With the Patriots on their bye week – many of us reporters and media members who write about the team have been able to take a step back, look at what has happened through nine weeks, and figure out how they can have success in the second half of the season.
I did so earlier in the week in my State of the Patriots Address, where I outlined the AFC playoff picture, the AFC division race, and busted out the SWOT analysis on the team. You can check that out HERE.
Myself and Alex Barth from 98.5 The Sports Hub also doled out our bye week report cards on our latest episode of the Patriots Beat Podcast on Thursday afternoon.
Here are the grades I gave out for each position group, as well as the coaching staff:
Quarterbacks: C
Being one of the few teams in the NFL to have trotted out three starting quarterbacks in nine weeks, New England’s QB room has been a mess – to put it lightly.
Mac Jones, Brian Hoyer, and Bailey Zappe have collectively thrown for 9 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, and a passer rating of 85.1. Not great.
Based on their individual performances I would rank them as 1. Zappe 2. Jones and 3. Hoyer – but that isn’t saying much either. Circumstance, opponent, and playcalling have all played a huge factor in each of their showings.
The Patriots are going to go with Jones, barring health, for the remainder of the season – and this grade should tick up with the likely adjustments and improvements they’ll around him.
Running Backs: A-
Rhamondre Stevenson is a top-three running back in the AFC. He’s rushed for 618 yards and 4 touchdowns through nine weeks and is second to only Jakobi Meyers on the team with 35 receptions.
Damien Harris has been a solid number two back – averaging 4.3 yards per carry and helping pace the offense with 16 first down runs, but injuries have hindered him all season long.
The rest of them, Pierre Strong Jr., Kevin Harris, and J.J. Taylor, have been complete no-shows and are hard to grade. It’s the Stevenson show that gives this room an “A-“.
Wide Receivers: C+
Speaking of Jakobi Meyers, he has been sensational. The fourth-year undrafted wide receiver out of NC State continues to prove his worth to this organization and show why he deserves a bag this offseason. He missed two games this season and still leads the Patriots in receptions (40), yards (457), and receiving touchdowns (3).
Beyond Meyers though, the room is below average. Kendrick Bourne has been a shell of himself, DeVante Parker has been incredibly hot and cold, and Nelson Agholor leads the team in lost fumbles. They’re a “C+” at best.
Tight Ends: D+
Considered the top tight end duo in the NFL upon signing with New England in 2021, Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith have brutally failed to meet their expectations over the last two seasons.
A two tight end system modeling the likes of Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez was the idea – and instead they look like two chickens with their heads cut off. They’re still talented players, but they need to be schemed up much better by this coaching staff.
Offensive Line: C-
When healthy, this offensive line is very good. Trent Brown, Mike Onwenu, and David Andrews are all top-tier linemen in this league
However, their health has completely thrown them off in 2022 and it’s completely hindering this offense. David Andrews being out with a concussion has effectively ruined rookie Cole Strange – so much so that the team had to bring in the benched Isaiah Wynn to take his place. Marcus Cannon was okay at filling Wynn’s void, and then he went to IR which shoveled Yodny Cajuste into the tackle role. It’s just been a complete mess and it’s ruining their franchise quarterback from the inside out.
Defensive Line: B
Deatrich Wise, Christian Baremore, and Lawrence Guy is a really solid place to start on your defensive line. Guy is the epitome of consistency up front, Barmore is a young and rising star, and Wise is having the best year of his career.
However, injuries have riddled this room as well with both Barmore and Guy missing some time this season due to various ailments. This has depleted the depth of the position and it has gravely shown when they’re not on the field. When healthy though, New England’s defensive line is a B+/A-.
Linebackers: B+
To make it clear, Matthew Judon is a linebacker – and he’s one of the best of them in the NFL. His league-leading 11.5 sacks pace the Patriots’ defense week in and week out, and he’s the reason they sniff B+ territory.
Josh Uche helps as well as he’s playing the best football of his young career, however, that’s basically all the room has. Tavai, McMillan, and Wilson are all way too inconsistent and haven’t shown they can be relied on on a weekly basis. The room needs improvement.
Cornerbacks: A
The best unit on this team so far in 2022. Jalen Mills has been sensational since the beginning of July camp, Jonathan Jones has seamlessly gone from elite slot corner to above-average boundary corner, and rookie Jack Jones is fitting directly into the elite Patriots cornerback pipeline.
No complaints about this room whatsoever.
Safeties: B+
Kyle Dugger is an elite NFL safety, but everyone else has been so-so.
McCourty is aging (gracefully), Phillips fills the void but could be better, Peppers has been okay and Joshuah Bledsoe needs work.
They can’t cover tight ends without Dugger in the game. It’s an issue when he isn’t on the field.
Specialists: B+
Outside of Punter Jake Bailey, the Patriots’ special teamers have been awesome.
Nick Folk’s consistently is unmatched, Brenden Schooler is forming into Matthew Slater 2.0, and Marcus Jones is proving to be one of the better return specialists in the league.
If Bailey can start punting the ball past seven yards and they can eliminate some of the bonehead plays they’ve made in this third of the game, this unit will be an “A” by season’s end.
Coaching Staff: C-
The root cause of the Patriots’ disappointing play this season has been the offensive coaching staff. Their 5-4 record is directly player and head coach correlated. Everything outside of Bill Belichick, at least offensively, has been a disgrace.
Matt Patricia and Joe Judge are dragging this offense down game-by-game and are completely stunting their young quarterback’s growth. It’s sad to see and they need a fix ASAP.
On the defensive side, Jerod Mayo and Steve Belichick have exceeded expectations after once being at the center of coaching speculation. I see a head coaching position in Jerod Mayo’s future.
So there you have it, my midseason report card. Here’s to hoping they make adjustments at the bye week and can steer this thing straight the rest of the way.
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