After another win this weekend, the New England Patriots reach the halfway point of the season with an 8-0 record. With a dominant defense being the theme so far, it’s New England’s offense that has somewhat underperformed.
Since the team’s schedule only get more difficult from here on out, let’s put a grade on their performance so far.
Offense:
Who would’ve thought that coming into the season with Julian Edelman, Josh Gordon, Demaryius Thomas, Phillip Dorsett and first-round draft pick N’Keal Harry, that the offense would be the side of the ball that’s struggling?
Thomas was shipped off to the Jets after one game. Harry has yet to see the field in the regular season because of injury. Dorsett has also missed time this year due to a lingering hamstring issue. Gordon has been put on the IR with the intention of being released once he’s healthy. Edelman is the only one to start every game, but he’s had his share of bumps and bruises along the way.
Then, in one of the more shocking moves of the season, the Patriots signed the polarizing Antonio Brown. Brown played one game with the team and notched 4 catches for 56 yards and a touchdown.
.@TomBrady finds @AB84 for a 20-yard touchdown. #GoPats #NEvsMIA
📺: CBS
📱: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app
Watch on mobile: https://t.co/y8YLGKmeTf pic.twitter.com/nAUsiFKHLP— NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2019
Brown was released the following week, Only 11 days after the team picked him up.
The running back situation has been spotty as well with Sony Michel, James White, and Rex Burkhead all missing time at some point during the first 8 games.
The tight end position has been almost completely nonexistent with Ryan Izzo and Matt LaCosse missing games left and right, while Ben Watson is still trying to find his way after missing the first four games due to suspension.
The team still hasn’t given up trying to find more weapons, as they just traded for Mohamed Sanu from the Atlanta Falcons.
With all that being said, Tom Brady has done the best he can with the options he has. With 2251 yards, 13 touchdowns, and four interceptions, Brady has made plays when needed without making any game-changing mistakes, a luxury the quarterback has considering the elite defense he’s playing with.
If you project his stats out to the end of the season, Brady would end with 4,502 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions. That would give him 75 fewer yards, six fewer touchdowns and the same amount of picks as he had during his MVP season in 2017.
The notion that Tom Brady has significantly declined is laughable. With a rotating cast of characters consisting of rookies and players having their first season with the team as well as a revolving door at offensive line, it’s tough to expect a Pro Bowl-caliber performance from this offense each week.
With the team clearly relying on their defense to lead the way while the offense just needs to be competent, it’s tough to be too hard on that side of the ball. We’ll see how they look with all their offensive weapons back on the field and healthy.
Grade: B-
Special Teams:
Bill Belichick puts such a heavy spotlight on special teams that it’s not surprising that that side of the ball performs at a very high level.
This year, though, things have been different.
Punter Ryan Allen was released from the team before the season. It’s a move that shocked many, as Allen was a star during the playoffs last year and especially during the Super Bowl.
Stepping into that role was rookie Jake Bailey, who’s performed admirably so far, but hasn’t been quite as sure-footed as Allen was.
The real story here is Stephen Gostkowski. The 13-year veteran was put on IR Oct. 2 with a hip injury that would require surgery, causing the elite kicker to be sidelined for the rest of the season. This move caused a bit of chaos in the Patriots’ kicking game.
After bringing in numerous kickers, the team landed on 37-year-old Mike Nugent. The kicker has certainly put forth the effort, but he has missed four field goals in four games so far this year which is something New England is not used to and was summarily cut in favor of Nick Folk.
The uncertainly with the kicker has caused the offense to go for it more on fourth down, which is not a position any team wants to be in.
With the punter position rounding into form, having a kicker you can’t rely on is a huge issue moving forward. Especially against tougher teams where a win or a loss may come down to a kick.
Grade: B
Defense:
Dominant.
That’s the one word that has consistently defined this New England Patriots defense this year.
First in points per game with 7.6.
First in overall yards allowed per game with 234.
Second in passing yards allowed with 148.8.
Fourth in rush yards allowed with 85.2.
They have an insane 25 takeaways this season with 19 interceptions and 6 forced fumbles. That’s nine more turnovers than the next closest team.
Opponents have a third-down conversion percentage of 15.62. That’s the first time since 1991 where a team held their opponents to less than 20 percent on third-down conversions.
The team has 31 sacks on the head as well which puts them, you guessed it, atop the league in that category as well.
They’ve been aptly nicknamed “The Boogeymen” by linebacker Kyle Van Noy.
Kyle Van Noy was told that Sam Darnold said he was seeing ghosts…and he loves it.
“He did? That's the boogeymen, it's real. He really said that?” That's crazy for him to say that?…I mean I can't believe he said that."👻 #Patriots #boogeymen pic.twitter.com/P6AAIDnEWz
— Chad Amaral (@Chad_Amaral) October 22, 2019
Some talking heads have tried to poke holes in the greatness of New England’s defense so far by bringing up their competition. But when a team is this dominant across the board, you have to give credit where credit is due.
It’s pretty obvious the grade this defense deserves.
Grade: A+
All and all the New England Patriots should be considered the best team in the league at the moment. The way they play may not excite NFL fans as much as watching teams like the Green Bay Packers or the Kansas City Chiefs, but at the end of the day winning is what matters.
And the Patriots have yet to end a game on the losing side.
With starting left tackle Isaiah Wynn set to come back and the aforementioned Harry almost ready to make his season debut, the offense should start to play more consistent. And with the defense continuing to play at this historic pace, it’s hard to see who is going to beat this team come playoff time.
