Pats Pulpit
The New England Patriots are trending upwards after a big primetime victory over the Buffalo Bills last Sunday night. Now, they’ll look to put together their first three game win streak since 2022 on the road in New Orleans.
So before kickoff, let’s get right into this week’s #PostPulpit Mailbag.
To contrast the positive vibes, can you names 3 areas of biggest concern or improvement you might like to see? – Sportzballer
While things are definitely heading in a positive direction, it’s certainly not perfect. So good question. Here’s my three biggest concerns entering Week 6:
Run game: It’s been impressive that the Patriots offense has looked as well as it has with a run game that ranks near the bottom of the league. The best thing they’ve done well is not go backwards — which has helped them stay away from being behind the sticks and keeping defenses honest on play-action. But as Vrabel said this week, they need more double-digit yard runs. The struggles feel like a combination of the offensive line and running backs — who rank dead last in yards after contact and avoided tackle rate — so they’ll need better all around.
Covering tight ends: A problem that dates back to training camp has expectedly plagued New England to start the regular season. As seen from Dalton Kincaid’s first 100-yard gain last Sunday night, the Patriots have struggled against opposing tight ends. Jaylinn Hawkins and Craig Woodson’s strength are not man coverage, so the wonder is if they look to deploy Marte Mapu or Alex Austin in a tight end-stopper role in passing situations.
Red zone defense: Mike Vrabel also noted this area needs to improve this week as the Patriots have allowed touchdowns on 75 percent of opponents drives that reach the red zone (9-for-12). Four of those scores — including two against Buffalo — have also involved motion.
Seems like almost every kickoff goes to the Gibson-Stevenson side. I was thinking that if they want teams to kick to Henderson, why not put Jones on the other side? Pick your poison. Why is Jones not considered a kick returner? Is it purely workload control or is is something more? Blocking? – ed.liebfried
How might the Patriots fill the open kick return slot with Gibson out for the year? They had Mondre back in Buffalo, and as fun as it was to watch Blount return kicks in 2013, I don’t think that strategy is sustainable this season. Maybe Webb or Chism off the PS? – Matt Monitto
New England prefers a larger body handling kickoff returns due to the contact and collisions that occur on the play. That is why they have opted more toward running backs like Antonio Gibson instead of speedsters like Marcus Jones or DeMario Douglas. As they control Jones’ workload in that area, the team would use him as a kick returner in an end-of-game situation if they needed a big play.
When it comes to filling in for...
