New England Patriots - NESN.com
The New England Patriots and their fan base had a disappointing weekend. What could have been a glorious start to the Mike Vrabel era at Gillette Stadium instead turned into a frustrating 20-13 loss at the hands of Pete Carroll and the Las Vegas Raiders.
New England’s defense left something to be desired, but it was ultimately the offense that let fans down. 13 points in a home opener isn’t going to get it done. Second-year quarterback Drake Maye had a good first half, but he faltered in the second half, ending up 30-for-46 on the day with 287 yards, a touchdown, an interception and an 80.6 QB rating.
Patriots fans are understandably downtrodden right now, but it’s important not to get too carried away or do excessive finger-pointing after one game.
Of course, generally speaking, NFL fans who have been waiting months for the season to return are expected to overreact to the first regular-season result.
On Monday, however, a New England voice from another sport chimed in about the Patriots in a different manner, lending a critical eye to the way that fans view the team’s difficult start. Boston Red Sox analyst Lou Merloni of NESN suggested that fans are expecting too much of a rebuilding Patriots squad. He also indicated that blame for what the fans perceive as poor performance might end up being — in Merloni’s view — wrongly placed on the shoulders of offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
“Pats are in year 1 of the rebuild under Vrabel,” Merloni posted on X. “For some reason people believed they could win 9-10 games. Because that’s how they felt, they can’t be wrong so it must be (someone) else’s fault. Gotta be McDaniel’s. It’s about talent and they don’t have enough of it. Yet…..”
It was an interesting point made by Merloni, and the next question becomes, where do the Patriots need more talent the most? The immediate answer that comes to mind is the offensive line.
New England’s skill players on offense are more or less satisfactory. Maye is better than he displayed on Sunday. The receiving corps is good. TreVeyon Henderson has added something special to the running game.
If the Pats had a bit more talent on the O-line, things might have looked different on Sunday. Then again, there is more than one area where this team has question marks.
