Patriots Week 12 Report Card In 34-15 No-Show Loss To Miami
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Historically, the Patriots have always had issues in Miami. But this one was much worse, and they looked ill-prepared to compete in Sunday’s blowout loss to the Dolphins.
The Patriots were a complete no-show for the first half of the game in Miami, as the Dolphins built up a 24-0 halftime lead. The Patriots looked (and were) completely unable to stop the Dolphins’ offense. Tua Tagovailoa looked like he was at practice facing 7-7 drills as he sliced and diced the Patriots’ defense.
Offensively, the Patriots’ OL was atrocious. They got beat off the edge at will and committed penalty after penalty, which put them behind the sticks and unable to mount any kind of rhythm.
It looked like they had no game plan coming in, and the players seemed completely befuddled and outmatched.
At the end of the first half, Miami had outgained New England 289-84. Ugly.
So, here are our grades this week for the Patriots-Dolphins game.
Drake Maye didn’t have the greatest of days, arguably the worst of his starts as a pro, but the deck was really stacked against him. His pass protection was completely overmatched on the edge on every snap. And the presnap penalties were constantly moving the team backward.
His coaches are so gun-shy about putting the ball in his hands early in games that it is frustrating to watch. See below for the coaching grade.
Maye finished 22-37 for 222 yards with a TD and an INT. He also rushed five times for 26 yards.
Rhamondre Stevenson had a tough day, garnering only 13 yards on eight carries. And much of that had to do with the poor play of the OL. He had a really nice run of about 19 yards wiped out because of a holding call.
Antonio Gibson had six carries for 31 yards and had one catch out of the backfield for 14 yards. He needs to be targeted more in the passing game. JaMycal Hasty had one carry for 15 yards. Drake Maye had five carries for 26 yards. Overall, the runningbacks had 15 carries for 59 yards, about a 4.0-yard average. Including Maye and Demario Douglas (1 run for 1 yard), the Patriots rushed for 86 yards on 21 carries, a 4.1-yard average. Not enough yardage, but considering the score, it is easy to understand why.
The wide receivers were targeted 19 times and had ten catches for 105 yards, which is not nearly enough in any category. Demario Douglas led the way again with five catches for 62 yards. Kendrick Bourne had three catches for 30 yards. Ja’Lynn Polk had one catch for seven, while Kayshon Boutte had one for six yards.
The group should have had a much better statistical day, especially considering that, being down by so many points, the team would throw more in the second half. Separation was once again an issue. Boutte, Polk, and Javon Baker played a total of 94 offensive snaps and had two catches for 13 yards to show for it.
Boutte also had two Offensive Pass Interference penalties.
The tight ends were (no surprise) a bright spot for the offense. They were targeted 12 times and had 10 catches for 103 yards and a touchdown.
Austin Hooper had a nice day, catching four passes on four targets for 59 yards, including a 38-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Maye was flushed out of the pocket. Hooper was working the middle of the field, and once he saw Maye break to the outside on the right, he drifted deeper and was uncovered. Maye heaved it from near the 50-yard line while running and hit Hooper at the three, where he rumbled into the end zone.
Hunter Henry tied with a team-leading five receptions for 44 yards. He and Hooper, along with Douglas, are the most reliable receivers on the team.
The Patriots offensive line was an utter disaster on Sunday. The pass blocking was atrocious. Maye was sacked four times, suffered eight QB hits, and was pressured 16 times.
Even worse were the penalties. Vederian Lowe had three false start penalties, plus a holding call. But as bad as he was, Demontrey Jacobs was arguably worse. He was flagged for a false start and a holding penalty and was unable to block Chop Robinson, who logged 1.5 sacks, a TFL, two passes defensed, and three QB hits. Jacobs also allowed 10 pressures
It was Jacobs who got replaced by Sidy Sow in the second half. Maye was sacked four times, with eight QB hits and 16 pressures.
All of the preventable pre-snap penalties, especially early in the game, speak to this unit’s unpreparedness and lack of confidence.
The Patriots’ defensive line generated very little pressure on Tua except for Christian Barmore, who had a sack, a TFL, a pass defensed, and a QB hit. However, the DL did stuff Miami’s rushing attack to just 65 yards on 24 carries, a 2.7-yard per-carry average.
The Dolphins tried to kill the clock in the second half being up 31-0 but were unable to get anything going.
The linebackers got nearly nothing in pressure of Tua in the game, however, they too helped in snuffing out the Dolphins’ rushing attack. This saved their grade from being a full letter lower.
The linebackers weren’t getting deep enough drops and Tua constantly ate them up by throwing in the gaps resulting in too many big plays. Christian Ellis had one pass broken up in the end zone, but was targeted often. He and a safety vacated the left side of the field and allowed Achane to waltz in for a touchdown with no one in the zip code.
Sione Takitaki had a terrible game. Tavai and Jennings flashed on a few plays but were not their usual selves in the game.
Tua eviscerated the secondary on Sunday, completing 29-40 passes for 317 yards and four touchdowns. Like the Rams a week ago, the Dolphins’ use of motion completely tied the defense in knots. Miami ran motion on over 90 percent of its offensive snaps, and the results were plain.
The communication issues, which have been so prevalent, continued. And little to no adjustments were visible. The defense needs a #2 corner and move Marcus Jones back into the slot. Kyle Dugger was playing on an injured ankle, but had an awful day. Christian Gonzalez was solid and had a scoop and score 63-yard fumble return.
The ST units were the least of their issues on Sunday. Not that they were great, but average on a day like that is all you can get. Joey Slye was great in warmups, blasting 60+ field goals, but he doinked one off the upright in the first quarter.
Bryce Barringer averaged 51.8 yards on his five punts. He had one touchback but put two inside the 20 and had a 69-yard punt. Marcus Jones averaged 12.7 yards on three punt returns.
The coaching staff was completely awful in this game. The team was so unprepared, and the miscommunication issues have continued this long, leaving one to question whether or not the coaches are getting through to the players.
I know it is a rookie staff, but Mike McDaniel took this staff to the woodshed and spanked the heck out of them. Demarcus Covington seems unable to adjust to anything opponents are doing.
Mayo hamstrings his young QB with the conservative play calls, I’m feeling vibes of Marty-Ball at times. Early in the game, the team has a 4th and 1 around the 40-yard line. Your team is 3-8…go for it. Build some momentum. He’s so athletic, put the ball in his hands. Nope…punt.
Later facing a 3rd and 16, they call a run, that gained three yards and Slye then doinks a FG attempt. This was not a step back but several, and it starts and ends with the coaching staff.
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We’re on to Colts (thankfully) and back at Foxboro. Burn the tape.
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Maye – that’s the first I’ve seen of him starting to feel the pressure. I heard he was beat up post game. Maye’s “time-clock” on getting rid of the ball is marginally worthless as sometimes with stunts etc the opponent is getting in quick and other times not. But that time window for Maye has no consistency that Maye can count on. I hope he does not degrade on play finishing out the season here as a byproduct. I totally can’t get how punting early in the game on 4th down on your own 40 is somehow now “coaching scared”… Read more »
WOW! A sensible and on point posting. I am not used to seeing that on this r nay site.