A daunting task lies ahead.
After a very disappointing post-bye trip to the desert, the New England Patriots have the Herculean task of hosting the Bills.
A glimpse into the future
The Patriots’ coaching staff have been lambasted this week for their conservative play calling, and a lack of willingness to unleash their potential superstar rookie quarterback.
Against the Buffalo Bills this week, the Pats will get a look at a similar style signal caller in Josh Allen.
Allen is currently is at the height of his powers and the front runner for the MVP.
Joe Brady, the Bills offensive coordinator, is a wizard. He is using Allen’s physical traits to put up video game numbers on a week-to-week basis.
The Bills come in as PFF’s sixth ranked passing offence and first in rushing offense.
The Patriots may be having a Dickensian visit from the Ghost of Christmas Future on Sunday.
However, they have to find the desire to be more creative and more willing to let Drake Maye show people how he can live up to the ‘Josh Allen 2.0′ comments and comparisons from throughout the draft process and this season.
Stop coaching scared
The coaches on this team have to stop being so conservative.
The Pats are 3-11 in a season that is now meaningless. The only thing left to play for is the ability to build momentum going in to next season, and to make New England appear to be a desirable destination for free agents in 2025.
Maye had an average depth of target in the first half of -0.6 yards per pass, meaning that on average his passes were being caught behind the line of scrimmage.
This is obviously a concerted attempt to protect Maye from a putrid offensive line. However it only produced 71 passing yards and three points.
This is not going to build anything. We need to be willing to be creative on fourth downs, not settle for throwing short of the sticks on third and long in field goal range, and to incorporate Maye into the run game.
The defensive staff are also not immune to this.
They need to be more willing to accept that they are going to be outmatched for talent on Sunday. The coaches will have to put players in positions to be competitive in these games.
This means getting creative, not playing such simple coverages, as they did in Arizona.
Arizona used pre-snap motion to tip the Patriots into giving away their coverages. They will have to be smarter to disguise their defensive game plan this week.
