Patriots Mailbag: Defining ‘success,’ Drake Maye scenarios and more originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Week 1 of the NFL season is upon us, which means it’s time for the return of the mailbag.
Do the Patriots have a chance against the Bengals in Cincinnati? What can be done about the state of the offensive line? We tackle those topics and much more in a fresh Patriots mailbag entering Sunday’s season opener.
Let’s get right to it…
With a plethora of sub-par offensive tackles and a dearth of blocking tight ends and a desperate need to protect the QB and run the ball, do you anticipate much JUMBO OL formations with a 6th lineman, which I think AVP did run some times in Cleveland.
— Qualitysmoke (@qualitysmoke) September 3, 2024
Great question, QS. I could see the Patriots using an extra offensive lineman on early downs quite a bit. They are a team that’s going to base a significant portion of their identity in their ability to run the football, so tossing an extra 300-pound body onto the field in order to achieve that is a real possibility.
Would they lose the element of surprise? Do a degree, yes, because they’re going to be less likely to throw the football with that personnel grouping on the field. But considering they’ve already informed the football-watching world of their plans to ground and pound offensively, leaning on the element of surprise on early downs isn’t going to be a big part of their approach. Seemingly.
We saw Michael Jordan (practice squad guard) play as the extra lineman in training camp, but it could be Caedan Wallace, Demontrey Jacobs or Zach Thomas — all on the active roster — in that role. (It’s mentioning here that Thomas, listed as a tackle on the team’s website, has been focusing on the two guard spots since arriving in Foxboro.)
What should be consider a successful season from Maye, baker, Polk and the rest of the offense?
— jack (@cannonball2552) September 4, 2024
Different answers across the board there, Jack.
For Drake Maye, a…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/patriots-mailbag-defining-success-drake-212808227.html
Author : NBC Sports Boston
Publish date : 2024-09-04 21:28:08
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