teams, Maye and this year's WR's are about one TD a game better than Brissett and last year's WR's.

with 4TD's if the 5 TD's of improvement being in the rex zone.

News at 11.
======
We have been better, but it will take lots, lots more to be even an average quality Offense, although we could make it into the playoffs by just having good results against the very weak teams on our schedule.

 

[Pape]

So, against truly terrible teams, Maye and this year's WR's are about one TD a game better than Brissett and last year's WR's.

with 4TD's if the 5 TD's of improvement being in the rex zone.

News at 11.
======
We have been better, but it will take lots, lots more to be even an average quality Offense, although we could make it into the playoffs by just having good results against the very weak teams on our schedule.

One a game?

we've doubled the yards and tripled the touchdowns... That is news at 11

 

[Real fan 02]

looking at the numbers in the passing game here, comparing last year to this year through four games...

2025 11 different receivers have caught passes... they have gone 91/121 (75%), 988 yards, 10.9 ypc, 7tds through 4 games
2024 10 different receivers caught passes... they went 65/103 (63%), 558 yards, 8.6 ypc, 2 tds through 4 games...



Inside the 20 is even better...

2025 6 receivers, 11/16 (68.75%), 88 yards, 6 tds
2024 5 receivers, 7/11 (63.63%), 30 yards, 2 tds




The additions the Pats made in the off season have really paid off so far... From the front office, head coach, position coordinators/coaching... and don't forget to toss in the draft picks and free agents who have been worth every penny.... McDaniels in particular has really breathed life back into the offense... Overall the team is playing much better football than last year... demonstrably better numbers in the Passing Game through four weeks of the season... Its good to see... I know the EP gets knocked on around here, but i am not sure why... Its just as effective as the wco or mcshanny (mcvay/shannahan) ball...

we still have work to do... we can always be better... but the team is moving in the right direction after spending the last four years treading water...

2025 Advanced New England Patriots Stats | Sortable 3rd Down, Red Zone Passing and Rushing Patriots Stats.

The Best Patriots Stats Source with sortable 2025 3rd Down, Red Zone Passing and Rushing Stats for this season.

www.patsfans.com

2024 Advanced New England Patriots Stats | Sortable 3rd Down, Red Zone Passing and Rushing Patriots Stats.

The Best Patriots Stats Source with sortable 2024 3rd Down, Red Zone Passing and Rushing Stats for this season.

www.patsfans.com

We said Pape!.. EFFICIENCY! that is what the offense is. The offensive line deserves alot of credit as well. Props to Marrone and Josh for coaching the OL to actually be solid. Still more to accomplish but I'll take this 11th ranked offense!

 

[signbabybrady]

Future PHoFer

 

[lancerman]

The problem with this is

1. Brissett started the first few games. Maye is clearly an upgrade in passing. Jacoby has always been a low volume passer. His best season was just over 3000 yards. Having an actual starter vs a glorified back up made a difference.

2. Quality of opponent. We played the Bengals, Jets, Seahawks and 49'ers (before they got injured to hell). The Jets were the only real dud in that lineup. This year we played the Raiders, Dolphins, Steelers, and Panthers. Aside from the Steelers (who have an awful defense anyways) we played bottom dwellers. To give you an idea, the 2 teams the Patriots broke 30 points against were the Dolphins and the Panthers. The Dolphins gave up 30 in 3 of their 4 games so far and the Panthers in half their games. The Jets also put up more against the Steelers. And as of right now we are the only win the Raiders have.

The comparison will be a lot better once we can see how this looks against teams like Buffalo, Tampa and Baltimore and we are comparing the seasons mostly along the lines of games Maye played in. Right now the deck is kinda stacked. If you got to redo the first 4 games of last year with Maye in at QB, you would also expect an increase in production because Jacoby really isn't someone who should be starting at all.

This is why you don't use small sample sizes for data.

 

[Pape]

The problem with this is

1. Brissett started the first few games. Maye is clearly an upgrade in passing. Jacoby has always been a low volume passer. His best season was just over 3000 yards. Having an actual starter vs a glorified back up made a difference.

2. Quality of opponent. We played the Bengals, Jets, Seahawks and 49'ers (before they got injured to hell). The Jets were the only real dud in that lineup. This year we played the Raiders, Dolphins, Steelers, and Panthers. Aside from the Steelers (who have an awful defense anyways) we played bottom dwellers. To give you an idea, the 2 teams the Patriots broke 30 points against were the Dolphins and the Panthers. The Dolphins gave up 30 in 3 of their 4 games so far and the Panthers in half their games. The Jets also put up more against the Steelers. And as of right now we are the only win the Raiders have.

The comparison will be a lot better once we can see how this looks against teams like Buffalo, Tampa and Baltimore and we are comparing the seasons mostly along the lines of games Maye played in. Right now the deck is kinda stacked. If you got to redo the first 4 games of last year with Maye in at QB, you would also expect an increase in production because Jacoby really isn't someone who should be starting at all.

This is why you don't use small sample sizes for data.

1. the numbers are the numbers... he was the guy we brought in the be "the guy" while Maye rode the bench... this speaks volumes about the quality of the staff on the team last year - they are the ones who thought he would be a good place holder...

2. the seahawks were the best team we faced last year in the first four games. the 49ers and jets started 2-2, and the bengals started 1-3... did we have to face the 9ers with CMC or Justin Hargrave? no we did not... they had already hit the slide in week 4... Hardly a murderers row to start the year... so lets not make it out to be so...

I am using the data that we have... nothing wrong with that... what the data tells us is that we are a better team this year than we were last year. Nothing more... nothing less... no grandiose claims are being made, no shouts of "PLAYOFFS" are rebounding off the sides of the echo chamber...

tldr: