What we learned in Pats-Dolphins: ‘Total system failure’ raises concerns originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
MIAMI GARDENS – Drake Maye was, for all intents and purposes, held up by a stack of containers just outside the visitors’ postgame interview room at Hard Rock Stadium. He leaned on a trash can, his head resting on his arms, as if he had to make an effort to stand up.
The Patriots rookie quarterback was sacked four times and hit a total of eight times in a 34-15 loss to the Dolphins on Sunday. Perhaps his hardest shot of the afternoon came one play before a scrimmage drill, a rabbit out of the hat, 38 yards, running to Austin Hooper for the only offensive touchdown of New England. game.
Dolphins rookie passer Chop Robinson did his best to cut Maye in half on third down before the fourth-down prayer, surely contributing to the discomfort Maye felt in the locker room after the game.
This kind of shooting has been no stranger to Maye since he became a starter in Week 6. But after four straight competitive games against the Jets, Titans, Bears and Rams, the nature of the loss to Miami is what seems to persist with the 22-year-old Ferryman.
“It’s tough,” Maye said. “As I’ve always said, I hate losing more than I really like winning. Losing sucks. I told some guys, just remember this feeling. Remember that feeling of really making our butts scream today, and it’s only from now on. We have a bright future and bright players who are going to make plays for the Patriots. »
Maye’s future is certainly bright. But the way Sunday’s game played out raises organization-wide questions that cast doubt on how the near-term future will be handled. In a season where progress is a more realistic and achievable goal than victories, the Patriots’ latest loss represented a definitive step backwards.
This game was characterized by a total system crash. From the coaching, to the execution by the players, to the obvious lack of talent on display, this was as lousy a performance as the Patriots have had all season.
“It’s a little embarrassing — 24-0 at halftime,” defensive tackle Davon Godchaux said. “We all played a part in it. Coaches. Players. Scouts. Everyone. We all played a part in this.
Here’s what we learned from a bludgeoning in South Florida…
Either you coach him…
…Or you allow it to happen. This old football cliché came true after this latest loss, as penalties ruined New England’s day before it could really get going. They had six penalties before halftime, 10 penalties for 75 total yards and were flagged 13 times in total.
The offensive line was particularly sloppy, combining three holding calls and four false starts. Starting left tackle Vederian Lowe had three false starts and a catch on his own, and he also allowed Dolphins defensive tackle Zach Sieler to beat him for a strip-sack. Yet it was starting right tackle Demontrey Jacobs — who had a false start, a catch and allowed several quarterback hits to Robinson — who was benched in the fourth quarter in favor of Sidy Sow.
“Terrible, terrible fundamentals from us as an o-line,” Lowe said.
The Patriots had three separate first-and-20 situations in this game, they gave Miami another set of downs with a neutral zone offense from Anfernee Jennings. Kayshon Boutte was assessed two offensive pass interference penalties (one accepted), and Hooper was assessed an offsides penalty simply for lining up at the line of scrimmage that was ultimately disallowed.
It was an alarming lack of attention to detail that — especially on offense — killed any chance the Patriots had of making the game competitive.
“Sometimes I don’t blame those guys right off the bat, they have a tough job,” Maye said of his linemen. “They have to start from the snap and get back out there and block some good guys on the rim. I don’t blame them for going out there and trying to get a good set. Sometimes these things happen.
“I just think we had too many catches. I think some of them, especially on first down – first down, you get first-and-20s and second-and-16s, it’s just tough. It’s difficult to understand first attempts to move the ball.
Mayo said his team’s lack of focus, which led to those momentum-killing flags, fell on his shoulders.
“Look, it starts with me,” Mayo said. “It starts with me. We’ve had some hiccups in games where penalties have really affected us, and that’s what happened today.
Defense shows lack of control
In the stoic world of professional football, week-to-week performances are often attributed to teams striving to control the things they can control. For the Patriots on Sunday, they failed in a number of categories that would fall under this framework, including focus, communication and discipline.
Marcus Jones cited discipline as a factor in some of the number of penalties the Patriots racked up defensively, helping Miami when it didn’t need much; Tua Tagovailoa threw for 308 yards and four touchdowns while connecting on 29 of his 40 attempts.
Kyle Dugger attributed New England’s red zone breakdowns — Miami went 3 of 4 inside the 20 — to problems with concentration and communication.
“I would say we just weren’t communicating in the right way,” Dugger said. “Basically it’s just us beating ourselves, it has nothing to do with them. They are who they are and they’re talented, but a lot of the problems in the first half were us fighting and miscommunicating, things like that.
Godchaux said a second-half adjustment — more big bodies, two gaps up front, a linebacker on the field, more help for the secondary — helped. But he wasn’t sure why the change hadn’t been made sooner.
“I think we made some good adjustments,” Godchaux said. “DeMarcus (Covington) made some good adjustments in the second half. …I wish we went there more. I don’t know why. But I trust my coaches, I trust my players.
The Patriots managed to hold Miami to 2.7 yards per carry, but were gashed in the passing game, allowing 10.9 yards per completion.
Identity is still missing
Twelve weeks into the season, the Patriots are still struggling to embody the identity they hoped to build since training camp. The objective was to show that this is an intelligent, solid, reliable, versatile and complementary football team.
But games like Sunday prove they have a long way to go before they can confidently say they are who they want to be.
“I think we’re kind of trying to find it,” Dugger said. “Yeah. I think we’re kind of trying to find ourselves. There’s obviously been a lot of change. I think we’re still trying to find our identity.
“I think we’ve had enough. I think we just didn’t stay there, if that makes sense. We have not been consistent. We know what we want to be, but we haven’t shown it consistently… We haven’t put all of those things together yet cohesively as a team.
Mayo was asked Monday if establishing a culture in his first season as head coach was even more difficult than expected.
“I never thought we would be able to reestablish a culture in year one,” he said. “It’s hard to change a culture, and we’re trying to bring these things together. »
“There are going to be ups and downs,” Godchaux said. “No one got it in one day. Rome was not built in a day. The Patriots organization led by Jerod Mayo is not going to be built in a day. It will take adversity. It will take some bumps and bruises.
“This is what he has to go through as a head coach…No one is pointing fingers. Nobody blames anyone. Jerod will take responsibility for this. I just heard someone say he was responsible. But we know that when we get to the film tomorrow, we will take responsibility as men and as players.
“I’m looking forward to it, to getting positive reviews, to being coached. I just have to get better. No excuses. Jerod will automatically take responsibility for it. He hasn’t even watched the film. He is just a leader, which he is. I just have to get better.
