MORSE: Patriots Week 6 Preview vs Houston Texans
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Major announcement that Drake Maye will start at QB for the Patriots against the Houston Texans. This is a colossal mistake. Don’t get me wrong, Jacoby Brissett has played himself out of the starting lineup and the Patriots don’t have a veteran backup to put in his place while they ramp up Drake Maye. Eliot Wolf and Jerod Mayo decided to keep two rookie QB’s that needed a lot of work to become starting QBs in the NFL. Nobody expected Jacoby Brissett to be this bad.
Houston has the 3rd toughest Pass Defense in the NFL. They are #1 in Pressure Rate and #7 in Blitz Rate. This spells disaster for an Offensive Line that will have the same members out there playing together for a 2nd consecutive week, and the same unit playing together for the 1st time all season.
Offense
| Starter | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | |
| QB | C.J. Stroud | Davis Mills | Case Keenum IR | – |
| RB | Joe Mixon Q | Dameon Pierce | Dare Ogunbowale | Cam Akers |
| WR | Xavier Hutchinson | Steven Sims | Nico Collins IR | |
| WR | Stefon Diggs | Robert Woods Q | ||
| WR | Tank Dell | John Metchie III | ||
| TE | Dalton Schultz | Cade Stover | Teagan Quitoriano | Brevin Jordan IR |
| LT | Laremy Tunsil Q | Blake Fisher | ||
| LG | Kenyon Green Q | Kendrick Green Q | Jaylon Thomas IR | |
| C | Juice Scruggs | Jarrett Patterson | ||
| RG | Shaq Mason | LaDarius Henderson O | ||
| RT | Tytus Howard Q | Blake Fisher | Nick Broeker |
CJ Stroud made great strides as a rookie last season. Last week he had his highest grade of the season by PFF at 80.6 in the Texans come from behind win against Buffalo. For the entire season he is ranked as the #9 QB. Stroud is completing 68.9% of his passes this season. His TD/ INT ratio is 7 TDs to 3 INTs and a fumble. He is also a threat to run, but Houston doesn’t want him doing that after he fumbled 8 times in 15 games last season.
Stroud will be without the league’s top receiver Nico Collins who has already been ruled Out. Tank Dell is back and Stefon Diggs should see a lot of action. Dell had 4 catches on 4 targets after being out the week before. Diggs is a big play receiver that Pats fans are familiar with from his days in Buffalo. He is 2nd on the team with 31 receptions. Sims, Hutchison, and Woods are not bad receivers either and could make an impact on the game. Collins was averaging 17.7 yards per catch.
It looks like Joe Mixon will be back at RB. He was a Full Participant at practice on Thursday. On 37 carries he is averaging 4.7 yards per carry and a TD. Mixon is a threat out of the backfield too. He has 6 catches on 8 targets. Cam Akers has 38 carries for 148 yards, 3.9 YPC. Dare Ogunbowale has bounced around the league with 5 different teams. Former Patriot JJ Taylor is another backup. Dameon Pierce was upgraded to a Full Participant and may see some action.
Tight End is manned by former Cowboy Dalton Schultz. He has 14 catches. Cade Stover and Brevin Jordan are very capable backups.
On the Offensive line everything revolves around the availability of LT Laremy Tunsil. If he plays, they are a different team. He did not practice on Wednesday but was a Full Participant on Thursday. Tunsil has received s 64.8 overall grade which is good for 19th amongst Tackles. Kenyon Green, was a 2022 1st round (#15) pick of the Texans out of Texas A&M. His grade from PFF is 46.2, good for #71 for the guard position. At Center they have an emerging star in Juice Scruggs. The Penn State product was drafted in the 2nd Round (# 62). At 6’ 3”. 310 pounds he has ideal size for the position. He ran 5.22 40, but the important number is that he hoisted the 225# bar 29 times. PFF had him rated with a 69.9 blocking rating which is good for # 13. Right Guard is the former Patriot Shaq Mason. His ranking is #22 with a 62.1 rating. With the Patriots he was just a tremendous run blocker. Now he has developed into one of the better pass blocking guards. Tytus Howard is another emerging star. The 6’5”, 322-pound RT was taken by Houston in the 1st Round of 2019 draft (#23). He received a 69 rating from PFF, good for #31. Blake Fisher the OT out of Notte Dame was taken in 2nd Round (#59) in this year’s draft. Tunsil was a 2016 1st round (#13) pick by the Dolphins who was traded to Houston. Green and Howard were both 1st round picks in 22 and 19. Scruggs a 2nd round pick and the veteran Mason signed as a Free Agent.
Defense
| Starter | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | |
| LDE | Will Anderson | Derek Barnett Q | Rashad Weaver | – |
| LDT | Mario Edwards | Khalil Davis | – | – |
| RDT | Folorunso Fatukasi | Tim Settle Jr. | Kurt Hinish IR | |
| RDE | Danielle Hunter | Dylan Horton | Jerry Hughes IR | Denico Autry SUSP |
| WLB | Azeez Al-Shaair | Neville Hewitt | – | |
| MLB | Jake Hansen Q | Jamal Hill | Christian Harris IR | |
| SLB | Henry To’oTo’o | Del’Shawn Phillips | – | |
| LCB | Derek Stingley Jr. | Kris Boyd | ||
| SS | Jalen Pitre | Calen Bullock | Brandon Hill IR | |
| FS | Jimmie Ward Q | Eric Murray | – | |
| RCB | Kamari Lassiter Q | Ka’dar Hollman | Jeff Okudah IR | – |
| NB | M.J. Stewart | Myles Bryant | – |
The Texans are ranked 17th against the run at 120/4 yards per game. On the other hand, they are ranked 3rd in Pass Defense. Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter are the best pair of DEs in the League. In 2023 Anderson was the Texans 1st Round pick (#3) out of Alabama. All he did was win the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. He had 7 sacks for the season. PFF has him ranked as the #26 Edge player this season with a 72.5 rating. He has 11 Tackles and 1.5 sacks this season. Hunter is entering his 10th season after being selected in the 3rd Round (#88) in the 2015 Draft by Minnesota. He had his best year in the league last season with personal best in Tackles (83), Solo Tackles (54), Assists (29), Forced Fumbles (4) and Sacks (16.5). He signed a Free Agent contract with Houston this year (2 years $49M).
Interior Defensive Line has Folorunso “Foley” Fatukasi and Mario Edwards. Fatukasi was a 6th Round pick (#188) in the 2018 draft out of UConn by the Jets. He has started 23 straight games going back three seasons. So far in 2024 he is having his best season to date with 15 Tackles already. If he continues at this pace he will set new personal best records. Edwards has 10 tackles and 2 sacks. His PFF rating is an abysmal 35.4 good for 120 rank. Another Defender entering his 10th season, Edwards was a 2015 2nd Round pick (#35) by the Raiders. Houston is the 10th team he has been with as he has bounced all over the league. His PFF rating is 57.4 for a 62nd rank.
Azeez Al-Shaair starts at Weakside LB. He is 2nd on the team in tackles with 37. The Florida Atlantic product has made the best of his opportunities in the NFL, going from an UDFA signee by San Francisco in 2019 to a starter for Houston. He has started 30 straight games for 3 different teams. Last season he had a whopping 163 tackles for Tennessee. He is light at 6’1” 228 pounds. His PFF rating is 74.1, rank is #14 amongst all linebackers in the League. Jake Hansen is listed as Questionable and didn’t practice on Wednesday and was Limited at practice on Thursday. He is unranked by PFF. If he can’t go I think we will see Neville Hewitt. Henry To’oTo’o is the Inside backer and is having a good season. He leads the team with 38 Tackles. His PFF rating is 67.5 good for a #23 ranking. The 2023 5th Round pick (#167) pick out of Alabama is another smallish backer at 6’1”, 228 pounds.
The secondary is very strong when healthy but may be without Kamari Lassiter who is listed as Questionable and didn’t practice either Wednesday or Thursday. If he can’t go Ka’dar Hollman would probably jump into his spot. Free Safety Jimmie Ward has also missed two practices this week. Next man up for Ward would be Eric Murray. Lassiter had a 61.5 rating and a 61 rank by PFF. Ward had a 64 rating and a 40 ranking. Darryl Stingley Jr was the Texans 1st Round pick (#3) in the 2022 draft out of LSU. His 40 time was a spectacular 4.38 with a 7,00 3-cone drill. The 6’ 190-pound CB received a 74.4 rating from PFF that was good for the 15th best CB in the league. Stingley is the Grandson of the former Patriots great Wide Receiver of the same name. Darryl Stingley Sr was tragically paralyzed on an illegal hit by Oakland Raiders renowned headhunter Jack Tatum, which left him permanently paralyzed and he never played again. Jalen Pitre is the Strong Safety and is ranked by PFF as a CB. The 2022 2nd round pick (#37) out of Baylor stands 5’11” 198 pounds. His PFF rating is 65.1 for a #78 ranking. MJ Stewart is the Nickel Back. Stewart is rated as Safety not a CB. His rating is 60.4 but is not ranked because he doesn’t have the minimal required plays to qualify.
Special Teams
| Starter | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | |
| PK | Ka’imi Fairbairn | – | – | – |
| P | Tommy Townsend | – | – | – |
| H | Tommy Townsend | – | – | – |
| PR | Robert Woods | Tank Dell | Steven Sims | – |
| KR | Robert Woods | Dameon Pierce Q | Steven Sims | – |
| LS | Jon Weeks |
Ka’imi Fairbairn is an outstanding kicker and is currently ranked as the #10 kicker in the league by Pro Football Reference. Punter Tommy Townsend is one of the worst punters in the league. He is ranked 31st and has a 44.7 yards per punt average. The Net yards per punt is 41.1 which is 22nd with 10 punts inside the 20 for a 45.5%. In comparison Bryce Baringer is tied for 5th in the league with 51.7 yards per punt. His Net yards per punt is 44.2 which is 6th. Baringer is tied with several other punters for the lead in Punts inside the 20 at 14. Look for Tank Dell or Steven Sims to take over the Punt Return and possibly the Kickoff return as well. Robert Woods is listed as the #1 returner, but he is not expected to play on Sunday.
A tip of the hat has to go to former Patriots Director of Player Personnel Nick Caserio. He spent 20 years in the Patriots Organization under Belichick and steadily rose up the chain to Director of Player Personnel. With Belichick in charge, there was nowhere else to go in the Patriots organization, so he joined Houston in 2021 as their General Manager. He executed the greatest heist in the NFL when he traded QB DeShaun Watson and a 6th round pick to Cleveland for a 2021 1st and 4th round picks, 2022 1st and 3rd round picks, and 2024 1st and 4th round picks. Look at where their starters were drafted, and you will notice 1st and 2nd round players sprinkled throughout the starting roster. Caserio has done a nice job in attracting quality Free Agents to Houston as well (Hunter and Mason). Because of his effort, they are contending for Division Championships and playoffs for years to come. Wish we had him as GM.
Coming and Goings
Center Ben Brown was plucked from the Las Vegas Raiders Practice Squad. This means he has to stay on the 53-man roster for three weeks before he could be waived. That is what happened to Jamree Kromah, the DE was waived after just three games on the 53-man roster. Additionally, WR Matt Landers and G Jerome Carvin were waived from the Practice Squad. Center Sincere Haynesworth was added to the Practice squad.
Brown started 40 games for Ole Miss in the SEC. He was an Undrafted Free Agent who signed with Cincinnati after the 2022 draft and was placed on season ending IR. In 2023 he signed on with Seattle PS and was activated for a one game. He spent the 2024 Pre-season with Arizona but was waived at cutdown where he signed on with Las Vegas Practice Squad. At 6’5”, 313 pounds, he has exceptional size for a Center. There is no official 40 time on him, but NFL Draft Scout estimated it to be 5.34. His arm length is exceptional for a Center at 34.5”, that’s Tackle arm length.
Haynesworth hails from Tulane University where he started 54 of 59 games he played in his 5-year college career. After the 2024 draft he signed with the New Orleans Saints but was waived injured. He passed through waiver and reverted to the Saints IR. After reaching an injury settlement with New Orleans he was released on Aug 28th. It has taken this long for him to become healthy enough to sign with another NFL Practice Squad.
WR John Jiles was waived off the Practice Squad on October 1st and re-signed this week.
Jabrill Peppers Arrested for Domestic and Sexual Assault
At his arrangement his lawyer stated that they have video evidence disputing these charges. A report came out that the Patriots management has seen the video and concur with the Lawyers claim. However, the Commissioner’s Office suspended Peppers and placed him on the Commissioners Exempt List without viewing any of the evidence.
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