Sunday Patriots Notes: Saints game one of the biggest of the post-Tom Brady era

The New England Patriots have lost their first four games of the season, including a 38-3 victory over the Dallas Cowboys last week. Needless to say, if they want to make the playoffs later this year, they’ll need to start building some momentum quickly — starting with Sunday’s game against the visiting New Orleans Saints.

Of course, all of our attention this week has been on this particular game. For anything else we may not have covered yet, let’s clean out our notebook.Welcome to our latest version Sunday Patriot Notes.

1. The Patriots-Saints game might be one of the greatest games of the post-Tom Brady era: The Patriots’ loss to the Cowboys in Week 4 raised a lot of questions about the team, both in the short and long term. The most prominent among them is quarterback Mac Jones, who is playing the worst football of his career in Dallas.

Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien seemed to believe the three-turnover performance was an outlier for the young quarterback — one who was not representative of the player Jones is and can become. Whether that’s true or not, we’ll find out on Sunday against the Saints.

From that perspective, the game against New Orleans might be one of the most important games of the Patriots’ post-Tom Brady era.

A win won’t quell all the criticism surrounding the team, but it could be a springboard to build some much-needed momentum and confidence for the team and Jones personally. On the other hand, with Jones as the starting quarterback, a loss would drop New England’s record to 17-20 and 8-16 since the 2021 bye week. It could also lead to some uncomfortable discussions about the team’s long-term direction.

So the pressure is on the young passer and his coach. They need to prove that the Cowboys’ run was indeed a one-off, that Jones still has the potential to be a long-term solution at the most important position on the field, and that the organization is rebuilding toward relevance rather than mediocrity.

After all, now in year four of the post-Tom Brady era, there are serious questions about that third point. The Saints game won’t give them a clear answer, but it will be a test of mental strength and immediate ability unlike anything the team has rarely faced in recent memory.

2. Matthew Slater talks about the importance of blocking out the noise: In a social media society, the ability to put on blinders and filter out the noise is more important than ever in NFL history. That’s especially true for a team like the Patriots – coming off a devastating loss and facing questions about the franchise’s future.

So after the Cowboys game, team captain Matthew Slater talked about the importance of staying focused and on track, even when criticism is just a click away.

“It’s important that we learn to exclude certain things,” he said. “We allow people – and I’m talking about people in our society – to have influence and expression in our lives, but in many cases we will never meet. We allow the opinions of some men and women to imprison us. These People are people we will never meet, never interact with. They will never impact the way we live our daily lives. Yet, we become slaves to their opinions. If the way you conduct yourself is to constantly seek out someone or something its approval, you will be its slave for life.

“Because no human being who has ever walked the face of the earth has been approved by everyone they have ever met, or by everyone who has looked at their life from any angle. We have to be mature enough to understand that. We have to be mature enough to understand that. There has to be enough maturity to navigate that and realize, ‘Hey, there are very few perspectives in life that really matter when it comes to your life, your career, your family, and you need to know whose perspective really matters. , and how to apply them. Then everything else is just background noise.”

3. The J.C. Jackson trade is a classic Patriots trade: New England strengthened its cornerback corps last week, reacquiring former Pro Bowler J.C. Jackson from the Los Angeles Chargers in a trade. The move itself is pinnacle for the Patriots: bringing back a player whose value has declined but who understands the systems and habits surrounding the organization.

Over the years, the Patriots have done the same thing with recently retired players like Jamie Collins, LeGarrette Blount or Trent Brown – getting positive results from all of those moves. Hopefully Jackson can follow in their footsteps starting Sunday.

4. Trent Brown has been a bright spot on the Patriots’ O-line: The Patriots’ offensive line has struggled through four games this season and has been a big part of the team’s problems on offense. Not everything was bad, however: Left tackle Trent Brown was a bright spot, playing like one of the best players at his position in the league.

If there’s a chart that illustrates his success, it’s this: Brown is one of the best blockers in the league when he’s stranded on an island — which New England did on just under 70 percent of its snaps made.

Unfortunately for the Patriots, the same success wasn’t found on the right side of the end zone. Calvin Anderson and especially Vederian Lowe have struggled, with Lowe’s success rate below 65%, one of the worst in football.

5. Riley Reiff’s return could shake up the offensive line again in a number of ways: Although Riley Reiff had a lackluster summer, he could become a viable option at right tackle. He comes off injured reserve on Saturday and will have a chance to compete for a starting job.

Of course, as Pats Pulpit’s own Taylor Kyles point outadding him back to the lineup could also potentially shake up the O-line in other ways: Reeve could return to linebacker — the position he played late in training camp — which could prompt the Patriots to push Michael Onwenu , and even Cole’s odd tackle.

Neither move seems likely at this point, but the Patriots need to take some steps to get their struggling defensive line back on a positive track.

6. David Andrews spoke highly of Riley Reiff: Reeve’s return was one of the biggest stories of the week, and center David Andrews talked about it midway through the meeting. The captain had nothing but praise for the 34-year-old.

“Riley, he’s been a great teammate all spring and all summer,” Andrews said. “Obviously, a veteran guy. Another Iowa guy, but I really like Riley’s perspective, his presence. Obviously, it was a little unfortunate what happened — that’s part of it — But he can do a lot for us.

“I really like the way he puts the team first and he played guard this summer. He’s a 12-year veteran who only played tackle and now plays guard. Really respect him for that. A little bit. “He can obviously help our football team. “

7. Atonio Mafi is trending right: Fifth-round pick guard Atonio Maffei has seen extensive action so far this season, replacing two starting guards this season in Cole Strange and Michael Onwenu. His performance has been mixed, but that didn’t stop Bill Belichick from praising the youngster’s performance on and off the field.

“I think he’s continued to grow throughout his career,” the Patriots head coach said. “Started as a defensive lineman and spent a year as an offensive lineman at UCLA. You know, we had him out in the East-West game. Even from the East-West game, to the spring game, to training camp, he A lot of growth as well. He’s out there every day. He works hard. He’s a smart kid. He’s really smart. He just doesn’t have a lot of experience on the offensive line, but he’s improving every day and won’t repeat Lots of mistakes.

“There are things he hasn’t seen a lot of yet. The more he sees, the quicker he reacts to them. He’s grown in every aspect – fundamentals, overall awareness, recognition and playing against different types of players —Some of the players inside are big, powerful players, and there are other players, especially when they play inside in passing situations, those inside players will move inside. … It’s a different type of thing to block. guys, so those different matchups and different pass rush plays, there’s a lot at that position.”

Maffei is one of three offensive linemen drafted by the Patriots this year and has the most opportunity of the three so far. According to Belichick, he’s made the most of it.

“He’s improving every day,” he said. “He has a great future and if he keeps working hard and keeps working hard to lay the foundation and become a really good fundamentals, skill player, he has a chance.”

8. The Patriots’ safety group is one of the most versatile in the NFL: The Patriots like their defensive backs to be able to wear multiple hats, and the numbers reflect that. Their top three safeties all join a list of the most versatile backs in football:

Jabril Peppers and Kyle Dugger are the Patriots’ starting safeties this season, with Adrian Phillips playing more of a part-time role so far. However, regardless of their level of exposure, all three have shown themselves to be versatile players.

9. Set the next week: After their game against the Saints, the Patriots will turn their attention to their upcoming game against the Las Vegas Raiders. They will return to training on Wednesday and release their first training report of the week later in the day. They will then practice again on Thursday and Friday before going through a drill and flying to Nevada on Saturday. The game against the Raiders is scheduled for October 15 at 4:05 pm ET.

In addition to game preparation, the Patriots also have the option of returning some players to practice and/or the active roster. Wide receiver Ta’Quan Thornton and cornerback Jake Jones have been eligible to return to practice since last week, and wide receiver in particular could be a candidate to return.

Additionally, defensive end Trey Flowers and special teams player Cody Davis returned last week but remain on the physically unable to play list. The Patriots only have 21 days to activate them, and the clock will continue to tick this week.

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