Last thoughts on the Patriots loss to the Raiders - 8 points that came to light

1. Patriots resemble last season's team more than I thought they would

I wasn't and still aren't expecting the Patriots to be a completely changed outfit after one game but the performance we saw yesterday resembled team much too similar to the one who went 4-13 with Jerod Mayo last season. Bad decision making and throws by Drake Maye to turn the ball over, poor offensive line play, defense getting torched, defense unable to get off the field on third and long, the list goes on. The Raiders didn't have to play particularly well, and you'd be fine with losing if they were excellent to the point you just got beat by a better team, but the Patriots had such a poor showing of themselves you would be forgiven for thinking they were still in preseason mode. 

2. Drake Maye still has a ways to go

Drake Maye from the first half of yesterday's game (excluding the first drive) looked very promising and he made some very smart throws and his decision making seemed to be improving as the half progressed. He made many good throws to Kayshon Boutte, Hunter Henry, and the red area TD to Pop Douglas was promising, especially since it was an area of the field he struggled last season. He threw for 287 yards total, which is the most he's ever thrown in an NFL game, and returned a respectable just shy of 81 QBR. That optimism was short lived as the Patriots offense reverted to a familiar state in the second half, Drake throwing a pretty poor ball that was picked by Raiders safety Isaiah Pola-Mao, and it didn't really recover from there. No drive after the turnover produced anything of substance, with the Patriots punting on each occasion, until the final offensive drive which yielded a field goal but it was in garbage time and the Raiders were seemingly happy to concede it. One game won't make or break a season and Drake is a young player who is still learning his trade but he will need to improve if the Patriots offense is to produce this year. He wasn't terrible by any means but an improvement is required. The silver lining is that if we can get an entire game at the level he was at in the first half, we will be fine. 

3. Peppers getting axed raises more questions than answers

Jabril Peppers, the veteran safety, who was cut by the team on August 29th, would likely have helped the safety unit that got torched a couple of times by Geno Smith's passing. The defense overall is largely what we will be hanging our hat on but I had noted concerns about the safety strength and depth coming into the season and post Peppers release, easily the weakest aspect of the defense. Peppers, who is a physical, quick, and intelligent safety, most definitely would have helped the secondary and indeed added to the run defense which also struggled on occasion.

4. Harold Landry produced an impressive display

The linebacker who signed with the Patriots as a free agent in March and reunited with Mike Vrabel was excellent yesterday. The Boston College alumni contributed with 2.5 sacks and was relentless in terrorizing the Raiders offensive line and Geno Smith alike with a further three tackles for loss. His production alongside new Patriots K’Lavon Chaisson and Milton Williams provides promise that at least the defensive side of the ball is in decent shape for the season ahead, not to mention we have Christian Gonzalez to return also which will provide much needed cover to the secondary. 

5. The defense is promising

I saw a lot of chatter about the defense yesterday, and while I don't believe they are completely absolved of blame for yesterday's loss, they still only conceded 20 points, which in my mind, is few enough to give your team a decent shot at winning a football game. As mentioned, I was impressed with Milton Williams, K’Lavon Chaisson, Harold Landry,  but also Jaylinn Hawkins, and Christian Barmore to name just a few. I'm still optimistic about our chances in games if the defense can keep the level consistent, create turnovers, and most importantly get off the field on third down, especially third and long. The offense will play a pivotal role in keeping the defense off the field and extending their rest periods by increasing the length of their drives and cutting out the three and outs. The defense also limited number 6 overall draft pick Ashton Jeanty to just over 2 yards per carry which is also a point of encouragement, given that the Patriots have strong running back opponents coming up in the weeks to come in Pittsburgh's Jaylen Warren, Carolina's Chuba Hubbard, and Buffalo's James Cook.

6. Run game could provide much needed additional dimension

Snaps at the running back position were largely handed to fifth year veteran Rhamondre Stevenson who rushed for only 15 yards on 7 attempts but did contribute 12 further yards catching 2 passes out of 3 attempts out of the backfield. The offense desperately needs an RB unit that is serviceable not only running the ball to free up opportunities in the play action game but also in the receiving game too. Rookie RB Treveyon Henderson, a second round pick out of The Ohio State University, rushed for 27 yards on 5 attempts and was also productive in the passing game catching all six of his targets for 24 yards. I think Josh McDaniel has to give more snaps to the rookie who, on top of his promising preseason, provided further evidence he should be the first on the running back depth chart. 

7. A mixed bag from the receivers

Other than his touchdown reception, Pop Douglas was essentially a non runner in the game with only two receptions in seven targets and the non touchdown reception went for a loss of four yards, ending his day with negative yardage (-2 yards). On the other hand, someone who I didn't expect much from returned a productive game, that being Kayshon Boutte. A couple of nice grabs for long yardage putting the team in position to score on multiple occasions in what was a surprising performance from the third year wide receiver. The LSU receiver had 103 yards from six receptions equaling an average of just over 17 yards per reception in what turned out to be his best game in a Patriots jersey. More of that from him and we may have ourselves a couple of dependable options at receiver. Stefon Diggs had an okay game, probably need to temper my expectations surrounding his output so early into his Patriots career but I hope it's just a case of the staff slowly introducing him instead of throwing him into the deep end so soon, with that said 57 yards on six receptions is not a terrible return at all and I suspect it will only get better as Maye and Diggs get more familiar with each other. 

8. Kicking game has its ups and downs 

Teething problems in the kicking game present an opportunity to see some improvement in the coming weeks. Both rookie kicker Andy Borregales and rookie punter Bryce Baringer had a game with ups and downs. Borregales missed from 40 yards, hitting his first NFL FG attempt wide to the right. He did, however, recover well and scored his next two attempts from 35 yards and 44 yards respectively. It must be said that Baringer's day was less smooth, although he did have some good punts which were reduced by kicking team penalties, but in a crucial moment in the game when we needed to pin Las Vegas deep in their own half, Baringer only managed 21 yards on the punt which gave the Raiders good field position with just over 4 minutes left in the game. Bad punts happen and I'm reluctant to be too harsh on our rookies, especially when you're punting 6 times, second most in the NFL. We have to improve in multiple areas to help multiple facets of our game.