NFL
By: Steve Atkinson
The Patriots’ offensive line has been a trainwreck for three years, whether people want to believe it or not. It doesn’t matter who the quarterback is; they won’t do well with this wretched offensive line that has been neglected since Dante Scarnecchia retired. This issue goes back to Belichick, which Elliot Wolf, the general manager, will tell you is the mess they inherited. What did Wolf do to address the problem? Not much, other than re-signing Owennu and signing a player from the Steelers who has now left the team.
The Patriots may have needed a quarterback and receivers during the draft, but if you have no offensive line and just let the defensive line come on in, at least have a better option at backup quarterback. These fans are so spoiled that they’ll be coming for Drake Maye, and he’ll be a backup somewhere in three years if he plays with a bad offensive line. Maye will be Mac Jones now in Jacksonville; it’s the same thing whether people want to believe it or not. If you can’t block, you have nothing.
The Offensive Line Can’t Block anything.
The Patriots could barely block during the week one win against the Bengals. In the last two games, Brissett has gotten clobbered and has had no time to throw the ball. Risking Maye’s development is dumb; go sign a veteran today.
The Patriots have Neglected the Offensive Line for years
What Belichick says about this Patriots team is irrelevant because he’s the one who neglected the offensive side of the ball in 2022 and 2023. Eliot Wolf is trying to fix it by having a real offensive staff and a veteran that can support a young quarterback. They need to be better upfront than what they currently are, though, because it’s a trainwreck.
Jerod Mayo said after the Jets loss,
Why put Maye out there and risk it mentally when you haven’t found the right combination to protect the quarterback? I get giving him experience, but I also don’t want to get him killed and lose confidence.
Since 2020, after Belichick kicked Brady out the door, the offense ranks:
– 29th in the NFL in TD passes
– 28th in the NFL in interceptions (5th most)
– 25th in the NFL in passer rating
This year, they rank:
– Tied for 22nd in TD passes (1)
– 27th in passing yards (despite 1 more game than 30 teams)
– 32nd in sacks (most allowed)
– 24th in completion percentage
– 24th in passer rating
Look what happens when you lose the greatest quarterback of all time and just put a band-aid on the offense. Elliot inherited a neglected offensive product, and he tried to get players within the draft, like quarterback and receiver. They need to focus on the offensive line next off-season, or Drake will be a backup in three years because the spoiled Patriot fans will be coming for Maye’s head.
Start Brissett, sign a veteran backup, and develop Maye on the practice field until the offensive line is functional.
