Phil Perry joins Michael Felger and Michael Holley from Tucson to talk about Mac Jones and the rest of the Patriots needing to hold the coaches more responsible for preparing them with the needed details each week
The New England Patriots' offensive performance over the past few weeks has led to a few questions. A lot of questions, actually.
So, ahead of Sunday's matchup with old friend Josh McDaniels and the Las Vegas Raiders, I opened it up to you to see what's on your mind about this Patriots offense.
Let's get into your answers in the debut of the Cassel Mailbag:
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There are so many things that go into calling a game to make it easier for a quarterback. For starters, I've always believed in the importance of getting into a rhythm -- starting with some easy completions and making sure your QB feels comfortable in the pocket.
Every week is its own entity, though, and people need to take that into consideration. One team's defensive structure might be completely different than the previous team's, so you have to attack the tendencies of that defense.
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It's situational as well. In my experience, your strategy on offense is usually predicated on what the defense does. Do they struggle with bunch formations? Do they communicate well defensively? Is there a matchup that you can exploit on the back end?
Injuries can complicate things for you, as well. You have to design plays that complement your personnel, and that changes on a weekly basis based on injuries or performance.
I thought the Patriots showed creativity last week in how they used Marcus Jones. After they lost DeVante Parker to injury, they got Jones the ball early on the swing screen for an 11-yard gain, and also used him as a decoy on some other plays that were able to set up the run game.
Play-calling really is situational, so it's about putting Mac Jones in a position to succeed with schemes that attack the defense's weaknesses. Mac is a fast processor of information too, so allowing him to make pre-snap adjustments based on what he sees and get into a play he likes should help him.
A lot of issues on the offensive line can be attributed to the turnover they've had this season.
When you miss David Andrews for a few weeks against some really good defenses, that's difficult to overcome. Cole Strange had good production earlier in the season but has fallen out of favor a bit. The Patriots were really hoping Isaiah Wynn would come along this season, but he hasn't been consistent since his rookie season and has battled injuries.
Trent Brown is one of the best in the NFL when he's on the top of his game, but he hasn't played that way. And when you get down to your fourth-string offensive tackle in Conor McDermott, who you just signed off the Jets' practice squad, that's tough.
That's the reality of the NFL, though, and it comes down to guys being accountable and stepping up. They need to improve their communication, which could be a byproduct of their lack of playing time together. I thought they played well earlier in the season against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, so the potential is there.
It's more about the continuity and the consistency factor of having the same five guys for a longer duration of the season, which they haven't really had throughout the second half.
The tight end question is interesting, because I thought they would be a much bigger factor.
Hunter Henry said earlier in the season that he was dealing with a shoulder issue, and that he wasn't himself throughout training camp and even early in the season. In the past few games, he's been more productive. Sometimes the root concepts don't necessarily feature him, but I thought they could utilize him in that Cardinals game, because he would be matched up on linebackers in some of the zone defenses they run.
If you get behind the defense on the seams, you'll have an opportunity. And that's exactly what he did on those two big plays -- one at the end of the first half and another at the start of the fourth quarter. So obviously the ability is there, and there's a history of both him and Jonnu Smith making plays.
To me, it's just a matter of who the Patriots see as the focal point in their passing concepts. They haven't pushed the ball vertically too much and have been calling more screen passes where the tight ends aren't really the focus. But after the success Henry had last week, maybe we'll see more of those seam routes called going forward.
That has been their identity this season. That's the truth. The defense has played outstanding, and there have been a lot of games where the defense contributed to the scoring.
This is a quality defense that steps up every week and has an excellent pass rush led by Matt Judon and Josh Uche. And on the offensive side, the turnover battle can't be understated. You have to take care of the football, and that's where they got into trouble earlier this season. They've done a much better job of taking care of the football lately, and that's helped them earn some wins.
Because of the way this offense is constructed and the injuries they've sustained, they've had to adjust their offensive attack at times. So if you look at this team as a whole, the motto is, "We have to play really good defense, and as long as we take care of the football, we'll be in every game."
Mac Jones' ankle injury really set him back this year. He missed three weeks and wasn't completely himself in that loss to the Chicago Bears. The offensive line has played a factor here as well. They gave up 16 sacks in three games between the two Jets games and then the Colts game, and that really has an impact on the quarterback.
Your job is to deliver the ball under pressure, and that's part of what we signed up for. But that pressure can impact your rhythm and speed things up for you mentally, so I do believe that has impacted him.
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I thought the Cardinals game and Vikings game were some of his best games in terms of understanding what the defense was doing, though. There were a few times where the Cardinals disguised a two-high safety look and rotated to one side, and Jones was able to recognize that and get the ball out to the comeback route on the backside.
He did a really good job of looking out for defenders, and that starts with being more comfortable with his protection on the offensive line. When you feel comfortable in the pocket and you feel protected, you're more confident in your ability to get to your second and third reads.
It comes down to inconsistency -- a lot of which is self-inflicted.
It's a penalty. It's a holding call. It's a negative run that puts you way behind the sticks. The playing field becomes so much more condensed in the red zone that it's hard to overcome those mistakes.
When you get into the red zone, you need to just keep moving the ball forward. But there's been some poor execution that has resulted in third-and-long situations, which are very difficult to overcome because the throwing windows get smaller and the defense can get more aggressive without the need to prevent a deep pass.
That aggressiveness usually means a stronger pass rush, which means less time to survey the field and throw. So, you really need to execute at a high level in the red zone, and the Patriots haven't been able to do that on a consistent basis.
That's quite a theory, Nathan. But from a coaching perspective, I don't know if that's the best strategy to put yourself in a position where you're hoping to sneak into a wild card spot so you can open it up at the end of the season.
As a coaching staff, you're always trying to be as productive as possible so you can get on a roll, build chemistry and build continuity with your offense. If you can score 35 points and be the highest-scoring team in the league, I think that's always the goal.
You might hold a few trick plays for later in the season, especially if you feel like you need to rep them more. But you can't ever go into a game feeling like you're holding something back.
It's an interesting conspiracy theory -- but knowing Bill Belichick and the Patriots, I have no doubt in my mind that's not the case.
Editor's Note: Matt Cassel played 14 years in the NFL as a quarterback, including four with the Patriots from 2005 to 2008. He serves as an analyst for NBC Sports Boston, appearing on Pre/Postgame Live, as a guest on Tom Curran's Patriots Talk Podcast every Thursday, and as a columnist each week during the season.
