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.
Somehow those Patriots found an uglier pair of bowling shoes to put on for this ‘performance’ against the Detroit Lions. Sadly, they had a chance in the 3rd Quarter down 13-10, but the bad offense, shoddy defense, and mistakes kept them from really threatening for the win.
QUARTERBACK — D
The people around TB12 need to, ‘Do their job’, so Brady can do his. (Same line as last week) He was protected pretty well on the whole, but no one was getting open. I thought TB12 got frustrated and it led to 2, 4th quarter mistakes. The intentional grounding was him throwing it as far as he could because no one was open, and the interception was him pressing and trying to make a play. He can’t let his frustration affect the team.
RUNNING BACKS — C
Sony Michel has promise. I think he’s finding life in the NFL sees much smaller holes than he had in the SEC. But he’s a tough runner who will develop. Burkhead got hurt again, at what point do you say, “We can’t count on this guy?” And White is essentially a WR in RB clothing. Not a lot of room being created for these guys to operate.
WIDE RECEIVERS — F
I get they only had 3 players active in this position group. But Dorsett was a non-factor, and we saw how Detroit didn’t respect Patterson whatsoever. Hogan did his best to be himself and play like Edelman at times but to no avail. No separation, no explosion, no production. I don’t love the Gordon acquisition, but they need talent in a hurry.
TIGHT ENDS — C-
Gronk gets an A-. He fought through double teams all night and still found ways to get open at times. He’s a man trying to get open with no help. Dwayne Allen gets an F. Not a good night blocking and what does he contribute to the passing game?
OFFENSIVE LINE — D
I thought they protected Brady reasonably well. The problem is, with no one open, eventually you’ll get the QB hit. Especially when the QB is holding onto it trying to make a play. The run blocking inconsistent. This group MUST develop an attitude to run on 3rd and short. Too many guys getting knocked back on short yardage through 3 games.
DEFENSIVE LINE — F
The scheme started with 3 DL in the game, then down to 2 for a lot of the 2nd half. So some of this is on the coaches. But this group generated one hit on Stafford. I thought they needed to run some 4 DL looks to try and slow the run down, but either way, it didn’t matter the number of bodies in the game, minus Deatrich Wise, they all stunk.
LINEBACKERS — C-
This position group saw a lot of guys play, Hightower, Bentley, Roberts, and Van Noy played a healthy amount. I don’t like Van Noy around the line of scrimmage but gives great effort. Roberts was ok at times vs the run, and Bentley is growing but still makes mistakes and has trouble with those crossing routes. Hightower is the concern. Looks slow, has no ‘Pop’ to his play. His role may be that of a glorified LB/DE hybrid with the emphasis on DE.
SECONDARY — F
Can’t have a blown coverage for a TD like what happened on the Jones TD after the Pats closed to 13-10. Duron Harmon knows better and it gave momentum right back to Detroit. I don’t like how I see Jason McCourty always behind someone who makes a catch, and J.C. Jackson and Keion Crossen can’t be expected to make big contributions in their NFL debut.
SPECIAL TEAMS — B-
Gostkowski and Allen kicked the ball well, and all of Gostkowski’s kickoffs were touchbacks. The punt coverage unit gave up one 10+ yard return. But they didn’t factor into the loss.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
1) All week will be about Gronk’s answer to the trade question, which doesn’t matter one bit in terms of fixing this offense.
2) I have a funny feeling the offense will look drastically different with Edelman, and Gordon on Thursday, October 4th vs Indianapolis.
3) Fans to complain about Josh Gordon being inactive, he’s gotta earn it. The expectations the coaches and organization put on Gordon now, will become the norm later. If he can’t beat his demons.
“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 24, 2018.
