Teams New England Patriots - The Pats

[Exe Gesis]

NBC Sports’ Tom Curran reports Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is “on the hot seat” entering the 2023 season.

Curran added that Belichick has been on the hot seat to varying degrees since 2019, when Tom Brady was primed to leave the Patriots after the team bucked at Brady’s contract demands. Belichick has since made a series of disastrous hires, including putting Matt Patricia and Joe Judge in charge of the New England offense in 2022. That there was “no plan for replacement” for Josh McDaniels, Curran said, rubbed owner Robert Kraft the wrong way. Kraft “wants results, and he’s not getting them,” Curran added. Belichick, 71, will need a 2023 revival with Bill O’Brien heading the team’s offense. Another subpar campaign could mark the end of the historic Belichick era in New England.

8h ago

Source: Rich Eisen Show

 

[Memphis]

NBC Sports’ Tom Curran reports Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is “on the hot seat” entering the 2023 season.

Curran added that Belichick has been on the hot seat to varying degrees since 2019, when Tom Brady was primed to leave the Patriots after the team bucked at Brady’s contract demands. Belichick has since made a series of disastrous hires, including putting Matt Patricia and Joe Judge in charge of the New England offense in 2022. That there was “no plan for replacement” for Josh McDaniels, Curran said, rubbed owner Robert Kraft the wrong way. Kraft “wants results, and he’s not getting them,” Curran added. Belichick, 71, will need a 2023 revival with Bill O’Brien heading the team’s offense. Another subpar campaign could mark the end of the historic Belichick era in New England.

8h ago

Source: Rich Eisen Show

If he is on the hot seat as being reported I can’t see him being the head coach after this season, I doubt we’ll make the playoffs or at least just scrap through with another 8-8 record.

Sucks we couldn’t get our hands on Hopkins.

 

[Turkey Tom]

Risers and Fallers from the 1st Week on training camp. Paywalled:-
Risers and fallers from the first week of Patriots training camp

The general gist was, it is only the 1st week, but the defence looks really really good, and thus the offensive is struggling against it, plus they are trying to learn the Bill O'Brien system.

Risers
- CB Jonathan Jones
- Edge - Josh Uche
- CB - Christian Gonzalez
- S - Kyle Dugger
- WR - Demario Douglas

Fallers
- WR - Tyquan Thornton
- RT - Riley Reiff
- WR - Kendrick Bourne
- QB - Mac Jones
- TE - Mike Gesicki

 

[Turkey Tom]

Improvement in Offense this past week. Paywalled:-

For the first time in a long time, the Patriots offense seems to be improving

After a frustrating 2022 season, the quarterback and the New England offense are celebrating their best two practices of training camp.

theathletic.com

"In the last two days, there’s been a lot for Jones and the offense to celebrate. Wednesday was the first session of camp where the offense definitively outperformed the defense. Jones and backup Bailey Zappe thrived."

At one point during a red zone drill, Jones showed his increased level of comfort with this offense. The defense, JuJu Smith-Schuster said, was clearly set up and prepared for the offensive play call. So Jones called an audible — a rarity this early in camp — and hit Smith-Schuster on a slant for a touchdown."

"...the offense hasn’t strung together days like this since Josh McDaniels left. Even if it’s just moderate progress, that’s still meaningful."

"On Thursday, though, Jones uncorked deep balls for DeVante Parker, Kendrick Bourne and Tre Nixon. He also practiced with a lot of backup receivers as part of Bill Belichick and O’Brien’s plan to make things more difficult for Jones. That’s something Jones said he did at Alabama, too."


On a unrelated note, Tom Brady has become a minority owner of UK soccer club Birmingham. (They play in the division below the Premier League)

 

[Turkey Tom]

Patriots: 7 important things we’ve learned about them 2 weeks into training camp
Paywalled:-

Patriots: 7 important things we've learned about them so far in training camp

We have already learned a lot about this New England team — including two standout rookies and one struggling receiver.

theathletic.com

1/. Bill O’Brien’s offense is complex - gives more responsibility to Mac Jones compared to last season. "...offense had two of its best practices of the last 18 months"

2/. Demario Douglas can play - (WR) "...has been the talk of the training camp....has a chance to become the team's No. 3 wide receiver"

3/. Marte Mapu looks like a third-round steal - (LB) "...could be one of the key players in the New England's matchup-based defense."

4/. The O-line is concerning - "...frequently practice without three starters" Trent Brown, Cole Strange and Michael Onwenu all injured. Calvin Anderson has a non-football illness.

5/. The Pats need Jack Jones to play - (DB) "Jones missed time last week..." "When he's not on the field, the depth at outside cornerback looks bleak."

6/. It doesn't look like Tyquan Thornton is breaking out - (WR) "There is still time for Thornton to turn things around. But this has not been the start he envisioned ahead of a Year 2 breakout."

7/. Hunter Henry is TE1 over Mike Gesicki - "A lot of the Patriots' offense plan revolves around two-tight end sets. But to use those formations, they need Gesicki to improve his play"



Some positives!...but negatives too.

 

[Monocle]

Trey Flowers back at Foxborough.
D gets another piece to the DE rotations.

I don’t mind the signing.

 

[Turkey Tom]

Malik Cunningham and other Patriots risers and fallers after the first preseason game

Paywalled:-

Patriots risers and fallers after the first preseason game

Second-round pick Keion White and rookie QB Malik Cunningham were bright spots Thursday. Not so much for the Patriots offensive line.

theathletic.com

RISERS:-
DL Keion White - "Through the first two weeks of training camp, it was the team’s other two rookie defenders — Christian Gonzalez and Marte Mapu — that got the headlines and attention. But Thursday night, it was White who delivered the best performance of anyone in the team’s 12-member draft class."

DT Daniel Ekuale - "The top three members of the interior of the defensive line are set: Lawrence Guy Sr., Davon Godchaux and Christian Barmore are at the top of the depth chart. But if Ekuale continues to play as he did Thursday, he’ll force the Patriots to use him more, potentially pairing him with Barmore in obvious passing situations."

S Jalen Mills - "Mills is in his eighth NFL season and his spot on the roster is safe. He could have taken it easy Thursday. But he was one of the most intense players on the field in the exhibition opener, which set the tone for younger players on defense."

LB Anfernee Jennings - "It has been an underwhelming start to Jennings’ career as the 2020 third-round pick has only seven career starts and just two sacks. But Thursday, he showed what he’s capable of if he stays healthy, pressuring Stroud twice and drawing a holding penalty. That was a step in the right direction for Jennings."

QB Malik Cunningham - "Cunningham was one of the few bright spots on the Patriots offense. His mobility negated the fact that the line couldn’t block anyone, and he led the team’s only touchdown drive"

FALLERS:-
The entire offensive line - "Belichick did little in the offseason to improve this unit, instead trusting that a new position coach and four returning starters could deliver better results than last season. So far, that hasn’t been the case."

CB Jack Jones - "This may be nitpicking a bit for a defense that only allowed seven points in the first half. But while Jones wasn’t the direct culprit on Houston chunk plays, he made some mistakes that were covered up elsewhere.

Jones was badly burned on Mills’ interception, but the turnover made the defense look good."


As was pointed out elsewhere in the article, the O-Line was missing starters, but still hasn't been impressive in practice, and Jones may have other things on his mind with his court case coming up next week.

 

[srobbo]

Happy with the Zeke signing to give Stevo a chop out, esp in short yardage & RZ situations. He’s not going to be eating up yards but he’s def a good RB2 as evidence by near on 900 yards & 12 TD’s lst season.

 

[Bostonian]

We have one QB on the roster...

 

[Monocle]

Not anymore.

Matt Corral signed off waivers.

 

[Bostonian]

Not anymore.

Matt Corral signed off waivers.

 

[srobbo]

View attachment 1791889

Gold. Only Rick pronounces it that way.

 

[srobbo]

So Philly at home to kick things off. Can see an ugly 13-9 loss incoming.

 

[Constantgin]

Hope his ok.

 

[ausbacker]

Showed they were good enough to win today, unfortunately, they played to lose, turnovers and poor coaching decisions the Pats undoing.

I'm no longer sure Mac is the 10 year QB we want. His arm simply isn't strong enough.

 

[Cockliff38]

Diabolical first quarter, but fought back nicely and probably had the better of the game TBH. Unfortunately these post-Brady teams have made a habit of shooting ourselves in the foot over and over again.

 

[juice t]

Showed they were good enough to win today, unfortunately, they played to lose, turnovers and poor coaching decisions the Pats undoing.

I'm no longer sure Mac is the 10 year QB we want. His arm simply isn't strong enough.

O'Brien still a massive improvement at OC

Even if he did call too many screens on 3rd Down

The tipped ball that led to the Pick 6 was the game

 

[Monocle]

TBH I didn't think we would get that close with the score line.

While disappointed that we didn't win I was encouraged by the comeback, we will play a lot of team of a lesser quality than the eagles this season.

Tidy up the coaching and play execution and better results will follow.

 

[Monocle]

Kraft is going to have the difficult task at seasons end of needing to tap BB on the shoulder and advise him that it’s time to step aside.

It’s not just the lack of W’s it’s also the state of the list.

While they were a destination club when TB12 & BB were weaving their collective magic, they covered up a lot of of their bad drafting.

That lure for free agents to get a ring at the Patriots has now vanished.

Back to you RKK and time to do what’s necessary to get the Pats back to being a playoffs team.

 

[ausbacker]

Kraft is going to have the difficult task at seasons end of needing to tap BB on the shoulder and advise him that it’s time to step aside.

It’s not just the lack of W’s it’s also the state of the list.

While they were a destination club when TB12 & BB were weaving their collective magic, they covered up a lot of of their bad drafting.

That lure for free agents to get a ring at the Patriots has now vanished.

Back to you RKK and time to do what’s necessary to get the Pats back to being a playoffs team.

Team doesn't seem capable of getting out of its own way at the moment. The reality of the NFL is it's one or two drives that differentiate good teams from bad teams. Presently, we're good enough to be in the fight but not good enough to win it. If the losses continue to mount, I think it may be Bill's final season in charge.

 

[srobbo]

More of the same as last week. Nowhere on offense early & only played with some conviction once the game was already done. Can’t see us winning one until maybe Week 5.

 

[ausbacker]

More of the same as last week. Nowhere on offense early & only played with some conviction once the game was already done. Can’t see us winning one until maybe Week 5.

Offence should go hurry up to open games. Mac seems more relaxed running it.

 

[Monocle]

15 V 10

Well a win is a win, but that was hardly convincing.

Jets still remain our bitches.

Still so much work to be done by the coaches to make the team half decent, it's I am afraid, going to be a long and uninspiring season.




Side Note; What a spanking the Fins handed out to the Donkeys 20 V 70 simply wow.

 

[ausbacker]

15 V 10

Well a win is a win, but that was hardly convincing.

Jets still remain our bitches.

Still so much work to be done by the coaches to make the team half decent, it's I am afraid, going to be a long and uninspiring season.




Side Note; What a spanking the Fins handed out to the Donkeys 20 V 70 simply wow.

Trying to get my head around with one different drive in each game, the Pats could be 3-0 or 0-3.

 

[srobbo]

What a pitiful offensive display, Mac was jumping at shadows & looked like he gave up at times. Can’t run to save himself & put the ball in some awful spots. He just doesn’t have a one wood.

I’ve seen enough.