Editor’s Note: Andy Gresh will be part of The Providence Journal’s Patriots coverage for the season. “Gresh’s Grades” will appear each week in print, on providencejournal.com/sports, and on 630wpro.com following a Patriots game.
Well, that was ugly. Bowling-shoe ugly. But remember, it is not uncommon for a couple of shaky games in September under Bill Belichick. My worry is that the Jacksonville Jaguars now have loads of confidence if these two teams meet in January, which is a long time away.
QUARTERBACK: C
The people around TB12 need to, “Do their job,” so Brady can do his. Even though there were breakdowns, pressures, and few open receivers, we still saw the competitiveness that makes him a champion with that show of emotion on the sideline and the run for the first down. That said, you can’t get strip sacked in the fourth quarter with the momentum going your way.
RUNNING BACKS: C
The run game came in fits and spurts. You can see the potential in Sony Michel, who runs hard and through contact. Rex Burkhead is a decent weapon in the running game but shows up in the passing game with good route running. James White is basically a WR at this point in the season. These guys can only do so much if others don’t get open.
WIDE RECEIVERS: D
Chris Hogan made two nice plays with the touchdown catches but did little else. Phillip Dorsett looked average and Cordarrelle Patterson is what he is in this offense, and the coaches are making use of him the best they can. There are no game breakers in this group, and against an aggressive, fearless defense, it really stood out.
TIGHT ENDS: D
You can see the coaching staff wants Jacob Hollister to be a factor opposite Gronk and he’s a guy to watch this season. It felt like Gronk was useless. There were some one-on-ones early, but as the game went on I wondered if he was being used to get others open, or if Jacksonville just kept enough defenders close that Brady didn’t want to squeeze it in there? Either way, he had little impact.
OFFENSIVE LINE: F
The running game never developed to any consistency so it really wasn’t a factor (82 yards, 0 TDs). The protection was hurt by third-and-longs. Telling THAT defense, here’s third-and-long, pin your ears back and rush, makes for a tough day at the office. Every time he doesn’t play, I appreciate Marcus Cannon more and more.
DEFENSIVE LINE: D-
There were plays to be made but the rush couldn’t get home. Blake Bortles did a great job of getting the ball out quickly; or using his feet to create room to throw or get out of the pocket. There were times the pass rush wasn’t even in the same zip code. Injuries are a factor here and like Cannon, I appreciate Trey Flowers more when he’s not on the field.
LINEBACKERS: F
A lot of this is tied into the maturation process of Ja’Whaun Bentley who had a rough day. When the Pats went to man coverage on third down, he was responsible for the QB a lot of times and just got lost out there. He had major issues dealing with all the Jacksonville crossing routes underneath and combined with Dont’a Hightower really not being a coverage LB, this group was no bueno even with a decent effort from Kyle Van Noy.
SECONDARY: F
If G were a grade I would give it to this group. Let’s note, the Chung injury is big, as he’s important in this defense. Eric Rowe was picked on like he was, at times, during the playoffs last year. Jason McCourty was marginally better. The tackling was awful. Too many chunk plays. There was no swagger like I saw in the Jags defensive backfield.
SPECIAL TEAMS: C
Missing a 54-yard field goal is not a chip shot so I can only ding Stephen Gostkowski so much for that one. I thought he and the kickoff unit did a nice job as did the kick-return team when it wasn’t a touchback. Ryan Allen did a great job of doing what he could to dictate field position. The knock here is Brandon King not flinching on the fourth-and-1 punt trying to draw them offsides. SIT-U-ATIONAL FOOT-BALL. Does King get cut??
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
1) The way opposing teams use the zone-read play action, expect the Pats version of that to come off plays where Patterson is in motion or involved.
2) Eventually, Dwayne Allen has to get some targets, right?
3) I like the way this group causes fumbles defensively. I think that will continue.
“The Gresh Show” airs each weeknight on 99.7FM and AM 630 WPRO from 6 to 9 p.m. Article originally posted to The Providence Journal on Sep 17, 2018, at 12:51 PM
