Patriots News 6-29, Patriots Defense, Drake Maye Development

Good morning. Here is your Patriots news, 6-29, and notes this week. But first, thanks to Ian Logue for more than ably standing in for me in last Sunday’s column. Often, injuries I suffered, which forced me out of the military, act up, and for the past two weeks, I have been barely able to stand and walk.

Anyway, it is what it is, and as my Italian paisan, Mike D’Abate, often does, I’ll plug a quote from The Godfather in here. “This is the life…we chose.”

And also, thanks for the many tweets this week. My family and I lost our beloved Bulldog, Georgia, on the 27th. As many of our podcast listeners can attest, she occasionally made a cameo appearance on the podcast or could be heard snoring loudly in the background. We miss her; she was a treasured member of the family—requiescat in pace, mea principissa.

Georgia was a Pats Fan and was always decked out on Gameday

The Patriots released a rookie UDFA from the roster.

Wilfried Pene was a standout player from Virginia Tech who went undrafted this spring. The team felt that they didn’t want snaps going to a player who doesn’t fit into their plans. Hopefully, the young man finds himself a team that fits his talents.

Quick Hitters For the Patriots and NFL News:

Robert Kraft: Patriots owner Robert Kraft appeared on Adam Schefter’s podcast and was very forthcoming about his feelings on several topics. And he seems genuinely excited about 2025.

“Any Patriots fans that are out there, I can tell you I’m very excited about this upcoming season,” he said. “The last two years were the worst years of my 31 years of ownership. We have to change that.”

“We have a new coach in Mike Vrabel who is really connected with the players, who’s doing great work,” Kraft said. “We have a young quarterback and a lot of great veterans, free agent veterans that came in, a great draft class.

“We’re going to have fun this year, I promise.”

“We’ve owned the team 31 years, we’ve had 27 home playoff games, and we’ve been privileged to win 23,” Kraft added. “I want that record to keep going.”

Kyle Williams: The Patriots’ rookie wide receiver was recently spotted working out alongside New York Jets’ All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner under the direction of athletic trainer Akil Bordelon, per his Instagram.

Miami Dolphins safety Ashton Davis and Patriots rookie wide receiver Jeremiah Webb, among others, also joined Williams and Gardner.

Williams, the 69th pick overall, seems quite the fit within the Patriots’ offense. His speed and route-running ability should add a much-needed big-play element to the offense.

With the additions of Stefon Diggs and Mack Hollins during free agency and Williams in the draft, it leaves one with questions about some of the other wide receivers on the roster. Notably, Kayshon Boutte and Kendrick Bourne.

If Williams shows he’s ready for the NFL, that may make either Boutte or Bourne expendable. However, with both Diggs and Hollins dealing with injuries, it wouldn’t be a shock to see the team carry seven wide receivers initially on the 53-man roster.

Drake Maye/Josh McDaniels: This duo has been mentioned many times in our columns here, and ultimately, if the Patriots want to find the success they chase, the pair will have to gel incredibly well.

A couple of things I hope to see this season begin with taking advantage of Maye’s physical talent. I’d call some designed running plays with Maye keeping defenses honest by showcasing his dual-threat ability.

I hope that Maye will get a handle on the offense so well that he’ll be able to change the calls at the line of scrimmage if he sees that the defense is set up to stop the called play. Plus, put Maye in the shotgun more, McDaniels traditionally likes to play the quarterback more under center, but Maye doesn’t seem comfortable in doing that.

Finally, hopefully McDaniels will call some controlled roll-outs and bootlegs to allow Maye to move in the pocket and give him more options.

Patriots No Huddle Podcast: Derek, Mike, and I discussed the Patriots roster and did a breakdown of it. You can find our podcasts on YouTube, Apple, or Spotify. Please take a look and leave us a review.

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 displayed 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.

Patriots Defense Promises To Be Fun To Watch:

With training camp right around the corner (we’ll be in July on Tuesday), I, for one, am very excited to see the 2025 version of the Patriots’ defense. Many of us have been clamoring for the team to be more aggressive on defense.

Under Mike Vrabel and Terrell Williams, we can expect to see a defense that aims not only to be aggressive but also violent. Violence is a word we’ve heard several times this spring from the coaching staff in their philosophy.

Karen Gueregian of MassLIVE.com spoke to safeties coach Scott Booker and others about this new vision.

“We are going to make sure on tape, day in and day out, that people see our violence,” Booker said. “And it’s not just in tackling, it’s in re-routing, it’s in everything you do.”

Acting defensive coordinator Zak Kuhr also spoke about what the violent approach entails on the field.

“Being aggressive – being violent. Not turning down blocks. Having a good toolbox of tools to defeat the offensive player, but it’s not just always finesse,“ Kuhr said. ”There is some physicality there and some violence. We’re huge into guys that don’t mind playing violent football.”

Big things are expected from the revamped edge where the Patriots added Harold Landry, K’Lavon Chaisson, and Bradyn Swinson to the holdovers from last season’s defense, Anfernee Jennings and Keion White.

White started off superb last season, but tailed off down the stretch. But like everyone else, he’s getting a fresh start and has the confidence of the head coach that he’ll turn things around this year.

With the other additions above as well as Milton Williams to play alongside a healthy Christian Barmore inside the defensive line, the opportunities for the edge players will definitely increase.

This goes for Jennings as well. He’s been an outstanding edge setter, and run defender, but the team could use more pass rush from him.

White, however, has been impressed with the coaches this year, something that was missing in 2024, according to his comments.

“I like Mike. He leads with work,” White said. “I can respect that. It’s similar to Bill [Belichick], just with a younger face. I think we all know how I feel about that; I liked him.”

“So it’s comforting to know that you have a hard-ass at the helm who will not be afraid to fistfight with you in a back alley.

“Now I feel like I have a coach.” And he does.

White added that he’s looking forward to being a little more aggressive this year.

“That changes what I can do a little bit. I can be a little less conservative and be more aggressive on the edge.”

“It changes a lot of things, and I have a really good coach, coach [Mike] Smith telling me steps, alignment things like that I haven’t traditionally heard. Just that next step of having that coach behind me has been really good for me.”

With an improved front seven, including new linebackers Robert Spillane and Jack Gibbens to add to the resigned Christian Ellis and Marte Mapu, things should really improve for the secondary. Opposing quarterbacks won’t have as long to throw.

And with Christian Gonzalez paired with Carlton Davis, the Patriots have an outstanding pair of outside corners. But they have plenty of depth behind them with Alex Austin, Isaiah Bolden, Marcellas Dial, Kobe Minor, Jordan Polk, and Miles Battle.

The safety group is deep as well, Kyle Dugger, Jabrill Peppers, Dell Pettus, Craig Woodson, Marcus Epps, Jaylinn Hawkins and Josh Minkins, the team will have a difficult decision cutting any of them.

With the changes they’ve made with the players on the roster, and the coaching staff with Mike Vrabel and Terrell Williams, the Patriots are attempting to transform their defensive identity by embracing a more aggressive, physical, and intimidating style of play, aiming to re-establish themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the NFL.

We’ve been preaching for this for years, now they have the players in place to make it happen. To say that many fans and media are excited for the team’s 2025 training camp to begin may perhaps be the biggest understatement of 2025.

______________

“Well, if you look at the majority of the red zone plays in this league that are passes, it’s usually, ‘One, two, see you later,’ right? Or it’s a sack. Maybe there were a few three-man rushes where, again, if we feel like those are instances where you can sit and progress, then you can.

“I know that there were maybe a couple of those. Again, I’m with you. I’m coaching them up to say, ‘Hey, we’ve got to go somewhere, we’ve got one, two,’ and that’s what these turn into in the red zone. If you watch every red zone snap in the league, that’s about what the majority of them do if you get past your first hitch.

“I think that will continue to progress when we get down there and just making sure that the timing is there. Sometimes it’s not, and then we’re going to have to be really good on both sides of the ball with the play extension, being where we need to be and then the defense executing what they have to do as well on those play extensions in the red zone..”

Patriots Head Coach Mike Vrabel, when asked, “How did you feel that the offense did with the red zone execution, and where would you like to see them improve today?”

“We’ll add a couple other people there. I think that just having somebody that’s dedicated, that’s been in that role, that can manage the people that we have here.

“He did a fantastic job in his interview process and meeting with all the different groups that we feel like he’s going to be able to work with. He played football. Not that that’s a prerequisite, but you have to have the ability to not only take these numbers and pull them out of wherever they pull them out of.

“I’m not going to pretend that I know, but also have some application to it and be able to explain it to the coaches and say, ‘How much is too much, probably need more.’

“However, we can make our jobs more efficient and better is something that I’m excited about. We’re all excited about him.”

Head coach Mike Vrabel, when asked, “I just wanted to ask about one specific part of it, which was the hiring of Ekene Olekanma from the 49ers. What do you envision in his role, and how do you hope he can help you?”

_______________

“Somebody asked me what success looks like, and I said, ‘Yeah, you can judge it by wins and losses during the season, but success for me in the offseason is going to be that the players believe in what we’re doing, and they believe in the message, they believe in the teaching, and they believe in the connections that we’re making.’” — Mike Vrabel

Follow me on Twitter @SteveB7SFG or email me at [email protected]

Listen to our PatsFans.com Patriots No Huddle podcasts on Apple and YouTube as Derek Havens, Mike D’Abate, and I discuss the latest Patriots news and game analysis.

Like this article?
Support Steve and buy him a coffee.

About Steve Balestrieri

A former US Army Special Forces NCO and Officer, Steve has been following the Patriots since their days at Fenway Park. Steve has worked in the film industry and wrote as an Military Editor at SpecialOperations.com, 1945.com as a reporter for the Millbury Daily Voice, Millbury-Sutton Chronicle, and the Grafton News. He's also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA)

View all posts by Steve Balestrieri

Tags: 53 Man Roster Projection Anfernee Jennings Bradyn Swinson Drake Maye Harold Landry Josh McDaniels K'Lavon Chaisson Keion White Mike Vrabel New England Patriots Patriots edge rushers Terrell Williams Zak Kuhr

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

3 Comments

Oldest

Newest Most Voted

JimK

11 months ago

Keion White is getting a lot of ink. However, he did the last 2 summers, yet he’s a guy that played a lot, and has 6 sacks in 2 full seasons. And he got reamed from the coaches and I believe Godshaux for going off script and “free lancing”. White also broke ranks in criticizing the coaching staff while he was free lancing for sacks and giving up the edge in doing so. I beleive that does not go over well in the NFL. He can talk all he wants, but the “well will run dry” on him if he… Read more »

JimK

11 months ago

Steve, thank you for all your service and the live you chose. I hope you are feeling better. I appreciate your Pats fandom and hearing what you think. Thank you so much.