SANTA CLARA, Calif. — I get the temptation.
Give the kid a shot. Let him see what he can do.
Hit fast-forward on the future, and start Drake Maye, that spectacular, baby-faced, rocket-armed gift from the football gods.
Forget it.
Not now.
Not after that 30-13 disguised bludgeoning in San Francisco, a second Week 4 reckoning in as many years that proved the Patriots are not who they think they are. Not yet, anyway.
The Patriots are who we thought they were: an untalented, overmatched team whose three-game losing skid has been greased by ill-timed injuries. Starting Maye would only scratch an itch symptomatic of much deeper problems; a sugar high to remedy the weeks-long crash that followed the Pats’ sweet, sweet season opener at Cincinnati.
Maye is not the solution for what ails them. Here’s how you know.
Make a list of all the Patriots’ problems at 1-3. An honest, serious list that considers all three phases and positions, but starts after an obvious No. 1: bad talent.
OK, No. 2: Pass protection
Maye cannot block for himself. He cannot fix an offensive line that stands alone as the worst pass-protecting unit in the entire league, and maybe recent NFL history, allowing 10 quarterback hits per game. He cannot expedite the development of rookie right guard Layden Robinson, nor second-year left guard Sidy Sow nor rookie offensive line coach Scott Peters.
He cannot heal David Andrews, the center in charge of calling out protections who’s now dealing with a fresh shoulder injury. And unless Maye is best friends with a secret street free agent capable of playing left tackle, there is no plugging that hole, either.
Demontrey Jacobs, a person with zero career NFL snaps until two weeks ago and zero NFL starts before Sunday, just became the Pats’ fourth different left tackle in four games. Predictably, 49ers All-Pro pass rusher Nick Bosa ate him alive, with five tackles, one sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery Sunday. It’s bad up front. Real bad.
No. 3: Offensive playmaking
Maye cannot catch his own passes. He cannot wash clean the four drops the Patriots had Sunday. He cannot unstick his own receivers from man coverage, or get open deep.
Not to mention, who in that receivers room scares any defensive coordinator? No one. How many other teams would have swapped their receiving corps for the Patriots’ preseason? How many would do so now? None, and none.
By the way, the Patriots completed their first deep pass of the year in San Francisco. First in four games. And yes, blame belongs to Jacoby Brissett for that failure among others. More on him later.
For now, remember this: Rhamondre Stevenson has more fumbles this season than Tyquan Thornton, a starting Week 1 wide receiver, has catches. Stevenson’s four fumbles in as many games are a disgrace. Down right inexcusable.
No. 4: A defanged defense
No Matthew Judon. No Christian Barmore. No Ja’Whaun Bentley. No solutions in sight.
Even before Brock Purdy led the 49ers to scores on four of their first five drives Sunday, the Pats’ defense ranked below average in several major categories: 17th in yards allowed per play, 25th in turnovers, 26th by DVOA, 27th in success rate allowed and 27th by EPA per play.
The defense has a single blue-chip talent in Christian Gonzalez, and that is a projection more than anything. Gonzalez might be a perennial Pro Bowler, but he’s not yet. For now, he’s the only hope on a defense that’s otherwise surrounding him with waiver wire fodder like Eric Johnson, Raekwon McMillan, Marco Wilson and Dell Pettus.
Yikes.
Source: Patriots plan for Kendrick Bourne to begin practicing Week 5
No. 5: Coaching
Maye cannot draw up the game plans nor run the drills nor adjust in-game. The Pats have been out-coached in three straight games; beaten by Seattle in critical situations, beaten physically at New York and beaten senselessly at San Francisco.
The Jets’ coaches schemed up a 14-3 halftime lead in Week 3. Copying elements of the Jets’ game plans, the 49ers cracked open a 20-3 halftime lead Sunday.
Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt is not reaching Stevenson about his fumbles. He’s actively failing to feed his second-best playmaker in DeMario Douglas, who finished with three catches for 13 forgettable yards. Van Pelt is not even organizing the short passing attack the Patriots advertised pregame, knowing they had to get the ball out quickly given the state of their pass protection.
Ask his boss.
“Schematically,” Mayo said post-game, “we’ve got to do a better job of getting the ball out of our hand right now.”
Defensively, Mayo and DeMarcus Covington hardly fixed a damn thing. The Patriots missed tackles and failed to contain a mobile quarterback for a second straight week, something they had pledged to do. And the 49ers kept their defense right where they wanted it, with Purdy throwing darts and dropping bombs on a slow 3-4 personnel grouping all afternoon.
No. 6: Quarterback play
Through the first two weeks of the season, Brissett’s ability to neutralize pressure — taking sacks on just 14% of the snaps he was hit or hurried — kept the Pats’ passing game alive. That’s gone now.
On Sunday, Brissett invited sacks, and fumbled three times. He was a walking disaster.
The timing of Brissett’s downfall feels frighteningly similar to the schedule Mac Jones followed last season before breaking completely. Jones survived a barrage of pressure in the Patriots’ first two games — both competitive — then struggled at the Jets and tossed a pick-six in a disastrous Week 4 defeat, just like Brissett did Sunday.
Maybe Maye would avoid sacks better than Brissett has, especially lately. But rookie quarterbacks take sacks and throw interceptions at alarmingly high rates. Check any era of NFL history.
Or, review Maye’s debut against the Jets: two sacks, a couple extra QB hits and the first pass of his career hitting a defender square in the hands, all over 12 dropbacks,
Even if he’s ready, the Patriots decidedly are not. Right now, the facts cast them as a poorly coached team with one of the NFL’s shallowest talent pools, worst offenses and a crumbling defense.
Not even prime Tom Brady could save these Patriots.
Let alone a kid.
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