Patriots News 12-01 And Players To Watch vs. The Colts
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Good morning. Here are your Patriots news and notes for December 1. The Patriots are back home in Gillette Stadium to take on the Indianapolis Colts. Gillette hasn’t been the home advantage it once was in the past two years.
But the rivalry with the Colts has a chance to reignite with the two young quarterbacks, Drake Maye and Anthony Richardson, leading their respective teams, like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning did for the first ten years of the 2000s. The rivalry was among the best in the NFL back then.
Those were always must-see matchups and perhaps this is the first of many memorable games between the two rival teams for years to come.
Evan Rothstein: Jerod Mayo raised many an eyebrow on Friday morning when he said that he called Rothstein after the Bears’ debacle on Thursday afternoon against the Lions to discuss why the Bears only ran one play in the last 34 seconds of the game with a timeout in their pocket.
This was one of those “better left unsaid” moments that Mayo should have kept to himself. Rothstein is considered Mayo’s “Ernie Adams,” and for the two to talk about the play is fine and how it should have been handled, but it gives the impression that Mayo was unsure of what he would have done.
Cole Strange: The Patriots left guard has been rehabbing his knee since an injury and subsequent surgery last December. He’s been back to the practice field but won’t be activated this week against the Colts.
Mayo has stated that he won’t be playing this week. So, after Michael Jordan’s release and his return to the practice squad, who will be the left guard today? One option could be rookie Layden Robinson who has been practicing at left guard the past few weeks.
“Layden, we started to put him in there on the show team at different spots just to become an overall better football player,” Mayo said. “He’s doing a good job for us. This guy is strong, and he just has to see the same picture that everyone else sees and go out there and execute. He definitely has talent to be a starter in his league.”
Jerod Mayo: The head coach singled out some players he wants to see more from the last five games of the season, and he started with Robinson. Robinson and fellow rookie left tackle Caedan Wallace have been injured this year, and those players top the list.
The rookie wide receivers are also there. Ja’Lynn Polk has only caught 12 passes for 87 yards and two touchdowns thus far. Javon Baker has only played 30 offensive snaps this season. Getting those two going would be a major boost for the offense down the stretch.
Patriots 4th & 2 Podcast: Mike D’Abate and I wrapped up the Miami game this week, because Derek Havens was off due to the arrival of his baby girl. We then did a quick breakdown of the Colts game, giving our predictions for that and other games. Please check us out and give us a listen on YouTube, Apple, or wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Russ 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 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.
This week, the Patriots face the Colts, a very different team from their last two opponents. Indy uses few motion plays, which is good news for a Patriot defense that was utterly confused by them.
However, they do run most of three-receiver formations with two big WRs in Michael Pittman, Alec Pierce, and Adonai Mitchell, who are all 6’2 or above. This will be an issue for smaller New England cornerbacks, Jon Jones and Marcus Jones. The Colts will be without slot receiver Josh Downs this week.
Defensively, the Colts run primarily zone, with the lowest man coverage rate in the NFL. They don’t blitz much, instead relying on the front four to bring home the pressure. DeForest Buckner is the man to watch. He’s been a game-wrecker for the Colts against the Patriots for the past two seasons. There are, however, ways for the Patriots to attack the Colts’ defense. We will explore these below.
Here are our Patriots Players to Watch this afternoon if the Patriots are to win today.
Drake Maye: Maye passed for just 222 yards last week in Miami and committed two more turnovers, a fumble, and an interception. Those must stop if the Patriots’ offense wants to be more productive down the stretch.
Indy runs the same defense week after week, so AVP has to scheme up for plays for Maye to beat the Colts’ defense. The best way is to play the short passing game and utilize the tight ends.
Maye has the weapons to accomplish that, but it will require time for him to throw the ball and go through his progressions.
The Offensive Line: The Patriots’ much-maligned offensive line faces another big threat inside against DeForest Buckner. The Colts’ big man along the interior DL is a force against the run and the pass.
They’ll need to play much better this week if they want to pull off an upset against the Colts. But it isn’t just inside. The Patriots’ left tackle Vedarian Lowe will face the rookie edge rusher Laiatu Latu, while Kwity Paye, who leads the Colts in sacks, will rush from the right side.
Offensively, this is the key to the game. If they can’t handle the Colts’ front four to open up holes in the running game or pass protect enough, it will be a long afternoon.
Hunter Henry/Austin Hooper: The Patriots’ most consistent offensive skill position this year, the Patriots tight end duo had a very good game in Miami last week. They were targeted 12 times and caught ten passes for 104 yards and a touchdown.
Both players have a knack for finding soft spots in zone coverage and getting open once plays break down. This week, they are facing a Colts defense that is among the worst in the league at defending tight ends. Pop Douglas should also feature prominently in the Patriots game plan this week.
Christian Barmore: If the Colts have their interior player in Buckner, the Patriots have their guy in Barmore, who is slowly regaining his form after missing all of training camp and the first ten games of the season with blood clots.
He and Davon Godchaux (who was excellent last week) will be asked to slow down the Colts’ running game, spearheaded by Jonathan Taylor. But Barmore will also be looking to bring interior pressure on QB Anthony Richardson.
Richardson is a huge (6’4, 244) quarterback who has a cannon for an arm and is extremely athletic. But he’s inconsistent and brings feast or famine to the table. The Patriots are looking for the latter rather than the former this week.
Brendan Schooler: Speaking of Richardson, look for the Patriots to use Schooler as a spy during obvious passing downs in their “Longhorn Package.”
This will be an important wrinkle in the Patriots’ defensive game plan this week to slow down the Colts’ offense. Schooler has been impressive when tasked with this, but Richardson will be a tough assignment.
Prediction: The Patriots return home to Gillette Stadium this week before their late-season bye week. Indy still has a shot at a playoff berth, so this week is a must-win scenario. Of course, the Patriots would love to knock off the Colts and lower their playoff chances, as Indy did to the Patriots a couple of years ago.
Once again, the key to this game will be won or lost in the trenches. If Indy can dominate upfront and get their running game going, the RPOs and such will be much more effective.
The Patriots must get their OL struggles in order if they are to get their own running game going with Rhamondre Stevenson, as well as play-action passing with Drake Maye. It should be close, but the Patriots will fall short again.
Colts 27-20
The Bills knocked off Kansas City last weekend and now face the 49ers this week. Heavy snow is expected in the area, with as much as four feet expected in some places in Buffalo.
If the Bills win tonight, they will clinch a playoff spot with five weeks to play. The 49ers are a surprising 5-6 and fighting for their playoff lives right now. The Bills announced a special drone half-time show. That should be interesting.
The Jets face former second-round draft pick QB Geno Smith in the Meadowlands for the first time today. Smith flamed out in New York and drifted around the league for a few years before a career rejuvenation with Seattle.
Smith said revenge against his former team is the furthest thing on his mind this week, as he greatly respects the organization that drafted him. Smith leads the league in passing yards per game (275.9) with 12 TDs, but also 12 INTs this year.
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Week 13 Predictions:
Thanksgiving Day Football:
Detroit over Chicago 1-0
Dallas over NYG 2-0
Green Bay over Miami 3-0
Black Friday
Kansas City over Las Vegas 4-0
Sunday, December 1,
LAC over Atlanta
Cincinnati over Pittsburgh
Minnesota over Arizona
Indianapolis over New England
Seattle over NYJ
Washington over Tennessee
Houston over Jacksonville
LAR over New Orleans
Tampa Bay over Carolina
Philadelphia over Baltimore
Sunday Night Football:
Buffalo over San Francisco
Monday Night Football:
Denver over Cleveland
Bye Week: none
Last week: 9—4
2024 Season 128—51
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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“The Colts, it’s going to be a huge challenge for us. I would say defensively, this is one of the better fronts, more disruptive fronts that we have faced this year. We’ve got to do a good job handling the front.
“Starts with [DeForest] Buckner, who’s been a guy who’s played at a high level for a very long time. Go to the second level, you have [Zaire] Franklin back there. In the third level, [Kenny] Moore [II] and the rest of those guys. They’re definitely very good players and they have a very good defense.
“I would say offensively, [Jonathan] Taylor, he’s a problem. We have to try to go out there and really bottle him up. I think one thing about him, he probably doesn’t get the hype that he deserves. At the same time, he’s a very explosive player and a very fast player out there on the field. It all really runs through him. In saying that, they definitely have a big-arm quarterback.
“Having a guy like Joe Milton [III] to run the quarterback for the show team is definitely going to be good for us. They have good receivers. I think it starts with [Michael] Pittman [Jr.]. He’s one of those guys that is able to do the dirty work. Doesn’t shy away from blocking people. At the same time, he does a good job catching balls over the middle of the field. He’s really a fearless guy.”
Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo spoke about facing the Colts this week and the team’s challenges.
“Obviously, putting the ball in harm’s way is a big emphasis for a football team as a quarterback. But I think when you’re trying to fight back, you’re trying to make some plays; some of them happen.
“But I do think, back on my statement, I am worried about turning the football over. That’s a problem. But at the end of the day, you can’t turn the football over, especially – I think we’re losing the turnover margin in most of the games with me back there, so that’s something I need to improve on.”
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye on if he’s worried about the turnovers that he’s faced in his first seven games as a starter.
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“Talent sets the floor; Character sets the ceiling.” Bill Belichick
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Steve, what’s “better left unsaid” is this: “for the two to talk about the play is fine and how it should have been handled, but it gives the impression that Mayo was unsure of what he would have done.”. Do you have the word by word call transcript? I think not. So you don’t even know the context of the call to make that assumption on Mayo. Your basically saying Mayo is a football novice dummy when he’s considered the polar opposite for his whole career. It’s why he was tagged for head coach long ago. C’mon.