3 biggest issues for Patriots at quarter mark of regular season

We are a quarter through the NFL regular season already and despite the undefeated record, the Patriots' offense has some question marks to answer. Spoiler alert: none of the answers are Stefon Diggs.

Author:
Max McAuliffe
Publish date:
Oct 5, 2019 5:48 PM EDT

Let’s start by addressing something - The rumors regarding Stefon Diggs becoming a New England Patriot are swirling around here. While a trade to the Patriots is something I do not want to completely rule out and would absolutely help the team, New England's offense has other things to focus on before trading a slew of assets for a big name receiver. Not to mention, the Patriots would have to do a remarkable amount of financial finagling to make this happen under the cap.

A more practical idea would be to add a veteran free agent receiver or a cheap target from another team that could easily step into a number three or four role, if any injuries were to occur at that position.

PatriotMaven's Devon Clements' piece on "What options are there for Patriots to bolster their receiving room?" mentioned some potential options for the Patriots like Maurice Harris or Ryan Grant.

Many who watched last week's game versus the Buffalo Bills may think otherwise. Those same people probably believe that acquiring a talented receiver via trade may be the answer to the Patriots' offensive woes.

Many fans believe Stefon Diggs or Emmanuel Sanders are the answer.

Having a bad offensive performance against a very high quality defense is no reason to overreact and trade valuable draft picks for premium talent like Sanders or Diggs. A lot of what happened last week was an anomaly. Tom Brady didn't play well. Julian Edelman very clearly did not belong on the field, due to injury. The Patriots had Marshall Newhouse, Ryan Izzo, and Jakob Johnson all in starting roles. Not to mention the defense and secondary the Bills have is a top-tier group in the league, which is a large part of the reason why Buffalo was undefeated heading into the Week 4 game.

So let's pump the brakes on the trade for a big name target idea and focus on some of the other problems that face this team. These are problems that are not exclusive to the Buffalo game.

The main problems that faced this offense in Buffalo and have kind of lingered in the games prior are the following:

1) play calling

2) offensive line struggle

3) depth

1)Play calling

Because of the Patriots' offensive coordinator's track record of success with the team, we sometimes forget to put Josh McDaniels' decision-making into question.

While this year has not been all bad for the playcaller, he certainly has not been great. His usage of Sony Michel has been a topic of discussion as of late. His formations have been wildly predictable to a large degree. His personnel groupings have been translucent for opposing defenses. Along with his decisions in crunch time situations, like passing late in the fourth quarter last week in Buffalo, go against the instruction manual of how to play call an offense with a lead in the game.

The play calling issue was prevalent from the very first play from scrimmage against the Steelers. The Patriots lined up in the I-formation, Sony Michel in the backfield, and got stuffed.

Unfortunately, that sight has been all too familiar this season. A predictable designed run by Josh McDaniels, where Sony Michel gets tackled at or behind the line of scrimmage is almost a staple in this Patriots’ offensive playbook now.

The play has done a good job at setting up the play-action pass, however it seems like the Patriots are always facing second-and-nine situations after their first-and-10s. This is certainly not sustainable and it is asking a lot of a 42 year old quarterback who may have to pass it more often because of the down-and-distance.

Brady ranks 15th in the league in passing yards (just in front of Case Keenum), 11th in passing touchdowns, and 23rd in completion percentage among starters (behind Matthew Stafford, Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota), per Fantasy Pros.

Michel ranks 10th in the league among carries, yet ranks 30th in the league for rushing yards, along with 18th in rushing touchdowns, and a shocking 79th in yards per carry. This is also per Fantasy Pros.

Josh Gordon ranks 48th in receptions, 35th in targets, and 38th in receiving yards. Gordon has also only registered one touchdown on the season.

Needless to say, when strong, key pieces to your offense that still have the ability to produce at a very high level are putting up pedestrian-like numbers and not meeting expectations, the way they are being used and the situational play calling should always get looked at.

Fortunate enough, the Patriots defense and their opponents have helped the offense and McDaniels to not fall flat on their face. The next two games against the Washington Redskins and the New York Giants should go along with that trend and hopefully give McDaniels some time to figure out where he and the coaching staff can improve.

2) The Offensive Line Issue/Run Blocking

The offensive line has not helped this season. The run blocking has been abysmal. Pass protection has not been much better either.

Shaq Mason, who was expected to be the star of this offensive line this season, has underwhelmed.

The absence of David Andrews is big, despite Ted Karras doing an alright job at center.

Joe Thuney has had some highs and lows so far this season. He needs a little bit more consistency at the guard position.

The tackle spots have been all over the place. Both Marcus Cannon and Isaiah Wynn already sustained injuries this year. Wynn now resides on the IR with David Andrews, although he may come back at some point.

Cannon struggled a little bit against the Steelers, however, he has been just okay since his return.

Marshall Newhouse is in the same boat with Ted Karras. He can start in the NFL, however, the team needs a more viable starting left tackle than him.

This group has been putting some pressure on Brady and have been like floodgates in the run game.

The offensive line currently ranks 23rd in the league for pass blocking win rate, per ESPN's Seth Walder.

Their run blocking has only yielded a 24th ranking in rushing yards per game, per Team Rankings.

Not to mention, Ryan Izzo (who the Patriots drafted to block) has a PPF-grade of dead last in run blocking among 72 tight ends this season.

None of this is ideal or encouraging. Fortunately, Izzo's snaps should be going down due to Ben Watson coming off suspension. As for the offensive line, things are a lot murkier. They have some film to watch and definitely some technical things to clean up.

Just like the play calling, I believe this will all improve with time and some of the players and staff are just figuring some things out. Just like the play calling, if these issues are still prevalent in two to three weeks from now, then there are bigger, more serious issues and question marks for this group.

3) Depth

The last issue we have has already been somewhat eluded to. With this team and offense already having a laundry list-like injury report, depth will be a priority over the upcoming weeks.

This doesn't necessarily mean the Patriots need to go out on the market and find outside hires to solve this problem. However, New England might already have players that can fill voids for starters if they were to get injured. The issue is that these players have potential but have not proven consistency or can't seem to click with the rest of the squad yet.

Phillip Dorsett, for example, is a player who could be capable of taking over that second spot on the depth chart at the receiver position. He has earned the trust of Brady and he's had a great start to the season. However, he hasn't proved to be a consistent contributor in this offense to confidently place him in a situation like that.

Jakobi Meyers had flashed some ability and has received some playing time this year. However, he just hasn't spent enough time with his quarterback to be able to make a difference and step up into a bigger role.

If the Patriots can work with players like Ted Karras, Phillip Dorsett, and Jakobi Meyers, focusing on consistency and doing your job, this team will not have to resort to outside hires or breaking the piggy bank for Stefon Diggs. They will be in a really good position with more consistent production from those guys who are very well capable.