Last season, I started an Instagram series called “The Morning After,” where I gave my key takeaways the following morning of the most recent game for the New England Patriots. The original thought was to provide a reaction to the game, after sleeping on the overall product, where things went right, where they went wrong.
From now on, The Morning After (TMA) will have a new home, right here on The Patriots Wire. So let’s get right into last night’s Week 2 preseason matchup against the Carolina Panthers.
Linebackers can certainly fly
The Patriots defense, although extremely well-coached and savvy, was athletically outmatched and frankly, outdated, for the modern NFL for a few years now. This offseason, New England made it a goal to modernize their entire system on both offense (with the new zone blocking, Shanahan-ish scheme) and defense.
The first move was relying on redshirted Cam McGrone and Raekwon McMillan, who were both injured all last season. McGrone was a 2021 fifth-round draft pick, and McMillan was a 2021 offseason acquisition that was turning heads before he wound up missing the entire season after getting injured in camp.
Fast forward to 2022, and the New England Patriots swapped 2019 third-rounder, Chase Winovich, with Mack Wilson Sr. from the Cleveland Browns in a one-for-one swap. Mack Wilson was highly-touted out of Alabama as a speedy, smaller linebacker, more aligned with the modern game. But he could not find his way onto the roster before being shipped out.
After watching more of the starters in the new-look defense, it’s obvious they can certainly fly. The speedy linebackers are a value when they can cover backs and smaller receivers over the middle, as more and more quarterbacks are able to improvise. Wilson and McMillan especially were all over the field in their reps, and it will be worth keeping an eye on just to see how Bill Belichick offsets their reps with the more traditional downhill run-stuffers like Ja’Whaun Bentley, Jahlani Tavai and Harvey Langi.
Cole Strange is getting up to speed
Cole Strange was what many deemed a reach in the draft, but I actually had him as one of the best interior offensive lineman in the entire draft due to his athleticism and fit for a zone blocking scheme. I didn’t have New England as a destination for obvious reasons at the time. We didn’t know that there was a change of scheme coming.
Strange has seen some initial woes when learning the NFL game but has looked better and better each day that has gone by. I think he held up fairly well last night and played a huge chunk of time.
In both pass protection and the run game, he looked like a starting offensive lineman, and in year one, that’s all you need from your first-round lineman, as year two is where the real leap is. Once the entirety of the offense gets on the same page, Strange may look like one of the best picks in the first round, and I’ll stand by that.
James Ferentz mental lapses
The swing interior offensive lineman has always been a staple for this team, and with Ted Karras leaving for Cincinnati, the Patriots brought back depth lineman, James Ferentz, in hopes he would fill in similarly. However, I have not liked what I have seen from Ferentz.
Last night, he missed coverages in the zone blocking game and was pushed back numerous times. And he struggled in one-on-ones in joint practices this week. On top of this, and he’s not the only one on the O-Line with this issue, but the penalties need to be toned down quite a bit. It’s hard as is when the Patriots are trying to learn a new system, but the constant holding, offsides and personal foul calls that have been happening along the line is a real cause for concern.
However with Ferentz, he is a depth piece that should get more work as the season goes on, and he should get the same benefit of the doubt that others are getting for this new blocking system.
Patriots defense as a whole
The Patriot’s defense, although playing against not so great offenses, has looked extremely dominant. The multiple packages, including ones where Kyle Dugger, Adrian Phillips, Devin McCourty, and soon-to-be Jabrill Peppers are on the field is a matchup nightmare for many teams. Anytime you have that much athleticism and good coaching, there isn’t really a way to beat that system.
The Patriots have been getting great QB pressure from Matthew Judon, Christian Barmore, Josh Uche, Deatrich Wise, Lawrence Guy and Anfernee Jennings with great coverage from corners Jalen Mills and Jon Jones, while also seeing different looks in the slot with Myles Bryant and Marcus Jones.
Match all of that with good coaching and a newly-improved linebacker core, and the Patriots should be one of the top-10 defenses in the league this season.
Ty Montgomery is falling into his role very nicely
Ty Montgomery is filling into his role like a true veteran. He’s serving in that third-down running back role, mixed with some slot receiver duties. I really think he has the ability to serve in that Cordarrelle Patterson hybrid role that has been popular for some new style offenses. Obviously, he is no Deebo Samuel, Patterson or Tyreek Hill, but he has some skills that could translate to that gadget role, especially with some RPO and zone blocking being introduced into the offense to give him more space to work.
Brenden Schooler could be the special teams ace of the future
Brenden Schooler is taking opposing special teamers to school. He has shown versatility, and with Matthew Slater and Justin Bethel getting up there in age, there needs to be a replacement in mind. Although he may not make the roster this year, he has a chance at being here next season, while he gets some much extremely valuable insights from a Hall of Famer in Slater. I’m keeping my eye on Schooler in these last few weeks.
I am not as worried about the offense as others
When looking at the issues with the offense, it all stems from the new zone blocking, RPO scheme. It’s a matter of putting it together and making the mistakes now. From what I’ve seen, the Patriots aren’t easing into it. They’re unloading this on the entire O-Line so that they get this implemented in time for Week 1. But other than that, with the new plays, there seems to be more room for Jones to work across the middle and in short areas, where he excels due to the wide open play-style. It also helps to have two blazing fast wideouts like Tyquan Thornton and Nelson Agholor, along with a solid contested deep threat in DeVante Parker.
Regardless, I am not worried with the offense as a whole, just the way the blocks are coming together. If those mental lapses can be cleaned up, the Patriots should boast a top-15 offense and top-10 defense with the talent on this roster. Let’s just take a deep breathe and let things shake out along the line. The real cause for concern is the depth on the line, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a late camp move to sure up some zone blocking depth.
