Patriots News 11-10 Keys And Players To Watch vs. Bears
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Good morning and a Happy Veterans Day to all of our fellow vets out there tomorrow. Here are your Patriots news and notes for November 10. The Patriots will play the Bears this afternoon, and the first and third-overall picks in this year’s draft will meet for the first time.
Caleb Williams of the Bears and Drake Maye of the Patriots are both rookie quarterbacks leading their respective teams. However, Williams has a much more impressive supporting cast than Maye. Regardless, it will bear watching this afternoon when their play against each other will rate both.
Maye told the media this week that he’s known Williams since high school where the two attended football camps and competed against one another.
Yannick Ngakoue: On Thursday, the Patriots signed the nine-year veteran to the active 53-man roster off of waivers from the Ravens. Ngakoue has had double-digit sack seasons and a Pro Bowl in 2017. He obviously isn’t the same player and has been on seven different teams in his career.
However, with the Patriots’ pass rush struggling, he is worth a flyer, and perhaps he can inject some life there. The team began the year with Matthew Judon, Josh Uche, Anfernee Jennings, and Oshaun Ximines at the edge. Only Jennings is still on the roster. Judon and Uche were traded, and Ximines tore his ACL, and is currently on IR.
Ngokoue has 70.5 career sacks and had four sacks last year with the Bears. He’s still only 29 and could possibly resurrect his career a bit with another fresh start. It is doubtful that he’ll play this week in Chicago due to such a quick turnaround. His veteran experience will help, both on the field and in the locker room.
Raekwon McMillan: In a corresponding move, the Patriots released LB/ST Raekwon McMillan. He first joined the Patriots in 2021 but has been beset with injuries. After Ja’Whaun Bentley’s injury put him on IR, McMillan played a much more key defensive role to accompany his core special teams role.
But after a four-game stint as a starter as an off-the-ball linebacker, McMillan was benched in favor of fellow STs ace Christian Ellis. McMillan continued with work as a core STs player on five different units. If he passes through waivers, the Patriots may attempt to bring him back as a practice squad member.
For the game today, Joe Giles-Harris would probably be promoted from the practice squad to handle all of the STs duties that McMillan handled.
Mac Jones: The Patriots’ former QB will get the start this week against the Minnesota Vikings due to Trevor Lawrence’s ongoing shoulder injury, where he is contemplating surgery that would end his season. While Lawrence is listed as day-to-day, if he opts for surgery, Jones would be the top option to start the final eight games of the season.
After flaming out in New England, Jones moved on to Jacksonville where he was partnered with HC Doug Peterson and had a terrific preseason. However, in starting his first game for the Jaguars, facing a tough Minnesota team won’t be an easy task. He did, however, have one of his best games against the Vikings in 2022, throwing for 383 yards and two scores in a Thanksgiving night game.
Patriots 4th & 2 Podcast: This week, Derek Havens and I wrapped up the Titans game and discussed Maye’s play. We then did a quick breakdown of the Bears game, giving our predictions for that and other games.
Francis/Chuck Fairbanks: The former Patriot tight end and head coach should be in the Patriots team Hall of Fame, and the fact that Francis isn’t in is an absolute travesty. Francis and the Raiders’ Dave Casper changed how teams used the tight end position. This will be discussed in our Sunday posts until it happens. Casper is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Francis’ numbers stand up well against Casper’s, yet he isn’t even in the team’s HOF.
Key Matchups and Keys to the Game —
The Patriots and Bears will meet in Chicago today and although the Patriots are mired at 2-7, the Bears at 4-4 are having issues of their own. After winning three in a row, it seemed that they were turning things around.
But after a disastrous Hail Mary against Washington and a blowout loss to Arizona, the wheels are coming off. Head coach Matt Eberflus has come under fire and many players including rookie QB Caleb Williams have questioned his play-calling. He works his players hard in practice, some players believe he overworks them, which has caused tired, careless play on Sundays.
Then there is the schedule. After playing the Patriots today, the Bears face the Packers twice, the Lions twice, the Vikings twice, as well as the 49ers and Seahawks. Is this week a “get right” game, or the beginning of the end for Eberflus? At this point they can hardly afford to look past New England.
Here are our keys to the game from a Patriots’ perspective.
RunningThe Ball Inside:
The Patriots’ running game has been awful the past three week with the exception of Drake Maye scrambling for yardage. The mantra this week has been getting back to their roots which is pounding the ball between the tackles.
Will they be able to do that? Time will tell. However, the Bears will be without starting DT Andrew Billings who suffered a torn pectoral muscle. If there is a weakness in the Bears’ defense it is stopping the run where they rank 30th in the league in run defense DVOA.
But getting Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson going will be no easy task. Since Drake Maye took over at QB, the Patriots are -46 yards rushing before contact since Week 6. This must improve this week.
Stop The Run (yawn) And Make Them One-Dimensional: This seems like a given every week, that the team fails on. But the Bears offensive line is banged up right now and it may provide the Patriots an opportunity to stop the bleeding for a bit. D’Andre Swift leads the Bears running game with 505 yards rushing with four touchdowns. The Patriots will need a big game from Davon Godchaux in the middle of the defensive line. Slowing down the running back at the point of the attack is key here. They’ll also need big games from inside backers Jahlani Tavai and Sione Takitaki.
Williams has an excellent group of skill position players with Swift, WRs Rome Odunze, D.J. Moore, Keenan Allen, and TE Cole Kmet. The problem has been his pass protection, he’s been sacked 29 times.
The Patriots may play more zone coverage this week to limit Williams ability to go off script and extending plays with his feet. However, the Patriots are not a great zone team and are better suited to play man coverages. We may see them mixing coverages quite a bit.
Get The Passing Game Untracked:
The Patriots will be facing a very difficult pass defense to have success on with the Bears’ secondary. Chicago plays primarily a zone defense and the key here will be attacking the middle of the field with Hunter Henry and Demario Douglas.
However, the Bears’ pass rush with Montez Sweat will present its own challenges, where the pass protection for New England has been inconsistent. The matchup here will depend on whether the Patriots can run the ball effectively. If so, then the area of play-action passing could be effective.
Kayshon Boutte would be the obvious target there, taking deep shots down the field, away from outstanding corner Jaylon Johnson. The Patriots really need to generate some YAC (yards after the catch) this week. They have 872 YAC (19th in the NFL) this season. The Bears have 856 (21st in the NFL) but with one less game played.
This week the Patriots were preaching ball security, and getting back to their roots in the running game, something that is needed, especially the latter if they are to get an upset win today.
The Bears are undefeated at home and winless on the road, 4-0 and 0-4 respectively. Unfortunately for New England they are going on the road to play the Bears. If they are to break that trend, then they’ll have to cut down on mistakes and penalties, and stop the turnovers, while taking advantage of opportunities when they present themselves.
Getting some balance on offense and making the Bears one-dimensional are the keys here. However, the Patriots have been unable to do these for the majority of the season, which is a good reason why they are 2-7.
Here are our Patriots Players to Watch this afternoon if the Patriots are to win today.
Drake Maye: Maye was incredible on the game’s final play last week in Tennessee where he was forced to go off-script and scramble for nearly 12 seconds before finally hitting Rhamondre Stevenson for a game-tying touchdown with no time remaining.
Maye’s scrambling skills and coolness under fire are terrific. But all rookie QBs are prone to making mistakes, and he is no exception. He needs to cut down on those and get some production from his WRs this week.
Keion White The Patriots generated a very good pass rush last week, pressuring Mason Rudolph on more than 47 percent of his dropbacks but were only able to get a single sack. White has to change that this week.
With Bears’ LT Braxton Jones missing his second game in a row, the Patriots have to target backup tackle Larry Borom. Last week, Borom allowed three sacks and seven pressures in the blowout loss to Arizona. White and the Patriots have to take advantage of this and disrupt the running and passing games of Chicago.
The Bears are thinner at the OL this week missing Jones, backup LT Kiran Amegadjie, and starting RT Darnell Wright. This is a must-win area for the Patriots this week.
Kendrick Bourne: Bourne is beginning to show that he is nearly recovered from his ACL surgery from last season and is rounding into form. He doubled his season production last week catching four passes for 41 yards in Tennessee.
With his veteran savvy and his ability to get open. He could remedy some of the YAC issues the Patriots have. With a struggling WR room, Bourne’s re-emergence could just what the doctor ordered.
Hunter Henry: The Patriots’ most consistent skill position player, Henry leads the team in targets, catches, yards, YAC and is tied for the team lead in touchdowns with 1. No Patriot receiver has more than one TD this year. That should change this week.
Look for Henry to attack the seams and have a good day today. He’ll provide the safety valve for Drake Maye. He and Douglas should see a lot of passes their way in the middle of the field.
Christian Gonzalez: I expect that Gonzalez will see a lot of action against the Bears’ rookie wide receiver Rome Odunze this week. He has the size and versatility to play inside or outside. He’ll be a tough matchup for the Patriots this week. That’s why the pass rush is so important this week.
The entire secondary will have a tough road to hoe this week, but the Patriots need their best defensive player to set the tone.
Prediction: The Patriots face a tough but flawed Bears team right now. Chicago is beat up on its offensive line right now and it will affect both the running and passing games. Will this be enough to turn the tide?
It is difficult to say, given the Patriots defensive struggles this year. If the Patriots get the running game going, then they can pressure the Bears defense enough to make it a competitive game. It will be a close one… but not close enough.
Bears 24-20
The Bills have ruled out Keon Coleman this week and with Amari Cooper questionable, it could have an effect on Josh Allen’s passing game. The Colts will be short-handed too as WR Michael Pittman is also out. But as in the predictions below, I like Josh Allen to continue his winning ways this week.
The Jets play the Cardinals this week and after their win over Houston, the talk was that they can run the table and finish in the playoffs. Their next test is with the Cardinals in Arizona.
After placing K Greg Zuerlein on IR after the Patriots game, they went with Riley Patterson for one game but released him and signed K Anders Carlson to the practice squad. But this week, they are elevating Spencer Shrader from the practice squad to kick this week. Interim HC Jeff Ulbrich said that Patterson wasn’t getting enough distance on his kickoffs last week.
The Dolphins play at the Rams this week, and on Friday, Tyreek Hill popped up on the injury report with a wrist injury. He’s listed as questionable for this week’s game, but I expect that he’ll play. Since Tua Tagovailoa’s return the Dolphins have scored 27 points each in the two games.
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Week 10 Predictions:
Thursday Night Football:
Baltimore over Cincinnati 1-0
Sunday, November 10:
NYG over Carolina
Chicago over New England
Buffalo over Indianapolis
Kansas City over Denver
Atlanta over New Orleans
San Francisco over Tampa Bay
Washington over Pittsburgh
Minnesota over Jacksonville
LAC over Tennessee
Philadelphia over Dallas
NYJ over Arizona
Sunday Night Football:
Detroit over Houston
Monday Night Football:
Miami over LAR
Bye Week: Cleveland, Green Bay, Las Vegas, Seattle
Last week: 10—5
2024 Season 100—38
2023 Season 178—94
2022 Season: 178—92—2
2021 Season: 183—88—1
2020 Season: 169—86—1
2019 Season: 162—93—1
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“It’s always exciting, at least for me personally, to go to a stadium and play against a team like Chicago because of the history and the great players that have come way before me or before the guys in the locker room.
“Offensively for these guys, let’s start with the quarterback. He’s a very good player. This guy is able to extend plays. He’s very athletic. I watched him a little bit coming out and then really just diving into the tape. This guy is very athletic. He’s elusive. He has great vision in the pocket, and I would say he scrambles more to make throws. Not as much – on the other side, you go against some quarterbacks in there, they’ll take off and get down the field. Not saying that he doesn’t do that, but he definitely does a good job keeping his eyes down the field and making those throws.
“Talking about just some of their skill positions, they have receivers that are very good players. It’s a mix, a combination of young and old, I would say, on the team. You’ve got a guy like [Rome] Odunze, who’s a rookie. A lot of us liked him coming out. Then, you also have Marcedes Lewis, who’s still going. This is like year 19 for a guy like that. So, when you talk about a mix of old and young players, there are definitely two extremes. Even talking about Marcedes, he’s still doing a good job in his role. His role right now is to go out there and move bodies, and he does a good job there. As far as the backs are concerned, explosive, all have to be at the point of attack.
“It starts up front with us as far as the run game is concerned. Defensively, obviously they put [Andrew] Billings on IR, which is a loss for them. In saying that, they definitely still have a lot of players on the field that have played a lot of football and have played at a high level for an extended period of time. Special teams are good in all three phases. It’s going to be a challenge for us.”
Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo on preparing for the Bears this week.
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“Talent sets the floor; Character sets the ceiling.” Bill Belichick
Follow me on Twitter @SteveB7SFG or email me at [email protected]
Listen to our Patriots 4th and 2 podcasts on Apple and YouTube as Russ Goldman, Derek Havens, and myself from PatsFans.com discuss the latest Patriots news and game analysis.
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I think the Bears need a bear hug.