The Patriots should have won this game.\u00a0 They are finding new and inventive ways to lose games.\u00a0 This week it\u2019s DeVante \u201cVelcro\u201d Parker\u2019s turn to blow the game.\u00a0 Mac Jones drops a bomb down the sideline right into the hands of Parker, who has two strides on his defender, and he drops the pass.\u00a0 Further, Parker claims it was on his fingertips and doesn\u2019t take responsibility for the drop after the game.\u00a0 If you have read my articles, you know I am not a fan of Parker.\u00a0 This is the straw that breaks the camel\u2019s back.\u00a0 Parker must go!\u00a0 He had 1 catch on 3 targets for 7 yards.\u00a0 Greg Hill from WEEI stated this morning on his show that Parker should be cut, and I agree.<\/p>\n
On the other side Kendrick Bournes had a very good game.\u00a0 He caught 10 passes of 11 targets for 89 yards and added another 14 yards on a jet sweep.\u00a0 That\u2019s the kind of production we need.<\/p>\n
Mac Jones completed 24 of 33 passes for 200 yards.\u00a0 He threw for a high percentage on a very short time to pass.\u00a0 He got the ball out quickly with the exception of one ball he held and got sacked.\u00a0 The final sack for a safety was not his fault.\u00a0 The TE chipped Crosby and Vedarian Lowe absolutely whiffed on the block.\u00a0 Unfortunately, Jones had that awful Interception when he overthrew a wide-open Hunter Henry.<\/p>\n
The Patriots started their 6th different Offensive Line combination of the year.\u00a0 This might have been the worst group yet.\u00a0 Two rookies at guard.\u00a0 Atonio Mafi is still making the same mistakes week after week.\u00a0 He cannot make the switch on any games that are played by the DL.\u00a0 He holds onto the double team block too long and can\u2019t recover.\u00a0 I put this on Offensive Line coach Adrian Klemm.\u00a0 If a player is making the same mistake, then it\u2019s the coach who is not coaching him up.\u00a0 Trent Brown is not the same player in the 4th<\/sup> quarter as he is in the 1st<\/sup>.\u00a0 Because he is out of shape, he gets tired in the 4th<\/sup> and gets sloppy with his techniques.\u00a0 He slows down and it\u2019s easy for defenders to go right around him.\u00a0 Pro Football Focus loves him and ranks him 4th<\/sup> in the league.<\/p>\n I feel bad for David Andrews, as he has rookies on each side of him.\u00a0 Which one does he help?\u00a0 Vederian Lowe is rated 72 of 74 OTs in the league.\u00a0 With two tackles per team (64), Lowe is ranked as a backup player by a significant amount.\u00a0 Atonio Mafi is ranked 78 and Sidy Sow is 76 out of 79 Offensive Guard, and both are rated as backups.\u00a0 In years past, Dante Scarnecchia could take mediocre talent and get the best out of them.\u00a0 Scar also was able to develop low round draft picks into legitimate NFL lineman.\u00a0 Sow (4th<\/sup> Rd #117) and Mafi (5th<\/sup> Rd #144) are rookies and Lowe is in his 2nd<\/sup> year (6th<\/sup> Rd # 184).\u00a0 In the past these guys would have been given time to develop.\u00a0 However, because of injuries to Cole Strange, Michael Owenu, Reilly Reiff and Ty Wheatley, they must play now.\u00a0 \u00a0I think Calvin Anderson needs to play and Lowe sat down.\u00a0 Anderson was a 2019 Undrafted Free Agent out of Rice.\u00a0 He has more experience than Lowe. \u00a0\u00a0The O-line needs to clean up the penalties.\u00a0 They had back-to-back penalties to start the game and then three straight to finish the gain.\u00a0 That\u2019s undisciplined football and again the coach needs to be held accountable.<\/p>\n The Patriots played a bend don\u2019t break defense.\u00a0 They allowed plays underneath to shrink the field and they prevented the big play.\u00a0 JC Jackson played very well against Devante Adams holding him to 2 catches on 5 targets for 29 yards.\u00a0 A very commendable job.\u00a0 The TE\u2019s were 7 of 9 underneath the Linebackers.\u00a0 Ja\u2019Whaun Bentley has a very hard time covering a TE.\u00a0 Jalen Mills was just plain awful, trailing even the TE\u2019s in coverage.\u00a0 Jon Jones got hurt in the 4th<\/sup> quarter and the Patriots were forced to go with Shaun Wade.<\/p>\n Jabrill Pepper played perhaps his best game of the season.\u00a0 His big hit (clean) on Davante Adams resulted in the interception by Jahlani Tavai.\u00a0 Peppers led the team in tackles with 7, all solo tackles.<\/p>\n The one big play the Patriots gave up was a 48 yard catch that Kyle Dugger blew the coverage.\u00a0 Dugger was the Free Safety who stepped up to make a play on a covered TE, vacating the deep middle.\u00a0 He should have been there!\u00a0 That play lead to a Raiders Field Goal in the 3rd<\/sup> quarter.\u00a0 One chunk play all game and it may have cost the Patriots the game.<\/p>\n What has happened to Rhamondre Stevenson and his catching ability?\u00a0 He dropped another pass right in his breadbasket that he nearly fumbled right into the lap of a defender. \u00a0Stevenson is trying to run with the ball before he has secured the ball.\u00a0 Come on coach Sunseri, correct this bad habit in practice. \u00a0Another repeat offender.<\/p>\n Why was WR Jalen Reagor active and rookie Kayshon Boutte can\u2019t get out of the Bill Belichick Doghouse?\u00a0 The whole league knows what Reagor is, a journeyman receiver at best.\u00a0 Why is he playing when a player you are using a roster spot on, remains inactive?<\/p>\n An interesting story came out this past week from Jakobi Meyers (who hurt his former team with a TD) that Bill Belichick never offered him a contract during Free Agency.\u00a0 Is this another case of Belichick spiting a player that criticized his hand-picked coaching staff (Patricia and Judge)? \u00a0The Patriots settled for Juju Smith-Schuster to replace Meyers.\u00a0 Smith-Schuster is washed up according to multiple reports.<\/p>\n The Patriots did run the ball well, especially in the 2nd<\/sup> half.\u00a0 Ezekiel Elliott looked spry. \u00a0\u00a0He had 7 carries for 34 yards, a TD and a 4.9 per carry average. \u00a0Stevenson ran 10 times for 46 yards, a TD and a 4.6 average.\u00a0 We need to see more of that.<\/p>\n The Defense held the Raiders to an average of 2.5 yards a carry.\u00a0 Jacobs, who led the league in rushing last year, was held to 77 yards on 25 carries for a 3.1 average.\u00a0 This was a total team effort up front with Barmore and Jennings making positive impressions.\u00a0 Unfortunately, Keion White went out early with a concussion.\u00a0 That\u2019s both the top two picks out with injury and Marte Mapu making a minimal impact.\u00a0 Bill Belichick the GM didn\u2019t address the Offensive line and chose Defense over Offense.<\/p>\n The Patriots had no pass rush yesterday and recorded zero sacks.\u00a0 Josh Uche was invisible.\u00a0 Without White there was nothing from the interior.<\/p>\n The penalties to Sam Roberts for leverage and the holding call on Hunter Henry were weak.\u00a0 Hell, if that’s the threshold then there should be a penalty called on every play.<\/p>\n It’s time to accelerate the succession plan.\u00a0 Robert Kraft needs to take the GM duties away from Bill Belichick.\u00a0 When he does that, Belichick has a decision to make, whether to accept a lesser role at his age, or hand in his resignation.\u00a0 \u00a0The roster construction from Draft choices to which players they resign and the way they go about making offers to free agents is all Bill Belichick\u2019s fault.\u00a0 He then makes the final decision on who makes the team.<\/p>\n They need a new system here on how to evaluate talent.\u00a0 Recent articles by Andrew Callahan and Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald have indicated that the Patriots Front Office and, in particular, Bill Belichick do not use analytic analysis in their evaluations, but rather their gut feel.\u00a0 They are not listening to their scouts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Patriots should have won this game.\u00a0 They are finding new and inventive ways to lose games.\u00a0 This week it\u2019s DeVante \u201cVelcro\u201d Parker\u2019s turn to blow the game.\u00a0 Mac Jones drops a bomb down the sideline right into the hands of Parker, who has two strides on his defender, and he drops the pass.\u00a0 Further, Parker claims it was on his fingertips and doesn\u2019t take responsibility for the drop after the game.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":48721,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-patriots-commentary"],"yoast_head":"\n