Nothing sets off panic in New England quite like a Patriots loss.
The Patriots have averaged fewer than four of them per season since their first Super Bowl win in 2001, and each loss still seems to set off the five stages of grief in fans. Since it’s a short week, Patriots fans are somewhere between bargaining and depression right now. They’ll get to acceptance by Thursday.
Also with a loss comes many questions. Here are the best ones in the form of a mailbag.
I have so many questions
— @RedbirdNation11
Shoot.
It’s obviously too early to throw Gilmore under the bus, but is it too early to throw Gilmore under the bus? Tape is bad, really really bad.
— @RedbirdNation11
I think cornerback Stephon Gilmore been thrown under the bus by pretty much everyone outside the organization, and yeah, looking at the film from Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers, it’s tough not to. There were multiple plays that left you scratching your head wondering what he was thinking.
There’s not really an obvious answer on what to do with Gilmore at this point, though. He’s going to play Thursday night, because the other options would be using Johnson Bademosi on defense, moving Devin McCourty to cornerback or signing a player off the practice squad.
Unless Gilmore simply sits down in the middle of Raymond James Stadium in the middle of a play (well, he already kind of did that against the Saints), then there’s really nowhere to go but up from his performance in Week 4. So, I’d expect a bounce-back game. If he doesn’t have one, then New England might need to add a player from outside of the organization.
Thoughts on a Nink return??? #EarlyDougBagTBH
— @TheDTSB
My dream is that the Patriots will activate Rob Ninkovich off of the reserve/retired list Thursday at 4 p.m. ET, and then have him play against the Buccaneers. This would be allowed, as far as I can tell, based on NFL rules.
When the Patriots play a game on Sunday, they need to make any signings or moves by Saturday at 4 p.m. New England can make roster moves all the way up until 4 p.m. prior to a Thursday night game.
I need to see Ninkovich make his return Doug Mirabelli-style like I need water in my lungs, blood in my veins and pizza in my stomach.
In all honesty, I’m not sure how much a Ninkovich return would help, but he certainly knows the defense and could add another level of communication.
Doug, buddy… Do people seriously think the Patriots are not going to figure it out? What do you say to those non-believers? #maildoug
— @joshuajturano
There are some people who don’t. Personally, I think the Patriots still wind up going 12-4 again. If they pull it together, then it’s not crazy to think they could go 10-2 over the last 12 games of the season.
Things look hopeless on defense right now, but if New England can figure out its miscommunication problems, then a lot of issues will dissipate very quickly.
The Patriots haven’t finished worse than 12-4 since 2009, and they’ve finished worse than 12-4 just four times since their first Super Bowl win. At this point, betting on the Pats to finish worse than 12-4 is a dumb idea.
Is it possible that the defense has gotten too complacent bc they are so used to Brady bailing them out every game?
— @ChefdDds89
I don’t know about complacent, but I also don’t think losing Sunday was the worst thing for this team. I think the defense needed a wake-up call to some extent. If the Patriots won despite their defensive incompetence, then everything would be forgiven for another week. All anyone has talked about since Sunday is this team’s defensive struggles. New England’s defenders seemed pretty ticked off about their performance Monday.
If you were Matt Patricia, what would you do to fix the problems with our defense?
— @JournalistBryan
Personally, I’d ensure my players know every receiver should be covered on every play. Certain Patriots defenders currently don’t seem to know that.
Beyond that, I’d go back to the basics, because that’s what it seems this team needs. The strength of the Patriots’ defense typically is unpredictability, but this unit, at least for now, needs to be running basic man and zone concepts. And if players are going to swap receivers post-snap, then they apparently need to relearn the basic rules.
Are these defensive struggles truly fixable or are we just used to Bill fixing things every year?
— @rickeyeasterjr
I think they’re fixable, because they seem so simple. At its core, the Patriots need to stop leaving receivers wide open. NFL cornerbacks should be able to figure out who they’re covering after seeing receivers enter their routes. If they can’t, then those players need to be benched until they do. If the players can’t be benched, then New England just needs to use a relatively simple zone like Cover-3.
@DougKyed Tom Brady has been hit 27 times this season, has the O line changed that much from last year? #MailDoug
— @DoYourJob_12
I think that’s more a product of Julian Edelman’s injury. Pass rushers are getting to Tom Brady because he’s being forced to hold the ball longer as receivers run deeper routes. I think it’s also a product of adding deep threats like Brandin Cooks, Phillip Dorsett and Chris Hogan to the offense.
If Brady can hold up, then it’s a winning formula if the defense can get its act together.
Are there any plans to trade for defensive players or bring in FA? Even Revis would be a MAJOR upgrade for Gilmore – Whats the dead money when they cut Gilmore?
— @IvnvcStefan
New England couldn’t release Gilmore and not subtract salary cap space until 2019, so don’t expect that to happen. Also, it’s been four games. Let’s cool it on the cutting Gilmore talk.
The Patriots are always open to trades. They could look to add a cornerback if Eric Rowe’s groin injury is bad enough to keep him out for a prolonged amount of time.
I’m not sure if they would sign cornerback Darrelle Revis, but it might be worth calling him if they do believe Rowe will be out for a while. He’d give the team a lot more flexibility at cornerback if he’s willing to play for cheap, which for him essentially would be playing for free, since the New York Jets are paying him $6 million this season regardless.
It’s possible the Patriots didn’t make changes on defense because of the short week. A player would not have been able to get acclimated quickly enough for Thursday night.
Will Hightower eventually move back to MLB ?
— @ChVckEatsAhh
I don’t hate the idea. I think the Patriots’ linebacker play has left a lot to be desired. New England has one of the NFL’s best linebackers playing out of position.
The Patriots should look to shake up their defense and play Hightower at his natural position, giving Deatrich Wise or Cassius Marsh more snaps on the edge.
Let’s go rapid fire.
should bb replace the secondary coach? hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
— @davesavard32
New England has no “secondary” coach.
Josh Boyer is the cornerbacks coach, Steve Belichick is the safeties coach and Matt Patricia is the defensive coordinator. Most of the issues seem to be at cornerback right now.
Thoughts on the shield reunion?
— @zacxwolf
I think WWE should wait to do it until I have time to watch wrestling again. It’s pretty impolite otherwise.
#maildoug Odds Patriots run it 70 times Thursday?
— @MrQuindazzi
Bill Belichick didn’t seem to think that would be a good idea during his conference call Monday, Mr. Q.
What’s your favorite road stadium to visit?
— @salvaje50
Arrowhead Stadium so far.
Among AFC East stadiums, it’s probably Buffalo’s New Era Field. The Miami press box was a dump, though I’ve heard it’s been upgraded. MetLife Stadium pulls its food after the game, so it automatically can’t be considered one of the better stadiums to visit. Also, that stadium is very, very grey.
Could you leave a player wide open if you played in our secondary?
— @514Nipper
I probably would, but it would be based on lack of athleticism, not communication.
Thumbnail photo via Chuck Cook/USA TODAY Sports Images
