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Since coming out of the bye week the Patriots have struggled. Mac Jones has had as difficult two week stretch as anyone, having a poor first three quarters against the Colts and following that with a subpar game against the Bills in which he never looked comfortable and was constantly bailing out and throwing off his back foot. If the Patriots are going to make a deep playoff run, Jones is going to have get back to his Rookie of the Year level of play. Here are three ways the Patriots can make that happen.
1. Get the tight ends more involved
The Patriots offense is designed to have major contributions from the tight end position. Whether is was Daniel Graham, Ben Watson, Rob Gronkowski or Aaron Hernandez, the Patriots made significant investments at tight end over the years and it’s offense was at its peak when they were getting big seasons out of players like Watson and Gronkowski. Since Gronkowski’s retirement in March 2019, things have not been the same for the Patriots offense. Their top two tight ends combined for 30 catches in 2019 and the group as a whole performed below even that standard in 2020.
In response, the Patriots signed Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith in free agency. Henry has been a great red zone target, hauling in 42 catches for 9 touchdowns, but has not been a major factor outside of the red zone. Smith has been a disappointment thus far, an absentee tight end in the passing game, though a solid blocker in the run game. Since October 24th, Smith has only had more than two catches in a game once and had five games with one or fewer catches. In that same span, Henry has only had more than two catches in a game twice. Involving both of them more would open up the middle of the field for Mac Jones and give defenses more to worry about than just the run game when they are on the field.
2. Spread Defenses out More
The Patriots are built to be a run-oriented, power offense. I am not suggesting that the Patriots completely get away from that, but the offense should utilize more 4-5 wide receiver sets, even if some of those “receivers” are running backs and tight ends. Josh McDaniels utilized that concept brilliantly on the lone touchdown drive of Super Bowl LIII. Things have become congested in front of Jones and he has been forced to throw into some tight windows. Defenses are also keying on backs in the backfield, as evidenced by multiple failed screens against the Bills and blown up run plays against the Colts.
New England also does not have great release/ separation receivers so giving them more space to operate on some plays would be helpful. They can also utilize more pick routes and wide receiver screens that way. Even if New England did this on a handful of series per game, it could stretch defenses out and allow the Patriots to pick some chunk yardage before their opponents adjust.
3. Be Patient
Mac Jones is a rookie and no matter how good he is, he is going to struggle at times. All rookies do. This is still the same player that spent most of the season on a Rookie of the Year pace and went toe to toe with Tom Brady and Dak Prescott. I believe Jones is going to be a great quarterback for a long time, but that process is not going to play out overnight. The Patriots are going to have to suffer through some growing pains and take one step forward with Jones at a time. It will all be worth it once he puts it all together.