A couple of weeks ago, I wrote an article about how New England Patriots fans shouldn’t hit the panic button after the loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
Well, just a couple of short weeks later, and I am ready to hammer that panic button. The obvious concerns are with the franchise quarterback, Drake Maye: the decision-making, turnovers, and just lack of conviction when he’s throwing the ball are astonishing.
However, he’s not the only player struggling on this team at the moment. There are a multitude of issues, and the Patriots have a long way to go before fans can be confident in them again. With that being said, let’s dive into all these concerns and how worried the six states of New England should be.
Drake Maye looks like a shell of himself, but Patriots shouldn't bench him
The MVP runner-up is playing nothing like his old self. Last season, he unleashed that cannon of an arm, frequently made plays off-script, and was one of the most electric playmakers in the league. Now just one season later, he looks like he’s terrified to throw the football.
His releases are slow, his decision-making lacks conviction, and it looks like he doesn’t trust himself. Now, the fans saying Maye should be benched or the Patriots should move on from him are absolutely out of their minds. This is a quarterback who led his team to a Super Bowl and almost won MVP at 23 years old. He is going to have ups and downs. He’s still a very young player who needs to continue to develop.
Does that excuse these horrible turnovers? No. But do we need to pump the brakes on calling for Maye to be benched? Absolutely. What needs to happen is that these coaches need to get it into his head that he can let the ball loose, not predetermine so much, and let his instincts and his athleticism do the heavy lifting. Time to let the gunslinger open it up and get that confidence back.
There are very few coaches I would trust in this situation, and luckily for New England, Mike Vrabel is one of them. If anybody can get Maye out of this slump and get his confidence back, it is Vrabel. The amount of football knowledge and wisdom Vrabel has is astounding, and second of all, he understands how hard this much pressure on a 24-year-old can be.
You can tell Vrabel is a father in his personal life because it shows in the way he cares for these players. It was truly refreshing to see Vrabel put his arms around Maye and comfort him, and be there for him on the sideline instead of screaming at him or icing him out. Maye is in a slump. He’s been terrible, to say the least, but this is the time New England needs to stick by him and help him out on the other side, not the time to turn on him and call for him to be benched.
I believe Vrabel has Maye’s back, and they will get through this together. The MVP runner-up and gunslinger is deep down there somewhere; it’s time for Maye to find it again.
The Patriots' receiver room is very concerning
The Patriots obviously lost their biggest weapon in A.J. Brown, but that is no excuse for the way these receivers have been playing.
Romeo Doubs had a bounce-back game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2 but saw nothing from him on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars. It seems as though New England was heavily relying on Brown this season and based most of their scheme around him, because without him in the lineup, everybody looks lost, Maye second-guesses himself, the spacing on routes looks terrible, and everything just feels bland.
The Patriots got rid of Stefon Diggs and Kayshon Boutte this offseason, who each seemed to give Maye some serious juice and confidence. He knew he could count on those two, and when he lost them, it seemed as though he has yet to recover.
My honest opinion is that the Patriots need to bring in another weapon. I am not saying they need to trade away another first-round pick, like they did for Brown, but they need to get some more juice in this offense, especially until he is healthy. Then, when Brown returns, Maye will have two weapons he can go to.
Edge rusher is once again a serious need for New England
The Patriots have struggled at edge rusher for multiple years, and they didn’t do themselves any favors this off-season. They let K’Lavon Chaisson walk in free agency, where he ended up signing a one-year, $11 million dollar contract with the Washington Commanders. I think that was inexcusable, letting one of your best pass rushers walk over a team-friendly deal like that.
Don’t get me wrong, the Patriots have a couple of good players at edge; Gabe Jacas is looking like he will be a cornerstone of this team, and Elijah Ponder has been playing well. But that is pretty much all they have for depth with their injuries right now. Harold Landry hasn’t played since the Super Bowl, Dre’Mont Jones was injured last week, and outside of Jacas and Ponder, the Patriots are scrambling for help.
This is another position where I think they need to acquire another player. I would explore a trade for somebody like Chaisson, since he has familiarity with the system, wouldn’t cost a huge asset, and could bring some real explosiveness to that edge room.
What is the panic level in New England?
My panic level has skyrocketed after the Patriots' loss to the Jaguars. However, I am not in the mindset of giving up on Drake Maye, and it’s going to take quite a bit more to put me in that mindset. You don’t give up on a 24-year-old quarterback who just led you to a Super Bowl.
When you have a player of Maye’s potential, you have to stick with him through thick and thin, since he’s proven that he has the talent; it’s just a matter of getting out of this slump.
Overall, I’m very worried about this season and this offense finding a true rhythm, but I believe in Mike Vrabel, and I believe in Drake Maye.
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