Although his play this preseason hasn’t been inspiring, Brissett has some answers to the test based on his experience. Up top, Washington brings six rushers into a man blitz. Brissett is “hot” here and has more rushers than blockers, so he looks back to buy time as he retreats. In this case, the Commanders break coverage. When they bring six, Antonio Gibson is left uncovered in the flat and Brissett gets him the ball to convert on third down.
Maye could have recognized the blitz and quickly made a hot read to take advantage of a completely free running back in the flat. He could have made the same play. It certainly wasn’t anything special. Brissett makes these plays that give the coaching staff confidence in him as a short-term starter.
Following Sunday night’s game, I asked Maye how far along he thought he was in playing chess against defensive players to be able to check that box and get clearance to play from Van Pelt.
“That’s huge in this offense. We’re in the preseason here with some boring performances, especially as far as pressure goes. I think I’m a smart kid who did a lot of protection work in college. Protection-wise, it was all on me and my center, and I think we did a good job of not having any free runners back there. But now it’s a different kind of league here,” Maye told Patriots.com.
Maye’s coaches at North Carolina told me at the draft that the Patriots rookie was given the keys to the offense at the line of scrimmage during his junior season, so he was moving the pieces around before. But as Maye admitted, this is a different level of football now.
If the Patriots decide to bench Maye initially, the biggest reason for doing so will be Brissett’s overall experience and familiarity with this system to avoid even more problems on the line.
Brief film notes from Patriots commanders after further review
– The decision to play the offensive starters as often as HC Jerod Mayo did in the first half proved costly. Of course, hindsight is always 20/20. But it’s a calculated risk that didn’t work out in Mayo’s favor this time. Brissett (right shoulder) and starting LG Sidy Sow (ankle) both sustained injuries. I also didn’t want to take any chances with Pop Douglas on the field for punt returns. I understand Mayo when he says that playing football makes you better at football. But the trend in the league these days is to rest the starters in preseason games, so this is one area where Mayo is taking a different approach than others. Until he builds some equity, Mayo will be questioned.
– Teams don’t usually plan much in the preseason. However, the Pats treated this like an in-season practice week, and it showed with Maye. The crosses to Polk and Pop were clearly planned plays that, to their credit, they executed well. AVP’s plays were a pleasant surprise. He’s added some movement wrinkles, his plays are well-timed compared to certain coverages, and his QB run/RPO package is intriguing. I had doubts about Van Pelt’s plays, thinking they might be outdated, but I’m intrigued.
– This was wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk’s best game of the preseason. He ran a good route on the crosser (29 yards), caught the ball on a difficult pass over his head to lure the Pats away from their own goal line, and should have had another 13-yard catch that was disallowed by a penalty. Polk broke away, was in the right spots, and his 29-yard catch-and-run was really fluid – a good play that provided building blocks.
– WR Javon Baker’s release work was better this week; he had space at the top of the route on the Maye comebacker and settled well into a zone gap after a Milton completion. Baker is still too easily thrown off by physical press coverage, but at least he has been more consistent.
– RB Antonio Gibson started since Rhamondre Stevenson had the night off, and he mostly looked like a varsity player going up against JV competition. Gibson dropped a ball from Brissett that went through his hands (the pass could have been thrown with more finesse), but he was the evasive man Brissett needed for his 13-yard catch against man pressure and forced a missed tackle, gaining 18 of his 17 rushing yards after contact. Gibson appears ready to go. JaMycal Hasty also ran well.
– RG Layden Robinson had a classic rollercoaster night for rookies. Robinson made some excellent backside climbs in the Pats’ zone schemes and was beaten only once on a hurry in the pass pro (club/swim). But he also botched a block in the run game, took two penalties (false start, holding) and was half responsible for the chain reaction that led to the sack of Brissett. Robinson’s rise is encouraging and he has had moments where he belonged, but starting a rookie at any position has its ups and downs.
– TE Jaheim Bell’s 16-yard pass reception on a crossing route from Joe Milton was another example of what the rookie can bring to the offense. Bell was pushed off a safety in man coverage and outran the outgunned defender. Bell also won the seam without the ball twice. His straight-line speed that wins races is on display in this film.
– RT Mike Onwenu was his usual self when he plays right tackle: hurries allowed, one penalty for illegal lineup in the backfield, and an impressive kick-out blocker. Onwenu plays the position with a short corner. However, he is a good enough lineman to hold his own at right tackle, and if there are “best five” on the field, he will have to grow into the position. Overall, aside from the one penalty, Onwenu was low on the list of problems at the line.
– The Patriots have to have a difficult discussion about LT Chuks Okorafor. He’s obviously out of his position on the left side, but four penalties and three QB pressures on backup players are inexcusable. If Chuks has to play left, Vederian Lowe may be a better option, and Okorafor will be sent to the bench once Lowe is healthy again.
– This was a very encouraging performance for Ceadan Wallace, drafted in the third round as a right tackle. Wallace allowed only one tackle and had excellent reach-and-seal on the back of an outside zone scheme. His hand placement was improved this week. Unfortunately, Wallace has not embraced the move to the left side, which puts them in a bind with Onwenu now at right tackle. However, one would like to see both rookies play at some point, perhaps with Robinson as LG, Onwenu as RG, and Wallace as RT.
– Snaps were a problem for C/G Nick Leverett and he had some trouble holding position when a nose tackle immediately charged him. But aside from one or two offending anchors, he didn’t allow any pressure.
– DC DeMarcus Covington’s unit didn’t play much stagnant coverage in this game. In stagnant coverage, the coverage structure doesn’t change before and after the snap, meaning if you show single-high before the snap, you stay single-high after the snap. On Sunday night, the Patriots’ secondary was spinning its wheels. Typically, they line up in a two-high safety shell and play cover two, three-buzz, or man. Disguising coverage before the snap is certainly nothing new for the Patriots.
– Keion White’s sack on third down in the second quarter was a snapshot of how the rush package will hopefully evolve inside without star DT Christian Barmore (blood clot). On this play, Daniel Ekuale wins his 1-on-1 against the right guard with a push-pull technique. Ekuale’s pressure forced Driskell out of his spot and White closed the pocket by turning back forward to stay level with the quarterback. The Pats will need more of that.
– One change to my final roster planning after watching the film: DT Trysten Hill should come on this team. Hill was the best IDL at playing his blocks in the run game and recorded two run stuffs with textbook technique: good padding, strong hands, eyes through the blocker to find the ball. Hill also recorded a QB pressure. He could stick around, but he will quickly fall out of favor if he doesn’t fix the illegal blindside block penalty. That’s been an illegal hit for a few years now where Hill blocks back into his end zone.
– Another defender who stood out in the meeting was S Joshuah Bledsoe. Bledsoe is entering his fourth season as a late-round pick in 2021, so it seems like his chances are starting to run out. However, he had two high-profile coverage reps, including a pass breakup on a play-action seam play. Bledsoe did a nice job getting to the catch point after recovering from a misstep toward the line of scrimmage caused by the run fake. He then had an excellent zone drop in the deep hole of a Cover 2 shell where he took two reads away from the QB. Bledsoe plays best at the second level. He fits the hybrid mold as a backup to Dugger and Peppers.
– DT Jeremiah Pharms has cooled off a bit after a great preseason opener (sack, six total pressures). Pharms recorded just two pressures in the final two preseason games and was unable to recover to his outside gap on a run that gained six yards. Pharms’ game against the run was mediocre in the preseason. He did enough to make the team, but we’ll see how big his role will be going forward.
– LB Christian Elliss is quick to find his way into the running and blocking game. His blown blocking was impressive and he also scored a run goal in the third quarter by weaving around a blocker to find the ball. However, you can see a certain stiffness in space from Elliss, who allowed 45 yards on seven receptions in his coverage. He is a classic offensive-minded linebacker who should not be expected to play in space.
– Commanders QB Jeff Driskel stared at his target on LB Joe Giles-Harris’ interception, but Giles-Harris read the quarterback’s eyes well. Driskel must have thought the running back’s drop would force Giles-Harris out of the passing lane, but the Pats LB read the QB’s eyes on his zone drop and jumped the in-breaker over the middle — good job.
– CBs Alex Austin (2 targets, 0 receptions), Marco Wilson (1 target, 0 receptions) and Shaun Wade (1 target, 1 receptions, -3 yards) did what they needed to do on Sunday night. It’s possible the Pats won’t keep all seven cornerbacks, but they have enough roster space to make that happen.
– QB pressures allowed: Turner (four hurries), Okorafor (QB hit, two hurries), Fornadel (QB hit, hurries), Sow (two hurries), Diesch (two hurries), Wallace (hurry), Robinson (hurry), Onwenu (hurry), Leverett/Jordan/Mafi/Henry (0 hurries).
– QB pressure: White (sack), Bradley-King (QB hit, two hurries), K. Jones (QB hit, hurry), Roberts (two hurries), McCarroll (QB hit), Pharms (hurry), Bledsoe (hurry), Ekuale (hurry), Hill (hurry).
– Coverage: Elliss (7 tgt, 7 receiving, 45 yards), Hearn (5 tgt, 5 receiving, 35 yards, TD, 2 penalties), Victor (3 tgt, 2 receiving, 26 yards), Bledsoe (4 tgt, 1 receiving, 25 yards, PBU), Kobe Jones (2 tgt, 2 receiving, 25 yards), Bolden (4 tgt, 2 receiving, 10 yards, PBU), Tavai (1 tgt, 1 receiving, 10 yards), Dial (2 tgt, 1 receiving, 9 yards, PBU, 2 penalties), Giles-Harris (2 tgt, 1 receiving, 9 yards, INT), Jennings (1 tgt, 1 receiving, 7 yards), Wade (1 tgt, 1 receiving, -3 yards), Austin (2 tgt, 0 rec, 2 penalties), Russell (tgt, 0 rec), Wilson (tgt, 0 rec).
