Sunday Recaps

We had twenty years of dominance, Super Bowls, and unforgettable memories, and I fear we may have twenty years of 10 yard passes, turnstile offensive lines, and heartbreak to repent for the deal we clearly made with the Devil.

 Alright, alright I know I’m exaggerating. The Drake Maye experience is right around the corner, and I can sleep soundly at night knowing the Jacoby Brissett era will be brief and benign. Jerod Mayo clearly has the locker room (at least for now). The defense (that Bill drafted) has been fantastic thus far except for ONE miscue on a D.K. Metcalf touchdown and the offense (despite a GLARING lack of big plays) has looked under control and has had at least a semblance of an identity through two weeks. And, fuck it, while we’re caught up in the positives; the Patriots are 1-1 after two weeks and would be 2-0 if it weren’t for a blocked kick and a full half of piss-poor play. 

It wouldn’t be a Patriots recap these days if it wasn’t flooded with bad news. It’s war-time folks, and we’re fighting the good fight… but there’s a ton to improve on. Shout out Hunter Henry! He was fantastic against Seattle and he had just under 100 yards at half time. A far cry from his time catching passes from Mr. “Mac Luster” himself. The problem was the rest of the receiving core not being involved. The Patriots receivers have been “under the radar” (I’m trying). Against Seattle the core combined for a whopping… wait for it… drum roll please… 3 catches for 19 yards. 3 for 19 looks like a deal on appetizers not a passing attack. Jacoby Brissett says he’ll take the blame for that but that’s just because he’s a consummate professional and a better leader than me. I’m not sure who I want to blame yet but based on Ja’Lynn Polk’s average yards of separation and Pop Douglas’ levels of absolute Dawg I’m inclined to believe the gunslinger himself. He plays like he’s afraid Drake Maye is gonna come in any minute to take his job and as a fan that’s a good problem for Brissett to have, but as a fan I’m gonna need you to air that thing out a little and get these young receivers grooving. One interception isn’t going to get you benched, I wanna see some dice get rolled against the Jets on Thursday. I’m a football fan, I had zero expectations and you gave me a sliver of a hope that I might have a chance to believe and now if you don’t deliver (idk what yet) my year is ruined. 

 As previously mentioned we’ve got a date with the Jets on Thursday night in MetLife. This time we actually got a player on the graphic:

 Thought it should’ve been ‘Mondre, I’ll settle for The Brisket. The Jets have been far from impressive this season with a loss week 1 and a game they SHOULD have lost to the Titans in week 2 they currently sit at 1-1 on the Aaron Rodgers redemption tour. For a third straight week I’m coming into this game far more confident than I thought I would be just a month ago and Patriots +6 looks incredibly enticing. I’m interested to see how Rodgers deals with this defense that’s allowed just 16 points on average through two games. I assume Christian Gonzalez will be shadowing Garrett Wilson and that went pretty well for us the last time they met. Now is a good time to give you your weekly Gonzo-Graphic:

Regardless of what happens Thursday, I’m pretty happy with the state of this team. I’ve been firmly in the camp of let Drake Maye sit the year because this offensive line is going to get him killed. Plus all the other rookies have been terrible so far so that makes it a little easier to keep him on the back burner. I can’t lie though I’ve already been wondering what this offense would look like with the threat of Maye taking the top off the defense. One day…

How has your team looked through two weeks? 

Who do you think could make a deep run and who’s been overrated thus far? 

Let us know on the socials or live at 8:00 on Wednesday and come share all your takes with The Great North!