Building on a \u201cfoundational year\u201d is where the Patriots are following an early playoff exit at the hands of their divisional rivals in the Buffalo Bills.<\/p>\n
jh1uThe Patriots ‘ only option is to look back on the 2021 season as laying the foundation for a more competitive future. They can\u2019t change the outcome from last Saturday night, but they can grow from it as a group, using it as motivational fuel and wake-up call for where they\u2019re at as a team.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe certainly have made a lot of improvement from where we were last year,\u201d head coach Bill Belichick told WEEI radio this week. \u201cBut we certainly have a way to go as well.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Very few, if any, teams rebuild to championship-caliber in one offseason, especially with a rookie quarterback. In fact, no rookie QB has ever started a Super Bowl in NFL history, let alone won a championship in his first season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n And secondly, we always discuss New England’s playbook’s complexities and mental workload on both sides of the ball. So for all the newcomers in 2021, rookies and veterans alike, year two in the system should lead to even better results.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWatching the Bills since I\u2019ve been in the league, they\u2019ve consistently gotten better,\u201d Patriots wide receiver Jakobi Meyers said on Monday. \u201cThat core group of skill guys and just their offense, it actually gives you hope, you know what I mean? Because we see where they started and see where they are now.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Belichick has plenty of work to do on a roster that had obvious talent gaps compared to the real contenders at wide receiver, cornerback, and linebacker. Overall, New England still needs more blue-chip talent and team speed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Then, the players who remain after Belichick\u2019s offseason shuffling need to look in the mirror and address how the 2021 team came apart at the seams following their bye week after starting 9-4.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI feel like our intensity going into the bye was great,\u201d Meyers said. \u201cI don\u2019t feel like it dropped off. But that\u2019s the problem: it didn\u2019t build up, either. We still tried to ride the wave as far as what we were doing when we got the No. 1 spot, and we needed to build on that. And we didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n If the Patriots want to return to the Super Bowl, the complacency and bad habits that trickled into their game, leading to four losses in their final five contests, simply cannot happen again.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n And Belichick needs to address the lack of buy-in with the coaching and game-planning on defense, which might not be the Hollywood drama that some are floating but was evident to everyone watching down the stretch.<\/p>\n Acknowledging the steps the Pats took is a good sentiment. But talk of a foundational season is cheap if you don\u2019t keep building and fix the lingering issues.<\/span><\/p>\n Here is a five-step plan for the Patriots to attack the 2022 offseason and build on this seasons\u2019 successes:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Before the TB12 brand, the Patriots took a similarly-built Tom Brady and transformed his body into a finely-tuned machine. Although scouts and experts underrated Brady\u2019s arm in the early years, he definitely added velocity to his fastball once he got to the NFL. Belichick upgrading the roster is also critical, but getting Mac on the Brady workout plan and with renowned mechanics specialist Tom House, who rebuilt Brady\u2019s mechanics once upon a time to maximize his arm strength, is an absolute must. The good news is that the organization has done this before, and Mac appears to have the necessary work ethic to make it happen. Jones\u00a0<\/span>should<\/span><\/em>\u00a0come into year two looking like a different guy, with an NFL body and more zip on his passes. Mac\u2019s game will reach another level if he puts in the work in the offseason.<\/span><\/p>\n Belichick has plenty of work to do on defense, too. But to keep pace in today\u2019s NFL, the Patriots need to find Jones a true game-breaker at the wide receiver position. Jakobi Meyers and Kendrick Bourne are solid complementary pieces, but neither dictates coverage plans. In other words, defensive coordinators aren\u2019t losing any sleep at night game-planning for their current group. Meyers is a great Patriot, and there\u2019s a role for him on this team. But he shouldn\u2019t be doubling up everyone else in targets as the highest volume receiver in your offense. He\u2019s just not explosive or efficient enough to warrant that target share. They need to upgrade Meyers\u2019s spot and reduce him to an Amendola-like role when they had the Edelman-Amendola combo.<\/span><\/p>\n Ultimately, talent is the most important thing here, not position or where the player aligns in the formation. However, our preference would be adding an explosive Z receiver who mainly plays inside but can move around the formation. Someone with the explosiveness to create separation early in the down, make yards after the catch in bunches, and create big plays on deep crossers (think Cooper Kupp, Justin Jefferson, even Julian Edelman). An explosive outside receiver that will run by someone and attack the ball in the air would be nice, too. And if you can blend both skillsets into one player, that’s a jackpot. Still, slot receivers eat in McDaniels\u2019s offense. Plus, Mac\u2019s quick release and accuracy would help that player thrive, too. Either way, the blueprint is all over the NFL, from Buffalo (Diggs for Allen) to Cincinnati (Chase for Burrow) or Arizona (Hopkins for Kyler). Make it happen.<\/span><\/p>\n Note: I don\u2019t know who needs to hear this but saying they need to add a WR1 doesn\u2019t prohibit them from upgrading the defense or other areas of the roster. The notion that it’s one or the other is silly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Before we get into important decisions in the secondary, the Patriots need to decide if they\u2019re going to stick with their current philosophies or not in the front seven. The Pats either two-gap or maintain gaps on the defensive line, with their off-ball linebackers taking on pullers and climbers. That\u2019s why they mostly pluck guys like Lawrence Guy and Davon Godchaux as block-eaters rather than IDLs who like to penetrate and get up the field. However, if they\u2019re going to stick with a system that forces off-ball linebackers to be take-on players in the trenches, then those ILBs can\u2019t be 230 pounds because they\u2019ll get run over. That\u2019s why Belichick likes the big backers for his scheme. The issue is that those big LBs need to be moving forward, not dropping into coverage, so if that\u2019s the plan, they need to upgrade the backend significantly. If they\u2019re willing to go more towards penetrating IDLs (Barmore might signal that), then they can get smaller and faster at linebacker. Unfortunately, 250-pound linebackers who can cover and blow up a puller don\u2019t grow on trees. If they\u2019re going to stick with the current formula, they have to play elite man coverage. Zone coverage with hulking linebackers isn\u2019t going to work, and neither will dropping \u2018backers into low robber zones to help man coverage defenders if they don\u2019t add more on-the-line pass rushers to get home with four.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Assuming the Patriots don\u2019t overhaul their defensive system, which is a safe assumption, the next step for Belichick is to add as much man coverage talent as possible. We\u2019ve seen the right personnel succeed in the system before, with 2018-19 as the most recent example. Looking at that secondary, the Patriots had outstanding depth and were oozing with corners who could play man coverage. Better cover corners equate to more blitzing opportunities for their linebackers which equates to more pressure on quarterbacks. Although it\u2019s very early on to make any final declarations, the feeling in Devin McCourty\u2019s camp is that he\u2019d like to return next season, while Jonathan Jones will be back as well. Taking a look at those 2018-19 teams, the Pats already have some spots filled, but they\u2019ll need to add another outside corner to the top of the depth chart and retain J.C. Jackson:<\/span><\/p>\n Jackson = Gilmore<\/span><\/p>\n New Outside CB = Jackson<\/span><\/p>\n Jon Jones = Jon Jones<\/span><\/p>\n Mills = Jason McCourty\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n DMac = DMac\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Dugger+Phillips = Chung+Harmon<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019m not going to apologize for sounding like a broken record when it comes to this because it\u2019s that important: McDaniels needs to call up old pal Billy O\u2019Brien to teach him the Alabama playbook. I don\u2019t want to hear about how McDaniels doesn\u2019t \u201cmajor\u201d in RPOs, and I don\u2019t want to see spread formations only on third downs. Get more explosive on the outside, spread the field, and get the ball out of Mac\u2019s hands. It\u2019s not like the Patriots haven\u2019t done this before (see: 2007 and 2011). McDaniels just needs to update those spread elements and integrate run-pass options. You have a young rising star at quarterback who thrives in a pace and space system. Stop putting him under-center with six offensive linemen and a fullback in the game. The high-volume running game without a passing threat needs to be a rookie year Mac thing only. Adapt or die.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Building on a \u201cfoundational year\u201d is where the Patriots are following an early playoff exit at the hands of their divisional rivals in the Buffalo Bills. jh1uThe Patriots ‘ only option is to look back on the 2021 season as laying the foundation for a more competitive future. They can\u2019t change the outcome from last<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":131993,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3537,47,3539],"tags":[207,219,209,210],"class_list":["post-97716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-home-featured-banner","category-nfl","category-nfl-featured-banner","tag-bill-belichick","tag-josh-mcdaniels","tag-mac-jones","tag-patriots"],"yoast_head":"\n1. Keep Mac Jones in the Weight Room and Get Him With Tom House ASAP<\/strong><\/h4>\n
2. The Hunt for Mac\u2019s No. 1 Weapon: The Most Important Personnel Upgrade Moving Forward\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n
3. Make a Philosophical Decision About the Teams\u2019 Scheme in the Front Seven<\/strong><\/h4>\n
4. Pay or Tag CB J.C. Jackson and Pair Him With Another Elite Man Corner\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n
5. McDaniels\u2019s Offseason Project: Install Elements of the Alabama Playbook\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n