FOXBORO, Mass. — A lot happens when you cover the New England Patriots throughout the week.
You get at least three Jerod Mayo news conferences, a presser with the starting quarterback, multiple locker room availabilities, and access to a few practices. Some takeaways become individual stories, while other quotes and nuggets are left on the cutting room floor.
With that in mind, my Patriots notebook publishing Friday for the rest of the season rolls on. These pieces mostly focus on top Patriots storylines and leftovers from each week but also include a non-football thought or two — because I’m a dork who likes to talk about other stuff.
So, let’s get into it.
Are Patriots Players Taking Losses Seriously Enough?
I wasn’t inside New England’s locker room after last Sunday’s road loss to the Miami Dolphins. However, those who were described a surprisingly lighthearted scene, with many players laughing and joking despite suffering a thoroughly embarrassing defeat.
The reports generated much conversation throughout the week. Is the standard high enough? Are players too used to losing? Has a winning culture become a losing culture? Is it a generational thing?
“I don’t question any of that stuff as far as the players taking a butt-kicking like that personally,” Mayo said during his Monday video conference. “Everyone in that locker room, we were down. Now, I’m not sure what that report is, but I’m not going to talk about that. I know the guys were disappointed.”
That’s the head coach’s take, but how do the players feel? What about the assistant coaches?
On Wednesday, I asked linebackers coach Dont’a Hightower about the undeniable difference between how current Patriots players react to losses and how players during his era handled defeat.
“You never want to get used to [losing],” Hightower said. “But at the same time, we take it on as coaches as far as not letting that be the mindset. … The leaders and the catalysts of the room continue to push forward and know it is all about the process. … At the same time, we’ve gotta be able to come in, turn the page, put our heads down, and dig.”
Receiver K.J. Osborn was inactive against the Dolphins but made the trip to Miami. Although he didn’t spend much time in the locker room, Osborn understands why there are questions about players becoming too accustomed to losing.
“I left the locker room pretty quick after the game,” Osborn told PFN. “So, I don’t really know what the mood was too much. But it’s not good to lose, obviously, and the way our season’s been going.
“What it’s been here the last couple years, I feel like it can be dangerous to get immune to that. That feeling — that’s never what you want. So, that’s not good.”
Can such consistent losing result in players becoming numb to feeling defeat?
“I mean, it can,” said Osborn, who won at least seven games in each of his four seasons with the Minnesota Vikings. “I’ve never really been a part of something like this. It’s kind of my first time in the NFL like this. I’m kind of experiencing it like everyone else.”
When asked whether it’s a matter of young players expressing themselves differently than veterans, Osborn shrugged and said being upbeat after a loss might be just a coping mechanism.
“Could be. It could be,” he said. “I feel like, when you lose — and we’re constantly losing — if you’re riding the ups and downs of the wins and losses, maybe it’s not so much that the guys are unhappy.
” … Shoot, if you go in the dumps every time you lose, and our record is like this, you can find yourself in depression. So, it could be like a mental health thing. But I’m not really sure how the guys take it.”
Patriots LB Jahlani Tavai joins! Are the players taking these losses seriously? What was the mood in the locker room and flight back after the loss in Miami? #NFL @WEEI pic.twitter.com/aM9PYe0Uwo
— The Greg Hill Show (@TheGregHillShow) November 27, 2024
Wideout Kendrick Bourne, perhaps the most consistently jovial player on the roster, offered his own perspective.
“Everybody takes it different,” Bourne said on Wednesday. “I always try to think positive. So I kinda can move on fast. But I do take it to heart. I do go look in the mirror and honestly tell myself if I played good enough or bad enough. If I did anything to help the team.
“So, if we evaluate it honestly, if we’re being transparent with ourselves, I think that’s the best way to look at it. But everybody is different. Some might just be mad for a week and that’s how they move. I’m not mad at that player or this player. If my teammate is smiling and happy and my other teammate is mad, I know [one] personality from building a relationship with him and I know [the other] personality from building a relationship with him.”
Bourne, aware of the debates on the locker room vibes, said players must strike a balance between learning from losses and not getting too down in the dumps.
“I look at losing, we have to learn from it,” Bourne said. “We’ve gotta use it in a certain way. I’ve seen the reports about us laughing or whatever. I don’t really know. But I think it’s a mindset. We can’t be pouting around also. We can’t just hold on to bad things. We have to move on.
“So, I think there’s a balance to it. Not taking it as a joke. It’s not funny to lose. It’s not a joke at all. But there’s also a balance of, we can’t hold on to the past and let our mistakes, let the losses affect this week. So I think of that as balance. We take it serious. We want to be better. But, also not let it affect us moving forward.”
Ultimately, multiple things can be true at the same time.
The environment is different now. There isn’t a sense of dread when you walk into a Patriots locker room after losses; during the dynasty era, it felt like you were attending a funeral.
Some of that could be attributed to the Patriots shifting toward a player-friendly environment post-Bill Belichick. Remember, Eliot Wolf said the franchise would have “less of a hardass vibe” under Mayo. Perhaps they’ve gone too far.
However, we’re also talking about human beings. It would be natural to grow accustomed to losing when you’ve won seven games since the start of the 2022 season. Even as a reporter covering the team, it feels like these losses blend together. I’ve found myself growing numb to it and perhaps not being as hard on the franchise as I should be.
To that end, the main problem is that the standard has fallen. In hindsight, Mayo giving each player a commemorative ball after the season-opening win over the Bengals was all the evidence we needed.
Hunter Henry’s Overlooked Patriots Legacy
If someone were to ask you to name the five best tight ends in Patriots history, would Hunter Henry be one of your picks?
Probably not — but he should be.
It’s easy to overlook Henry’s production since joining the Patriots in 2021. After all, he’s no Rob Gronkowski, and most attention is paid to the offense’s annual struggles post-Tom Brady.
However, not only is Henry on pace for a career season, but he’s also on track to establish himself as a top-five Patriots tight end — from a statistical standpoint, anyway.
Entering Week 13, Henry had 51 catches for 535 yards (both tops on the Patriots) and one touchdown. With five games left, he was nine catches and 117 yards away from setting career highs in both categories.
Moreover, at the time of this writing, Henry was tied with Ben Watson for the fifth-most catches (184) by a Patriots tight end. His 2,066 yards were 209 behind Watson for fifth, and his 18 TDs were tied with Aaron Hernandez for fifth.
So, there’s a good chance Henry will rank top-five in all three categories by the end of the season.
He also has two years left on his contract. If Henry stays healthy and plays out the remainder of his deal, he has a solid shot at going down as the third-best Patriots tight end of all time.
Gronkowski and Ben Coates are first and second in catches, yards, and touchdowns for Patriots tight ends. And both are safe atop the leaderboards.
But Henry also entered Week 13 just 27 catches, 1,092 yards, and 11 TDs away from taking over the No. 3 spot in all three categories. Again, if Henry stays healthy and continues being a top target for Maye, he’ll probably clear all those checkpoints.
Would that mean Henry should be ranked ahead of Russ Francis on New England’s all-time tight ends list? That’s a tough one, and tight end might be the most difficult position to evaluate. How do you properly weigh pass-catching production and blocking prowess?
Nevertheless, Henry deserves a ton of credit for living up to his contract and performing well despite playing in a wretched offense. He also has missed just three of 64 games since arriving in New England, something few could’ve anticipated given the injury issues he endured with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Drake Maye’s Biggest Problem
Maye’s looked great since taking over as the starter. There’s no denying that.
But turnovers have been a big problem for the rookie, who entered the NFL with a reputation for making careless mistakes.
In seven starts (one of which barely lasted one quarter), Maye has seven interceptions and four lost fumbles. If you remove the injury-shortened start against the New York Jets in Week 8, Maye’s only clean start was against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 7 — and he had multiple turnover-worthy plays in that game.
In fact, Maye has multiple turnovers in four starts, including in three of his last four games. His 4.6% turnover-worthy-play percentage ranks third among all full-time starting QBs, per TruMedia. Anthony Richardson and Dak Prescott rank first and second, respectively, with 4.8% and 4.7%.
“The turnovers, they have to stop,” offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said on Tuesday. “There’s no excuses there — rookie, 10-year player, vet. It doesn’t matter. You can’t turn the ball over and expect to win games. That’s definitely an area of emphasis for us.”
On Monday, Maye said he wasn’t “too worried about turnovers” and wrote them off as trying to make plays while behind. He later circled back to clear up any confusion.
“But I do think, back on my statement, I am worried about turning the football over,” he said. “That’s a problem. At the end of the day, you can’t turn the football over, especially — I think we’re losing the turnover margin in most of the games with me back there. So that’s something I need to improve on.”
Should Patriots fans be worried? Not yet, and it’s important to remember that Maye is light years ahead of where Josh Allen was as a turnover-prone rookie. He’s learning on the fly and mistakes are to be expected.
“You forget sometimes that he is a rookie,” Van Pelt said. “There are some mistakes that he’ll make just from experience … he’ll just get more reps on certain plays and understanding the concepts.
“But he continues to develop and does a really nice job. We just have to take care of the football.”
Alex Van Pelt Doesn’t Regret Sitting Maye
The Patriots’ decision to sit Maye for the first five weeks was easy to understand. He barely saw any first-team reps during training camp, the offensive line was a mess, and Jacoby Brissett’s safer brand of play would increase the chances of a fast start.
However, it’s now clear that Maye was good enough to start in Week 1. He also seems to be a quick learner and gets better the more he plays.
So, in hindsight, does Van Pelt regret not starting Maye from the jump?
“Absolutely not. Absolutely not,” Van Pelt said. “I think we had a plan in place. And I think it’s showing now that that was a good decision for us. Would he be as developed had he started the first game? Maybe — could’ve gone the other way as well.
“So, again, I stated in the spring, ‘This is a marathon; it’s not a sprint.’ This is about a franchise quarterback. We tried to develop him that way, and I feel like we did it that way.”
My take: Van Pelt’s right.
From a talent standpoint, Maye probably was ready to start Week 1. But the offensive line issues were so bad that the risk of major injury was too great. Yeah, the O-line still stinks, but it’s in a much better place now than it was in early September.
Another O-Line Shuffle?
After releasing guard Michael Jordan, the Patriots will roll with a new O-line configuration when they host the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. All signs point toward rookie Layden Robinson making his first start at left guard, with Mike Onwenu and DeMontrey Jacobs sticking at right guard and right tackle, respectively.
We’ll see how that works out. But I’m more interested in how things look after the Week 14 bye.
Rookie Caedan Wallace, who’s been out since suffering an ankle injury in Week 4, is nearing a return and could practice next week.
Similarly, Cole Strange, who practiced the last two weeks, could be ready for game action after the bye. And though the Patriots might need him to play left guard if Robinson struggles, the hope is he can earn playing time at center. Mayo, Strange, and O-line coach Scott Peters all have made it clear that Strange is being developed as a future center.
I’d be surprised to see New England start Strange at center anytime soon. Ben Brown hasn’t done anything to lose the job, and the Patriots better be certain Strange is ready before putting him in front of Maye.
But for the sake of argument, let’s say the Patriots are comfortable with Strange starting at his new position.
This could be New England’s O-line configuration down the stretch:
LT: Vederian Lowe
LG: Layden Robinson
C: Cole Strange
RG: Mike Onwenu
RT: Caedan Wallace
Four of those five were drafted or signed to be long-term answers. Lowe is the only exception, and even he’s been a starting-caliber tackle for stretches this season.
An extended look at that group would be beneficial for multiple reasons. If it doesn’t look great, the Patriots would learn what they need to look for in the offseason. But if the group plays well, New England could remove multiple needs from its offseason wishlist. Simply put: The Patriots need more data.
Let’s say Robinson, Strange, and Onwenu play well. The Patriots would know they’re set on the interior, including having an insurance policy at center in case David Andrews doesn’t look like the same player after undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery.
Let’s also say Lowe continues to be fine at left tackle and that Wallace shows promise at right tackle. The Patriots then could use their first-round pick on a top receiver and kick the tackle can to Round 2 or trade back into Round 1.
I’m not saying the Patriots should consider making Lowe their franchise left tackle. I’m just saying if he establishes himself as a capable bridge starter, New England could be freed up to target other needs with its top draft pick.
There were a lot of “ifs” in that rant, but I don’t think I suggested anything crazy.
Non-Football Thought No. 1: Stop Giving Engagement to Aggregators
We all can agree that sports aggregators on Twitter/X are the worst. Whoever’s running the Dov Kleiman and MLFootball accounts is pumping out a deluge of disingenuous garbage. They’re making up half the stuff they put out.
So, just don’t engage. Those accounts make money off users liking, reposting, or commenting on their posts. They don’t even care if you rip them because all engagement generates revenue.
Don’t give them what they want. Unfollow them, mute them, block them — whatever. Just remove them from your online diet and we’ll all be better for it.
Non-Football Thought No. 2: Song of the Week
The pick this week is “wacced out murals”, the opening track on Kendrick Lamar’s new album, “GNX”. Obviously, this song contains a ton of NSFW language, so keep the speakers down if you’re in the office.
I don’t really have much to add. I just think Kendrick sounds hungry and on top of his game on this track.