Thursday Patriots Notebook 6/20: News and Notes
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Some Patriots news and notes for this morning:
Last offseason obviously saw the addition of former Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott, which turned out to potentially be one of the club’s best moves.
While Rhamondre Stevenson was clearly the New England Patriots’ lead back in 2023, Elliott ended up making a massive impact in an offense that was anemic at best last season. He finished as the Patriots leading reception leader after hauling in 51 passes for 313 yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed for 642 yards on 184 carries, including three touchdowns.
Stevenson finished right behind him with 619 yards on 156 carries along with four touchdowns, but gave way to Elliott late in the season after he suffered an ankle injury that ultimately saw him end up on injured reserve to finish off 2023. Stevenson was also fourth on the team in receptions, with 38 catches for 238 yards.
In the latest running back rankings by Pro Football Focus, the Patriots came in at 25th overall, and their reasoning appears to be a little flawed.
“Rhamondre Stevenson is a solid back who has yet to finish a single season with a rushing grade below 78.0,” wrote PFF. “He has also averaged more than 4.0 yards per carry in all three of his NFL campaigns. He doesn’t bring a ton to the passing game, but that’s what the Patriots signed Antonio Gibson for. This group has a high floor but a low ceiling.”
The “he doesn’t bring a ton to the passing game” statement makes little sense. Apparently they haven’t noticed that Stevenson led the team in receptions in 2022 and likely would have been at or near the top again last year had he not gotten injured.
One other thing that muddies this further is that right above them is Washington at #24, with the site saying that the Commanders came in at #16 in 2023 before subbing out Antonio Gibson for Austin Ekeler this offseason.
Meanwhile, Gibson, who they were clearly high on, is now here in New England. In theory, that would have seen the club rank a little higher than #25 given that his presence in Washington would have had the Commanders previously sitting 9 spots higher.
Not that it matters considering the Patriots certainly have some bigger question marks. Still, for now, the current roster has Stevenson, Gibson, Kevin Harris, Deshaun Fenwick, JaMycal Hasty and Terrell Jennings currently among this group heading into camp, with both Fenwick and Hasty generating a little buzz during the spring.
Hopefully, a few of those guys continue to push for spots behind Stevenson and Gibson as injuries are always a concern and the club could definitely use the depth.
One interesting note is the fact that, looking back at the totals from last season, most of Elliott’s success in the passing game in 2023 came with Bailey Zappe at quarterback.
With Zappe under center, Elliott caught 32 passes for 207 yards and both of his touchdowns, while with Mac Jones at quarterback, he caught just 19 passes for 106 yards. With Jones, it was notable that a lot of the passes in the quick game were often late or thrown off target with Jones, which led to several moments last season where it appeared there was some frustration by Elliott.
With Zappe, the ball seemed to arrive on time, allowing Elliott to make a move and get upfield. He actually averaged nearly a yard better per catch with Zappe, finishing averaging 6.5 per reception compared to 5.6 from Jones.
We’ve heard over the last month how important timing and execution are under new offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, and that’s something that has definitely stood out among the reports from the various practices this spring.
The ball has reportedly been coming out quickly from both Jacoby Brissett and Drake Maye, with both seemingly having good touch on the football when it comes to throwing to the running backs. The high, arcing throws from Jones will hopefully not be a thing with either player, and indications so far seem to point to that definitely not being the case.
In this offense, play-action and misdirection are big aspects to how the club is expected to operate, and the addition of Gibson allows New England to have two backs who are dual threats both in carrying the ball and making plays in the passing game out of the backfield. Getting either player the ball in space will likely be a big key this season, especially as they try and keep opponents off balance given the lack of a perimeter threat.
How all of this translates in the coming months remains to be seen, but given the upgrade in both Brissett and Maye, hopefully, we’ll see a big improvement compared to the mess we saw in 2023.
Anyone wondering about the effect Jerod Mayo might have when it comes to influencing younger free agents may feel a little better after hearing that the Patriots won out over another team recently in adding a player. Former DC Defenders offensive lineman, Liam Fornadel, who recently signed with the Patriots, apparently picked Foxboro over Green Bay. Fornadel reportedly worked out for the Packers before coming to New England, with questions at the guard position – and a potential opportunity to earn a roster spot – likely playing a key role in his decision as well. The Browns were another team reportedly also on his radar ahead of his decision. … JuJu Smith-Schuster talked about being back to “100%” this spring, but it sounds like that isn’t the case. Phil Perry said during a recent Next Pats Podcast. that Smith-Schuster still looks like he’s dealing with something, which clouds him with uncertainty heading into training camp. “He looks limited. It looks like he’s fighting through things, quite frankly,” said Perry. “I don’t know if it’s soreness, stiffness, when you have knee injuries the way he’s had them, to me it’s something you have to keep an eye on. Again, good for him for participating. He just looks like a guy who’s battling, where after a rep in an individual period for receivers, he goes through, he makes his move, he catches the football, he throws it back, it is a slow, long walk back to the back of the line for him.” … Tom Brady gave a glimpse of just how good Bill Belichick was at his job, shooting down a recent notion to the contrary by Colin Cowherd during an appearance on his podcast. Brady was asked if under Belichick, the club might have been too tight at times ahead of a big game and if Brady ever needed to “lighten this room up.” Brady actually admitted it was in fact, just the opposite. “I think the answer would be no, and I think that’s where Bill was actually so great,” said Brady. “And no one saw him in those moments like we did. And Saturday night, we were so prepared and so focused, we were the opposite of tight. We were always relaxed because we had the answers to the test. I knew that … I went through the call sheet. Let’s say we had 150 calls on the call sheet. There was a squad meeting at 8:00. I would meet with the quarterbacks starting at 6:30 and the offensive coordinator. We’d go through every single play on the call sheet, and we’d do exactly what we do. We do exactly what we did. ‘Okay, this is the play, this is the run. What’s the one thing that could mess this run up? Oh, a safety blitz off the right side. Okay, great. What do you want to do if that happens?’ So, I’d walk to the line of scrimmage. That call was made. I’d break the huddle. I’d look to the line of scrimmage. I’d say, ‘Okay, the only problem I have on this play is if the safety is blitzing off the right side.’ Then I would just look for it and he only did it, let’s say, 5% of the time. So, most coaches would just say, ‘Ah, just run the play, whatever. If they get lucky and call at the same time, one for them.’ That’s not how I played because that one play could mean everything. I would say, ‘No, if it’s a 5% chance, it could happen. What should I do if it happens?’ So, we’re all on the same page.”
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