Observations on the Patriots after two games. The best I can say is It's a work in progress and there are areas where the team is improving but other areas are lacking but Matt Patricia and Steve Belichick aren't the problem.
The offense is gonna have a long season if the line isn't stable. Weak Blitz pickup. Mac needs to improve on ball placement (1 deep throw doesn't make accurate). The zone blocking looks like it's getting better and the Patriots have some offensive depth pieces that they're going to lose if they cut them.
The defense is gonna carry the team early but better passers are going to make life miserable. The pass rush looks good but the secondary is a bend don't break unit. After Daniel Jones and P.J. Walker, I can say clearly that better passers, mid-tier quarterbacks are going to give the team problems.
Harris and Stevenson are good. The other running backs appear average and need the line. Montgomery and Taylor should make the final game against the Raiders interesting. Taylor looks like he's improved enough as a pass blocker and Montgomery appears to be a sparkplug for the Patriots offense.
Meyers and Agholor appear to be Jones's favorite receivers. And prior to Thornton's injury, I thought Bourne was on the trade block. Wilkerson was looking good before the concussion and could see the I.R. Humphries and Nixon looked good. Humphries needs to build off of the game versus the Panthers but all three guys are playing well enough to get swiped.
Hunter Henry is still the Patriots number one when he returns. I haven't noticed much from Jonnu but Asiasi looks like a roster lock. His blocking, route running and receiving looks improved. I think Jonnu is doing enough for the Patriots to keep a fourth around.
The offensive line looks like it's improving on the zone run but still needs work. In two games, the line needs to work on blitz pickup. Blitzing maybe the key to defeating the Patriots offense. Cole Strange is doing okay thus far. The team needs Brown, Wynn and Andrews on the field. Cajuste looks like a solid tackle finally. And the rest of the line still has like it needs to prove itself.
The front seven is getting a good pass rush. And the linebackers are getting to the ball carriers quickly. There are still holes occasionally being left open that smart car could probably fit through. Sam Roberts the 2022 six round draft pick is looking like a potential roster lock.
The secondary has played adequately against subpar quarterbacks. There were plays in both games thus far where mid tier or better passer would've dissected the secondary. Mills is a good corner but he's still an good number two but he's gonna be a bottom end number one. The second boundary corner at the moment looks like Jonathan Jones but It's probably gonna depend on the weekly match up until someome can solidify that spot.
The special teams are the special teams. Schooler, Bryant, Strong, Humphries and I believe Nixon are doing enough to make it a roster battle. Bailey and Folk have their jobs on lock and aren't going anywhere barring injury and Cardona continues to play well enough to have his career extend passed the average for long snappers.
The team is showing improvements but It's not looking ready for week one. It's not looking ready for the regular season. Belichick will continue the preseason into September as usual and it may be a long first quarter of the season for fans. The Raiders game is vital as they have a lot of areas they need to show they have cleaned up.
