WATFORD, United Kingdom – Jaguars.com senior writer John Oehser each week during the 2024 regular season will speak with a writer or media member covering the Jaguars' opponent.
Up this week:
ESPN New England Patriots writer Mike Reiss on the Patriots as they enter Sunday’s Week 7 game against the Jaguars at Wembley Stadium in London
Question: The Patriots are 1-5, having lost five consecutive games after a Week 1 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. What's the state of the Patriots entering Sunday?
Answer: First year of a new regime. Head coach, Jerod Mayo; executive vice president of player personnel, Eliot Wolf; first-year offensive coordinator, Alex Van Pelt; first-year defensive coordinator, DeMarcus Covington; first-year special teams coordinator, Jeremy Springer. As you would expect, six games in we've seen growing pains with people in their position for the first time. Big picture, they did not inherit a great situation talentwise. I think the external expectation has been if they just show some incremental improvement and build a foundation, that's a successful season. It centers around the quarterback, Drake Maye, the No. 3 overall pick. He just started his first game and flashed promise. No. 2, which sort of muddied the waters a little bit, is they go out and win their first game, 16-10 at the [Cincinnati] Bengals. It shocked everyone. It raised the expectation externally, and they've regressed. They haven't been able to meet that level over the next five weeks.
Q: Assess Maye. What's his outlook?
A: For long-time NFL fans, this reminds me of when the Patriots got [quarterback] Drew Bledsoe in 1993 as the No. 1 overall pick. They had endured some tough years before that, and you watched Bledsoe throw and you said, "This is different, the organization's got a chance." That's the big takeaway coming off of his first career NFL start on Sunday, which was far from perfect. But the main topic of conversation up here after that game is he showed you what you hope to see as a fan. The team has had what they've called a developmental plan for him. They didn't want to start him right away – in part due to his age and limited starting experience in college; in part due to an early-season challenging schedule with three of the first four on the road, one of which was a Thursday night road game; and in part due to the pieces around him. You want to be judicious in the situation you put a young quarterback, and it has been challenging for them in that regard.
Q: When they're good offensively, what do they want to do?
A: They run the ball and they create play-action passing opportunities off that. Cliche, but they don't turn it over. That's the basis of it. Van Pelt comes from the Cleveland Browns. It's the old West Coast offense system. Then with the one game to really evaluate Drake May, they're starting to get some plays created by the quarterback through athleticism, mobility.
Q: Assess the Patriots defensively.
A: Defensively, they have regressed since the start of the year. When they're good, they're fundamentally sound, getting off blocks, good tacklers, a classic Bill Belichick-style defense. Every team deals with injuries and defections, but they've been hurt without Christian Barmore, a promising defensive tackle; without Ja'Whaun Bentley, their blue guy at inside linebacker; without Jabrill Peppers, on the commissioner's exempt list due to off-field issues; trading Matthew Judon, their best pass rusher. Personnel wise, they are not what they once were. And we've seen a slippage in fundamentals and performance as a result of that.
Q: Success for the Patriots obviously isn't the playoffs, but can this team be successful in terms of building the foundation? Is that still out there for them this year?
A: One hundred percent. The offensive line has been a challenge for them. They've had different starting configurations in each of the first six games. Drake was able to overcome that a little bit in this last game. If Drake Maye plays 11 more games, comes out of the season healthy, and shows that the arrow's pointing up, that's it right there. All that's all out there in front of them. It's not like they're going to get a No. 1 blindside blocker walking through the door. It's not like they're going to get a No. 1 receiver walking through the door, but they have enough pieces to be competitive if they play smart, stay within themselves. That's all out there still in front of them.
