Thoughts on Michael Bennett and 9 other Patriots
There’s enough in Michael Bennett's tank that he could be a weapon if he winds up in enemy hands.
COMMENTARY
Ten thoughts on 10 Patriots, who have 10 games to play — and begin them holding what’s effectively a two-game lead in the fight for the top seed in the AFC tournament…
Michael Bennett turns 34 on Nov. 13 — which figures to be the day the Patriots install the gameplan they’ll use that Sunday against one of Bennett’s former teams, the Eagles. Whether he’ll be part of that plan remains to be seen, given that a disagreement with his positional coach got him suspended for this week’s action, and also given Bennett’s already reduced role. From 2012 through the start of this season he’d played less than 25 snaps in a game only twice in 119 contests; he’s now done so each of the past four weeks, but that appears to be a product of the scheme, and accordingly may reflect a reason to believe Bennett will be here in a month. There’s enough in his tank that he could be a weapon if he winds up in enemy hands, and the Patriots shouldn’t just let him walk, lest he come back to terrorize Tom Brady in a big spot.
Adam Butler deserves credit, as much as Bennett deserves blame for what’s become of the defensive line rotation. So do Lawrence Guy and Danny Shelton. All three of them — along with Chase Winovich and the rest of the front seven, really — have played well enough this season to more than justify the schematic and strategic decisions of the coaching staff. With Bennett and Deatrich Wise waiting in the wings, there’s opportunity to adjust the plan if those space eaters in the middle aren’t making plays — but combined they’ve got 4.5 sacks and seven hits on opposing quarterbacks. And that doesn’t even account for the way they take on two blockers to free up lanes for the linebackers to fly into the backfield.
James White is more than merely a “third-down back” in the strictest sense of the label — but with so many questions about the quality of the pass-catchers around him he has almost singularly been the reason the Pats’ third-down success rates are passably mediocre this year, as opposed to being a major problem. Brady has converted third down with 26 throws this season, with 13 of those completions going to White (on 22 targets), and an equal 13 going to the rest of the team combined (on 39 targets). Factor in sacks and a 9-for-19 conversion rate on rushing attempts, and New England has reached the sticks 59.1 percent of the time when throwing to White, versus 34.4 percent when going somewhere else.
Tom Brady is well within his right to be frustrated by the caliber of receivers he’s being forced to play with in his age-42 season. But at the risk of sounding like a Pats’ Propagandist, it’s not because management failed, or because Belichick wasn’t willing to surround him with pieces. New England spent its first pick last season on a player it projected as a left tackle. It spent its first pick this season on a receiver. When the best receiver in football became a free agent, it was all of 61 minutes before a deal had been struck and the news had reached Adam Schefter’s tweeting thumbs. Last year they moved on a trade before having all the information because Josh Gordon’s talent was too tantalizing to pass up. Then, this past spring, they extended the contract of Julian Edelman, and re-signed trustworthy Phillip Dorsett. Things happen, and all of a sudden Brady is left throwing Edelman and two undrafted rookies last Thursday night, while a journeyman is blocking his blindside. Of course that’s frustrating. But it’s certainly not the result of the Pats ignoring the position.
N’Keal Harry will have already missed half his rookie season before he returns, but he’ll come back with a chance to rescue the Pats in their most deficient area. Entering this week, New England ranks 28th league-wide in the red zone, having turned only 13 of 26 trips into touchdowns. At 6-foot-4, he’s got exactly the body type to present a different threat than Edelman, Dorsett, and White do in those contested spaces near the goal line.
Josh Gordon, then again, should be the same type of threat as Harry. Maybe even more so, given his reputation as a physical freak. Yet, in the red zone this season, Gordon has been targeted on just four of Brady’s 32 throws. Only one of those has been completed, and that was a seven-yard gain from the 17. Last year Brady was 2-for-7 throwing to Gordon inside the 20, and neither of those produced a score. With Gordon likely out for a few weeks, it will be interesting to see if the offense suffers appreciably in his absence — or if his presence has been substantially overrated.
Ben Watson’s career has seen him targeted on 57 passes from inside the 10-yard line. He’s caught 37 of them (65 percent), and found the end zone with 28 of them. Of his 44 career scores, 38 have originated in the red zone. Ryan Izzo has served his role admirably as the club’s de facto starter at tight end, but Watson should help immediately.
Bill Belichick’s disdain for the Jets has been well-documented, even as the so-called border war has quieted over the years. But even if he wasn’t rooting for the Green against the Cowboys, the Pats’ coach couldn’t have been too disappointed to see New York knock off Dallas on Sunday. The Jets now welcome their guests Monday night as a team that outscored the Pats, 14-10, over the final 43 minutes in the first meeting between the squads, and just ushered its young stud quarterback back by beating one of the early season NFC favorites. The Patriots didn’t appear to take the Redskins entirely seriously at the start when going on the road in Week 5. The Jets’ most recent performance should give Belichick all the ammo he needs to get his team believing it can’t behave the same way in Week 7.
Steve Belichick is 14 months younger than Sean McVay, and is in his eighth season working under arguably the greatest football mind in history. He’s heavily involved with a defense, and a secondary, that keyed a Super Bowl title run last season, and is on pace to rank among the greatest of all-time. How long until he’s on the radar of some team seeking a head coach? In today’s NFL, young coaches of that profile can climb the ranks quickly — if they want to.
DeMaryius Thomas has played 95 snaps and made nine catches for the Jets over the past couple of weeks. Once All-Pro, he’s now pedestrian — but given the state of the Pats’ receiving corps, a veteran option like Thomas, maybe even more than the salary cap space, could be the most significant thing the Patriots lost by signing Antonio Brown.
