Image Week 1 at Gillette Stadium.
Tom Brady is waving from an expensive area to deafening applause on a muggy afternoon.
The Eagles trot out to a chorus of boos courtesy of a sold-out crowd nonetheless stung by Tremendous Bowl LII.
Kickoff arrives, Marcus Jones weaves to the 32-yard line on his return, and proper right here comes the Patriots offense.
What does it appear to be after a few performs?
Is Mac Jones beneath coronary heart or flat on his once more?
Is Kendrick Bourne working into open home with the ball tucked beneath his correct arm or is he pissed off and locked up in man safety?
Who’s starting on the offensive line? Is it a full complement of healthful starters — as a result of the Patriots hope — or the ragtag group presently sowing deep anxiousness all through a fan base?
No matter your imaginative and prescient, some piece of that fantasy has come to life this summer season. Over better than a dozen practices and now two preseason video video games, the Patriots offense is realizing every its highest hopes and worst fears. The unit has become a Rorschach check out.
What you see is a reflection of your stage of notion in Invoice O’Brien and Co. Saturday’s preseason recreation in opposition to Inexperienced Bay solely bolstered this idea, as a result of the Pats scored a touchdown on their opening drive, then Jones took two sacks that ended their subsequent two possessions. Which sequence revealed the “actual” offense?
All of them did, nonetheless you inform me.
Saturday’s first quarter-plus moreover mirrored what the offense confirmed in two prior joint practices with the Packers. On Wednesday, the Patriots allowed 13 sacks in reside group intervals. On Thursday, Jones went 13-of-17, along with a 45-yard touchdown to DeVante Parker to knock out the Packers safety in a 2-minute drill.
Jones struck as soon as extra on his first drive Saturday, hitting a 13-yard slant to Bourne that carried the Pats deep into the crimson zone. The play was a downfield run-pass chance (RPO), the kind Invoice Belichick and Matt Patricia refused to place in remaining 12 months whereas they in its place bubble-screened opponents to demise. Two performs later, at Inexperienced Bay’s 7-yard line, O’Brien often called a play-action transfer.
Bear in mind these?
Final season, the Patriots often called the second-fewest play-action passes throughout the league, per Sports activities Information. Options. They ignored all low-hanging fruit offensively, starting with play-action, primarily probably the most main and confirmed cheat code in play-calling. However adequate about 2022.
O’Brien is in price, he’s choosing acknowledged fruit, and the fashion is sweet. In the meantime, his depth chart is solidifying correctly.
Jones is the clear-cut starting quarterback. JuJu Smith-Schuster, Parker and Bourne are his excessive receivers. One other wideout, sixth-round rookie Demario Douglas, is already a made man.
Douglas carried out merely two offensive snaps for the second straight recreation. He’s earned one of the best to kick up his toes on cutdown day, notably after altering third-and-10 on his first play in Inexperienced Bay and catching a show display screen transfer designed for him on his second. The educating staff is every working performs for Douglas, and actively hiding him.
Oh, and Douglas caught 9 passes — a training camp best amongst all players — in Thursday’s joint comply with. Ho-hum.
O’Brien’s backfield acquired stronger this week, too. Longtime star Ezekiel Elliott joined Rhamondre Stevenson at comply with, the place he shouldered an exact workload Thursday; powering his method between the tackles and swinging out for temporary passes. Elliott is already drawing rave evaluations internally.
Every thing is falling into place for O’Brien — in addition to his largest and second-most mandatory place group. That place, in its place, is falling apart.
Rookie offensive type out Sidy Sow, a occupation school guard, acquired straight-armed into the backfield on the Patriots’ eleventh offensive snap and allowed a sack to Packers edge rusher Kingsley Enagbare. One drive later, Enagbare cracked Jones from behind on one different drive-killing takedown. Enagbare battered backup left type out Andrew Stueber, a 2022 seventh-round select who missed practically all of his rookie 12 months.
Then, Jones missed the rest of the game. Two sacks allowed on 11 passing snaps was clearly adequate for Belichick to tug his starting quarterback. O’Brien had often called — and continues to call — video video games spherical his patchwork offensive line, nonetheless he nonetheless couldn’t enterprise Jones.
How for for much longer can this proceed? The current setup is clearly untenable.
Time will heal just a few of their wounds. Left guard Cole Unusual was seen at two practices remaining week, and can return subsequent week for joint practices at Tennessee. Proper guard Mike Onwenu hasn’t suited up as quickly as, as he recovers from offseason ankle surgical process, nonetheless could possibly be on the market Week 1.
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Then as soon as extra, accidents are solely partially responsible. Within the offseason, the Patriots’ entrance office opted for quite a few low-cost, long-odds bets on the place in its place of 1 constructive issue. They figured they could protect Jones with cast-offs and late-round rookies in its place of a marquee free agent or excessive select.
However projected starting correct type out Riley Reiff is now having fun with correct guard in Onwenu’s place. Reiff’s preliminary different, Conor McDermott, acquired smoked throughout the preseason opener and is now injured. Will the Patriots perception Sow can develop fast adequate to begin out throughout the frequent season or pivot once more to Reiff?
Does the 34-year-old Reiff, whom the Bears and Bengals declined to re-sign in consecutive offseasons, have adequate throughout the tank? Do the Patriots even have one different choice open air of him and Sow? Can their offense survive with such a shaky foundation, whereas Jones, Stevenson, Parker, Bourne and Douglas thrive?
Image Week 1.
What do you see?