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Should the Patriots Stay the Course With New-Look Offense?

Should the Patriots Stay the Course With New-Look Offense?


The Patriots offense has two weeks to fix what ails them before the games start counting in the regular-season opener against the Miami Dolphins.

Patriots quarterback Mac Jones led the starting offense on seven drives in the preseason, and the results were as follows: three-and-out, three-and-out, touchdown, three-and-out, interception, three-and-out, field goal.

Ten points, four three-and-out’s, and one turnover in seven drives isn’t a winning formula. But harping on the struggles and trying to correct every mistake is a daunting task.

Instead, honing in on the positive plays New England’s first-team offense has put on tape in their seven offensive possessions might be the best path to a victory at Hard Rock Stadium in two weeks.

Before we get to the passing game, the execution breakdowns really begin on the ground. The Patriots haven’t run the ball particularly well all summer, including in training camp practices.

Although it’s impossible to chart practice rushing attempts, we have seen the issues the Pats are having implementing a more outside zone-heavy rushing attack in training camp, and those struggles have carried over into the preseason games.

In Friday night’s loss to the Raiders in the preseason finale, New England’s starting offense ran four outside zone runs. Here were the results: -4 yards, holding penalty (Onwenu), two yards, three yards, for a total of one yard on four outside zone carries and a net of -9 yards factoring in the penalty.

The Patriots were much better when they went back to running their gap plays. On four gap runs, the Pats gained 28 yards: four yards, five yards, six yards, and 13 yards on a crack toss play with Rhamondre Stevenson.

The biggest difference between outside zone and downhill gap schemes is that the blocking on stretch plays moves horizontally rather than vertically. Instead of utilizing power at the point of attack, it’s an athletic movement designed to create cutback lanes for the ball carriers.

In New England’s case, the…

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