As we close out yet another week filled with New England Patriots quarterback speculation, let’s dive right into your mailbag questions.
@meeher18
Has judge and Patricia turned the corner in their offensive woes? Patriots offense attack vs Cleveland actually looked fun to watch
Matt Patricia and the rest of the Patriots’ offensive brain trust deserve a lot of credit for their game plans in these last few games. They’ve done a great job of making life easier for Bailey Zappe through the use of play-action and screens, and I liked some of Patricia’s subversive play-calling against the Browns.
Rhamondre Stevenson’s 31-yard touchdown — arguably the most important play of the game — came on a third-and-10 handoff. Hunter Henry’s score came off a play-fake on third-and-1. Both calls fooled Cleveland’s defense, which was geared up to stop the pass on the first and expecting a short-yardage run on the second.
The Patriots’ offense has looked decidedly different with Zappe behind center than it did during Mac Jones’ first three starts. The changes made sense, and they clearly had the desired effect — though it must be noted that the Patriots’ last two opponents currently rank 32nd and 31st in Football Outsiders’ defensive DVOA. I’d expect another shift once Jones returns — he’s more experienced and should be able to handle more than his rookie counterpart — but New England would be smart to keep some of its Zappe-focused wrinkles in their repertoire.
One prominent example: 31.6% of Zappe’s pass attempts have featured play-action, and he’s been wildly effective on those throws, posting a perfect 158.3 passer rating in each of his two starts. Against the Browns, he was 7-for-8 for 165 yards and a touchdown off play-action, averaging a gaudy 20.6 yards per attempt.
Conversely, with Jones in the game, the Patriots have used play-action on just 10.8% of their passing plays, the lowest mark of any starting quarterback in the NFL this season. If I’m Patricia and company, I’m finding a middle ground between the Zappe offense and the ultra-aggressive, chance-taking approach they employed in Jones’ first three starts. If they can strike that balance and Jones’ turnovers decrease, his multi-week absence could wind up benefiting the Patriots’ offense in the long run.
There’s been no confirmation from head coach Bill Belichick, but all signs point to Jones returning — and starting — against the Chicago Bears this week on “Monday Night Football.”
@quixem
how much of a role do you see Tyquan Thornton having this week and for the rest of the season?
That’ll depend on the health of some of his fellow wideouts. The bulk of Thornton’s playing time thus far has come while Nelson Agholor was sidelined with an hamstring injury. The Patriots also didn’t have Kendrick Bourne for most of last week’s game. Bourne initially played above Thornton before suffering a toe injury on New England’s opening possession.
What will the Patriots’ wideout hierarchy look like when all five are healthy? That’s hard to say. But I do expect Thornton to have a real role again this week, especially since Agholor did not practice Thursday.
The lightning-fast rookie scored two second-half touchdowns against the Browns, and the Patriots are scheming up way to get the ball in his hands through jet sweeps, end-arounds, screens and the like. His three carries last week equaled his total from his entire four-year career at Baylor. He’s only hit on one intermediate or deep route thus far (a 21-yarder last week) but a review of the All-22 showed he was open on a few others but wasn’t targeted.
Coaches and teammates had a lot of nice things to say this week about Thornton, who missed the first four games after fracturing his collarbone during the preseason. Quarterbacks coach Joe Judge said the wideout’s short-area quickness “really jumped out” during training camp, and receiver Jakobi Meyers said he’s not at all surprised by Thornton’s promising early returns.
“Definitely impressed, but not surprised,” said Meyers, an outspoken Thornton advocate since the summer.
If the Patriots believe Thornton can be a consistent and reliable contributor — and that his stick-figure frame can avoid another injury — they could look to deal either Bourne or Agholor ahead of the Nov. 1 trade deadline. Both players’ names have been mentioned in recent trade rumors, with Bourne’s team-friendly contract likely making him the easier of the two to move. Their current injury situations could complicate trade talks, however, and Bourne, who’s under contract through 2023 at a reasonable rate, still looks like a player worth keeping around.
@bigtimmy0736
Any insight on the Barmore injury? Thanks Zack!
Christian Barmore suffered a knee injury during the first half of last week’s game in Cleveland, and the Patriots ruled him out at halftime. I viewed it as a positive sign, though, that he emerged from the locker room and watched the second half from the sideline, in full pads. It also was encouraging to see Barmore back at practice Wednesday, participating in a limited capacity.
That doesn’t necessarily mean Barmore will be active against Chicago — Mac Jones, Agholor, Damien Harris, Jonathan Jones and Lawrence Guy all participated in all three practices last week but were inactive against Cleveland — but it does signal that he avoided a major injury. That’s good news for the Patriots’ D-line, which has been on the upswing of late after struggling to stop the run in losses to Baltimore and Green Bay.
Barmore hasn’t posted impressive numbers so far this season (one sack, one tackle for loss, three QB hits) but frequently draws double-teams, creating space for New England’s other front-seven defenders.
@honzilla231
Will BB trade Harris?
I don’t think an in-season Harris trade is likely. The Patriots don’t yet trust rookies Pierre Strong and Kevin Harris with any sort of legitimate offensive role, and moving Harris would leave them with zero proven depth behind Rhamondre Stevenson. NFL running backs get injured a lot — the Patriots haven’t had one play a full season since James White in 2019 — especially when they have workloads as heavy as the one Stevenson has carried for the past two weeks.
I do believe Stevenson has supassed Harris as the Patriots’ No. 1 back, even if the latter continues to start games once he returns from his hamstring injury. Harris is a very good player, but Stevenson is the more versatile and explosive of the two. With Stevenson under contract for another two seasons after this one, I think there’s a good chance Harris lands elsewhere once he hits free agency in March.
The Patriots are at their best, though, when they have both of their lead backs at their disposal. And that might happen sooner than expected. Initial reports projected Harris would miss multiple games with his hamstring injury, but he was a full participant in Thursday’s practice, meaning he should be back in the mix this week after just a one-game absence.
@BrianHa18808894
For some reason, this really bothers me: – why don’t the Pats have more than one pair of pants for their ‘non-throw back” uniforms? – the Chargers have like 8 different combos.
Preach, Brian. The current Patriots uniforms are fine, but they’re just so boring. Some variety could instantly fix that. Give me a white pants option. Or red pants to mix in with the road white jerseys. The Patriots are one of just a small handful of teams that wear the same color pants every week, home and away, and most of the other ones hardly have changed their uniforms in decades (Packers, Raiders, etc.).
I’m also fully on board with making the Pat Patriot throwbacks the primary unis moving forward, maybe with a slightly modernized logo. They just look so …
… freaking …
good.
At the very least, add a white road version next season.
