Patriots 2021 season thread

Brady with 9 passing TDs in 2 games. wtf

I've never seen either look as bad as Durant did and you have options. Give Cajuste a try or heck move Onwenu back to RT and play Karras at OG.

I think the latter is their best offensive line combination at the moment and it’s probably not that close. Not sure what the hesitancy is to go to it.

Why are we acting like Herron was the problem? The three first half sacks were with Durant, why is he playing? That was the worst first half I've seen from an OT in a long time. What did we think, the Chiefs were just going to dump a good young OT?

Well it's a catch 22, without going vertical more, you'll see more pressure. If you keep everything short, you get teams to play like last year.

Herron was the reason Durant started in the first place so yea he’s a problem. Wynn is a problem, Mason’s pass-blocking is a problem. The line as a unit has been an issue these first 2 games. This is supposed to be the strength of the team. You’re right about the catch 22, but we need good line play to start with then we can start blaming the QB for not taking shots or the OC for not drawing up different plays.

They need Trent Brown back and Wynn to start balling and then things should greatly improve.

I thought the OL was fine against that Dolphins team, Herron didn't give up a sack and still hasn't on the year. Durant has given up two and was part of the reason on another. No more sacks after Herron came back in. If I had to guess Bill inserted Durant because of his size in the run game, yet you have Onwenu if you want a monster RT to replace Brown.

Another issue I've notice is always using the TEs as receivers. Old school Patriots just bring in a blocking TE to help the line. I'm kinda shocked Asiasi hasn't dressed for a game.

Yet it really does come back to the OL because they are carrying so many guys. Why not try Cajuste? If he's not ready to help, them why is he on the team?

Yet it still comes back to stretching the field. The Jets played like Cam was the QB, we dare you to beat us deep, we're stopping the run and blitzing the QB. That's going to make it hard on any OL, especially when you aren't using TEs to help block on pass plays.

It also needs to be said, Mac Jones isn't yet close to a Tom Brady in the pocket. He's good for a rookie, yet his go to move is to always back pedal. He's got to get better moving up and side to side in the pocket.

Herron was so bad against the Dolphins he had to get benched for Durant. Durant actually played pretty well the rest of that game which is why he got the start. It’s irrelevant that he wasn’t charged with a sack.

Did Herron get benched or did they rotate them like Bill said was his plan? I certainly remember the announcer saying they were switching them in and out. Yet I certainly don't remember any crazy negative plays out of Herron besides a holding call.

While PFF only says two, multiple other places charge Durant with all three sacks and that's what I thought. Maybe you think Sacks are irrelevant, yet three sacks in less than a half is about as bad as it gets. Herron comes in and no more sacks.

The Athletic promoted Jeff Howe to National Football writer and the new Patriots guy, Matthew Fairburn is pretty weak so far. Howe earned the promotion, but I miss his mix of stats/data along with great storytelling. He would summarize DL pressures/hits and OL performance in a quick digestible tweet each week.

Mike Reiss seems restricted from outshining the rest of the ESPN beat reporters (you might notice he moved his practice/game notes to a twitter picture instead of additional ESPN article), and Pats Pulpit isn't as strong as when Rich Hill was there. Any recommendations for another Pats read? I like Andrew Callahan on twitter but am not adding a Herald subscription.

www.clnsmedia.com/advanced-stats-report-patriots-mac-jones-ranks-31st-in-air-yards-through-two-games/ 

That's perfect, exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for. Good stats, good conclusions without overreacting or overstating. I've seen others retweet Lazar before, but didn't think/need to look deeper. Thanks!

What is CLNS media? I've seen some of them post on Celtics Blog at SB Nation. But I can't figure out what it really is.

So you're saying the announcers were wrong they didn't rotate those two in the Miami game? They don't track players in and out in the boxscore like Basketball and frankly I didn't notice either player outside a holding call that Herron had. Which is frankly what you want from your OL. You seem to be going to extreme measures to say Durant last game was equal to Herron in the first game. So what were Herrons crazy negative plays?

I'm not even trying to say Herron was anything special,  yet allowing three sacks in the fashion Durant did in less than a half is about as bad as it gets. You can't compare them. What stands out is that it wasn't one great player, he just couldn't stop anyone. The Jets targeted him, that's the biggest negative for any player in my book.

I'd also point out Herron played mostly LT last year, Onwenu played mostly RT. Lot of the same players, yet they are learning new positions and how to gel as a unit in there new roles. So Herron improving is exactly what you want to see. Nevermind learning how to adjust to a totally different QB and a totally different offense. I'm really not worried about our OL besides what I just watched from Durant. That will mess with a QBs head and might get him injured.