Albert Breer, “Look Out For the New England Patriots!”
All right, finally our third takeaway from this week. Look out for the New England Patriots. Like they looked feisty. And I know it’s Carolina and and Carolina’s been one of the worst teams in the league, maybe the worst team in the league over the last five years, but this is a New England team that was 4-13 in 2023, 4-13 in 2024, has looked at times like a dead franchise over the last couple of years. and having an afternoon like this for them where they’re able to win 42-13 over a bad team where they’re able to not only get another team down but keep that team down I think is a big step for Mike Frabel and his program and I do think that before we get into the quarterback there is a a global piece of this that that that that that’s about play style and I think you saw the play style from the Patriots going back to the preseason and just how violently they’re playing how hard they’re playing so that’s been there for a I think you’re now seeing that like in different phases of the game. I think you’ve seen it in how they run the ball on offense. I think you’ve seen it in how of late they’ve started to get off after the passer on defense and on special teams it really showed up and to me like this was a big thing and this is one thing I picked up from Mike Vable’s postgame speech. Uh he said that they have talked about how about about running harder than the guy who has the ball. And that was what you saw on the punt return for Marcus Jones that turned this game where if you go back and you watch the play and you see when Marcus Jones gets into the open field, what does he have in front of him? There are five Patriot blockers. He has a convoy running with him to the end zone. and that thing was blocked up so well and so well conceived and so well run and executed that he had all these extra guys running with him. Um I mean they the the Panthers could have had 14 guys on the field and it wouldn’t have mattered. So that was an important thing I think just as far as illustrating the sort of play style that Mike Frael was bringing to the Patriots. And then as for the quarterback, I I would say the quarterback is playing at a higher level through a month than any of the quarterbacks in his draft class. And that’s I’m saying that with the caveat now that Jaden Daniels has been injured. And Jaden Daniels is still clearly the number one quarterback in the class. I expect him to be the best quarterback in the class at the end of the year. I think he’s going to be the best quarterback in that class long term. Bo Nicks came alive on Monday night. But I think the level of play we’ve seen from the over the last few weeks from Drake May has really given you a hint of what he can become and why when the Patriots took him third overall, it was a real swing for the fences. And I think you’re starting to see him develop in a very real way under Josh McDaniels. And there are a few things that I think we can pick out of that game where you can say, “Yes, here he is. Here’s what he’s going to be.” Okay. Um, I think it’s a balance between aggression and patience. You saw aggression on the final play of the third quarter where he is decisive and he is getting the ball on a rope on a back shoulder throw to Stefon Diggs. And then early in the earlier in the quarter on a key third down, you saw patience. You saw him sit in the pocket, read it out, and wait for Stefon Diggs to come across on an over route, and he puts that ball right over the defender’s head and into Stefon Diggs’s hands for a first for for for a first down on a third and long. And so, I think you’re seeing this balance from Drake May between being patient and being aggressive. And that to me shows real growth in Josh McDaniel’s offense. And these are things that are happening within structure. And that’s the big thing for me with Drake May is what is what does he look like in structure? Um I think they have to continue to give him the green light to make things happen with his legs to run when it’s there. Um to to to to scramble out of the pocket to make things happen on broken plays. All that stuff’s a big part of his game. and he has that ability that you’re Patrick Mahomes, your Josh Allen, your Justin Herbert, like the great athletes who play that position. He’s got that ability to make those sorts of plays. Now, what can he do within structure? How can he grow within structure? So, he’s not overly relying on that. I think you started to see that again against a Carolina team that’s under man. Here’s the other thing. He doesn’t have a great team around him yet. He doesn’t have a great group of skilled players around him. And I I think if you look right and you really drill down on it, you’ll see how over the first four weeks of the season, there’s been a different focal point to the Patriots offense. The in week one it was Kan Booty. In week two it was Randre Stevenson. In week three it was Hunter Henry. And this past week it was Stefon Digs who at this point of his career is more strictly a slot receiver. A little bit more of a complimentary piece. And I say that with with with all the respect because he’s coming back off an ACL. He’s 31 years old and he’s had to reinvent himself as a player because he can’t run away from people. He can’t win outside the way he used to be able to. Uh but this is a quarterback who is now finding a different guy to highlight every week. So as they continue to put pieces around him, assuming over the next couple of years they’ll be able to grow and be aggressive and building around him at with Drake May on a rookie contract. I really think he’s got a chance to to to to evolve into a top quarter of the league type of quarterback, like one of the seven or eight best quarterbacks in all of football. He’s not there yet, but you can certainly see the ability and the makeup for him to get there. And the evolution you see in Josh McDaniel’s offense, I think should give everybody a lot of reason for optimism that eventually they’ll be able to challenge Buffalo in the AFC. I don’t think it’s going to happen this year. Even if they were able to pop some weird upset on Sunday, I don’t think it’s happening this year. They’re still miles behind Buffalo in a lot of different ways. But with the play style Mike Vel’s putting in place there and now what you’re seeing from the young quarterback, there is finally hope with the Patriots.
Sports Illustrated offers sports fans trusted, authentic, agenda-free reporting and storytelling featuring sports news, scores, photos, columns and expert analysis from the latest in today’s world of sports including NFL, NBA, MLB, college basketball, college football, soccer, golf, NHL, tennis and fantasy.
16 comments
You can’t judge a team because they beat the Carolina Panthers !!!!! They are GARBAGE !!!!! See how they fare when they play a competitive team !
I’ll be at the game flying up from Florida. Can’t wait Bills haven’t played good yet this year imo . I’m Glad everyone is leaning New England- Btw Bills fans Despise Diggs deep down so does Josh- watch what’s coming Sunday night! Go Bills!
Why do you expect JD to be the best long term? Nothing about his game says "long term success" at all. He's already injured this year.
If we were almost a dead franchise..after 2 decades of dominance…what's that make Dallas? We missed the playoffs for 2 years this is yr 3…smh
Jeremy Springer, the Special Teams Coordinator, is the only coach from last year who was retained. Vrabel talked with the rest of them, discussed their understanding of the game and the team, and finally said that Springer was the only guy who knew what he was doing. The blocking patterns he's been setting up for punt and kick returns have been impressive. (And learning how bad last year's coaches were makes it clear how much the team was struggling.
Rebuilds take longer than some people understand. If we are better this year, and at least are within reaching distance of the playoffs, it will be easier to get good free agents next year, since they will want to be in the playoffs and think that the Patriots might give them a chance.
Yes Jayden Daniels might be best but he is too fragile and if he pile few injuries then he won’t be the same after few years
love it but you are wrong about daniels… drake is almost 2 years younger with less college time. Drake is the future!
Since 2019 we have been the walking dead. Now we look like healthy joggers
3 months ago. “Teams like Carolina see you as a gettable win. You can’t just chalk up wins.” After week 4 “We’ll it’s Carolina there one of the worst teams these last 5 years”
They really should have beaten the Steelers
Will Campbell is a stud.
The encouraging thing is that the Pats look like they may have filled 3 of the 4 crucial NFL positions in QB, LT and shut down corner. They can go into the 2026 draft and possibly land a stud Edge player and add depth at other positions. Go Pats!
Stick with the running game. Vrabel is keeping Josh Mac in check. McDaniels wants to throw the ball 50 times a game & that’s not good. When patriots have balance they win consistently year
I understand that sportswriters have to talk about something. Unfortunately, sports reporters like Breer tip way past the point of acting as though they're talent evaluators, coaches, and coordinators. Since they're not particularly good or interesting storytellers, they, instead, confuse themselves as technical experts, which they're not. Breer is a case in point. But I would also put Phil Perry and Greg Bedard on that list. I can barely stand listening to them anymore.
The performances have been very uneven, but if you're really watching the games and either reading or listening to reports of the game stats – this team, at last, is improving. The offensive line is definitely improved and that is paying dividends for both the rushing and passing games, and with two rookies in that line, they should only get better as the year goes on. I think they stand a good chance to go roughly 50:50 this season, which would be a major improvement over where they've been for 4 out the past 5 seasons. Besides a better record, frankly the games are a lot more fun to watch now – win or lose, at least they are in these games.
Maye is better than Daniels and will prove that over the rest of the season. Maye is one of 5 QBs to ever pass for 75% completion and 2 TDs for a 3 game streak (This occurred in the last 3 games). The list is Brady in 07 (and it was 4 games, this is the only 4 game streak), Manning twice in 04 and 13, Rogers in 11 and Warner in 01 all of them won league MVP in those seasons. He is on pace for over 4,000 yards, has a 109 QB rating and 74% completion for the 2025 season and he did this with a rookie Left Tackle and Left Guard. He had a lot less college starts than Daniels, with that lack of experience Maye has a higher ceiling. Maye also was the league leader in yards per rush for a QB in 2024, not Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson and Maye did it at 22 years old with one of the worst O lines in the past decade in the NFL, they were terrible.