Some final thoughts on New England’s 30-27 win over the New York Jets as the Patriots turn their focus to their Sunday night matchup with Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens:
— New England’s top three 2020 draft picks all played surprisingly minor roles Monday night.
Safety Kyle Dugger (second round) logged just four defensive snaps. So did linebacker Josh Uche (second round). Linebacker Anfernee Jennings played seven.
Dugger had missed the previous two games with an ankle injury and was questionable for this one, so the Patriots might have wanted to ease him back in. (Typically a core special teamer, he played just three snaps in the kicking game.)
But with top linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley out with a groin injury, either Uche or Jennings was expected to fill his spot in the starting lineup. Instead, that honor went to temporary practice squad call-up Terez Hall, who made his regular-season NFL debut.
Hall, who signed with the Patriots as an undrafted rookie in May 2019 and has been with the organization ever since, played 30 defensive snaps (65 percent) in Bentley’s stead and did not look overmatched, finishing with six tackles.
“I thought he stepped in and did a solid job for us,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said Tuesday morning. “He’s been with us for a year-and-a-half and has worked hard and made steady improvement.”
Uche filled in for Bentley late in last week’s loss to the Buffalo Bills, but his only action Monday came as a situational pass rusher. The athletic Michigan product played two snaps on New York’s final drive of the first half and was on the field for both third-and-longs the Jets faced after halftime. Jennings periodically spelled Hall at inside ‘backer.
“I think we tried to utilize all those guys and, so we wouldn’t overload anybody, just had them in different roles,” Belichick said Tuesday on WEEI’s “Ordway, Merloni & Fauria.” “Jennings and Terez played more on early downs, and Josh played more on third down and some passing situations in two-minute.
“That’s just the way it worked out. If the game had gone differently, then then the play time might have been different, too.”
Dugger’s four snaps came at the other off-the-ball linebacker spot typically occupied by veteran safety Adrian Phillips, who played 89 percent of snaps in the win. All of Dugger’s snaps came after halftime.
Starting right tackle Mike Onwenu (sixth round) was the only 2020 Patriots draft pick to see significant playing time Monday. Tight ends Devin Asiasi and Dalton Keene and offensive tackle Justin Herron all missed the game with injuries, and linebacker Cassh Maluia dressed but did not play.
The Patriots waived Maluia on Tuesday and placed Keene on injured reserve, where he joined Asiasi and Herron.
— The Patriots’ defensive personnel for much of this contest resembled what you’d see in the second half of a preseason game.
Hall, defensive tackle Nick Thurman and outside linebacker Tashawn Bower all began the year on the practice squad. Hall is still there. D-tackle Byron Cowart and safety Terrence Brooks were depth players last season. All five were in the starting lineup Monday night.
D-tackle Carl Davis, signed off the Jacksonville Jaguars’ practice squad last month, played 12 defensive snaps in his Patriots debut. Undrafted rookie cornerback Myles Bryant — yet another practice squad alum — played 11, upping his career total to 14.
This defensive overhaul was especially evident when New England sent out its third-down pass-rushing package — a roving mass of linebackers and defensive backs that smothered opposing offenses in 2019.
Last season, that group typically featured D-tackle Adam Butler; linebackers Dont’a Hightower, Kyle Van Noy, Jamie Collins and Winovich; and DBs Patrick Chung, Stephon Gilmore, Jonathan Jones/J.C. Jackson, Jason McCourty, Devin McCourty and Duron Harmon.
Here’s what that unit looked like against the Jets:
— Had a couple of early plays gone the Patriots’ way, this game could have played out quite differently.
On the Jets’ opening possession, Bower had the chance to drop Frank Gore in the backfield on third-and-1 but couldn’t wrap up the time-tested back.
A stop there would have forced a three-and-out. Instead, New York drove into the red zone and kicked a field goal.
Later in the first quarter, Devin McCourty undercut a Joe Flacco pass but had the ball bounce off his facemask. An interception would have given the Patriots prime field position and could’ve resulted in six points, as only Gore stood between McCourty and the end zone.
— Belichick is not happy with his kickoff return team.
Asked during his WEEI appearance about Gunner Olszewski’s balls-to-the-wall attitude in the return game, Belichick pivoted, saying that unit as a whole has not performed up to New England’s standards.
Here’s the full transcript of his response:
“We’ve missed a lot of good opportunities on kickoff returns. It’s been frustrating, really in all eight games. It’s been one thing or another. We just haven’t gotten the production that, I would say, has been there. The opportunities have been there, so we’ve got to do a better job of executing those plays. Coaching them, blocking them, catching them, returning them — we’ve all had breakdowns somewhere along the line, and it seems like we can’t quite, haven’t been able to really find the right … hit it right.
“There’s a lot of good things, and then there’s one or two problems on the play, and then that’s enough to kill the play. It’s really been across the board. It’s not any one thing. It’s been multiple things. Like I said, there’s been a lot of good things on some of those plays — sometimes eight, nine good blocks, good decisions, good runs. And then there could be one or two bad things in those same categories, and then you end up with nothing. We’re just not consistent enough there.
“Yeah, Gunner runs hard, which is what a kickoff returner needs to do, but there’s times where we all could make either better decisions or execute things a little bit better, and that would help everything.”
Kickoff returns didn’t immediately stand out as a problem Monday night, so we reviewed the coaches film of Olszewski’s four runbacks to see what had Belichick so displeased. Here’s what we were able to gather:
First return: Olszewski caught Braden Mann’s kick 5 yards deep in the end zone and chose to bring it out. Safety Matthias Farley pinballed off Rex Burkhead’s block and upended Olszewski at the 19-yard line.
Burkhead looked frustrated with himself after the play. Had Olszewski taken a touchback, the Patriots would have begun their drive at the 25.
Second return: Appeared to be some sort of blown assignment here. Upback Jakob Johnson blocked a coverage player who already was engaged with teammate Shilique Calhoun. Under new rules implemented within the last few years, that’s a penalty — 15 yards for an illegal double-team block. Meanwhile, no one blocked safety Bennett Jackson, who was lined up directly to the left of the kicker. Jackson sprinted untouched downfield, shot straight past Burkhead and nailed Olszewski at the 19.
It’s not clear who was supposed to pick Jackson up, but this was an obvious breakdown. The missed block and penalty ultimately were rather inconsequential, though, as this return came with just 25 seconds left in the first half.
Third return: Another bust. As Olszewski fielded the ball near the goal line and began moving upfield, Calhoun and Matthew Slater both focused their attention on Arthur Maulet, and Johnson crossed from the right side of the field to the left. This left Bryce Hager free.
No Patriot touched Hager until he made contact with Olszewski at the 18. Olszewski was able to wriggle out of the linebacker’s tackle attempt and pick up an extra 4 yards before being dragged down by Maulet at the 22. Again, it’s difficult to decipher who was at fault when we don’t know the exact return call, but this one might have been on Johnson. He was pulled from the return team after this play and replaced by Dugger.
Fourth return: This was the Patriots’ best of the night. Calhoun, Bower, Dugger and Joejuan Williams all stuck their blocks, and Olszewski wasn’t touched until the 27-yard line. He muscled ahead to the 32 — a solid 31-yard return.
Despite Belichick’s critiques, the Patriots have been one of the NFL’s more productive kick return teams this season, especially since Olszewski returned from IR in Week 4. They’re averaging 23.9 yards per return, good for ninth in the league.
Last season, with Brandon Bolden as their primary return man, they ranked 17th (22.1 yards per return).
— When the Patriots win the turnover battle this season, as they did Monday night, they’re 3-0. When they don’t, they’re 0-5.
