As Warner said, it’s a tough way to live without elite playmakers. But, to be fair to AVP, the more exotic concepts take longer to develop. Those route concepts force coverage defenders to declare so the QB knows where to go with the ball. A flood concept, for example, will have three levels: a flat (short), corner (intermediate), and vertical (deep). Behind a shaky line, it’s challenging for those routes to have the time to develop downfield.
The offenses that succeed playing with simpler concepts are the Bengals and Eagles. Those teams have elite receivers and quarterbacks, so they make it work. We’ll see if the line will allow New England to be more exotic moving forward or if the quarterback (Maye) elevates the offense.
Q: The defense has been a bit of a letdown this far. How much of their issues are truly injury-related with guys filling roles, and how much is scheme/coaching? – Drew T
Although it’s a cop-out answer, it’s all the above. The Patriots losing Christian Barmore (blood clots), Ja’Whaun Bentley (shoulder), and Jabrill Peppers (off-field) has been challenging to overcome. It’s tough to include Matthew Judon on that list because the Patriots decided to trade him, but without him and Barmore, the Pats are 26th in team pressure rate (29.9%). Bentley and Peppers’s physicality in the run game is also sorely missed. When you have a rebuilding roster, the drop-off behind your entrenched starters can be steep.
That said, the two stats that stand out to me about the coaching are the Patriots re-emphasizing base defense and the lack of scheme-created pressure. First, the Pats rank fourth in base personnel usage (37.5%) but are 30th in yards per play allowed in base defense (6.3 yards). Second, the Pats rank 26th in unblocked pressure rate (5.5%) after leading the NFL in scheming up free runners during the 2023 season (9.8%).
In conclusion, you can say it’s the personnel and inconsistent fundamentals…
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