Mike Reiss: The Patriots didn’t value Jakobi Meyers
The Patriots signed wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster to a three-year, $33 million contract in the offseason while letting Jakobi Meyers walk and join the Las Vegas Raiders. Should the Patriots have buyer’s remorse on this wide receiver swap? ESPN’s Mike Reiss joined Zolak and Bertrand to evaluate the state of the wide receiver position in New England and whether or not Bill Belichick valued what he had in Jakobi Meyers during this tenure with the Patriots.
DENVER, COLORADO – SEPTEMBER 10: Damarri Mathis #27 of the Denver Broncos tackles Jakobi Meyers #16 of the Las Vegas Raiders during the second quarter at Empower Field At Mile High on September 10, 2023 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
Did Bill Belichick value Jakobi Meyers?
“Bigger picture to this is sometimes I do think that you could make an argument to them that the player you know, so we’re talking about Jakobi Meyers, like, you know him. Four years, you’ve had him here. I think sometimes there might be a tendency to not value that as much as another player from another team. And I’ll give you another example that I think they got fortunate with. It’s the quarterback. I’m not saying Bailey Zappe is, you know, a great backup quarterback. But when you waive him and expose him to the rest of the league and bring in a quarterback from another team who basically decides he doesn’t want to play for you, it’s sort of the same thing in a way. So sometimes the person you know is a better choice than the one from the other team.”
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ: JuJu Smith-Schuster of the New England Patriots runs for a first down in the second quarter against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on Sept. 24, 2023. (Elsa/Getty Images)
Could JuJu Smith-Schuster get benched?
“If they keep putting him on the field and this is what it is going forward, then that’s the bigger problem. And I don’t think that’s going to happen. And that’s where I think the next layer of this conversation is. They might be fortunate that they have two rookies, more Pop Douglas than Kayshon Boutte who’s been inactive the last two games, but they probably weren’t counting on those two guys even contributing much when they drafted him in the sixth round tie… But between Thornton, those two guys, you still have other options going forward to possibly get this thing going. I’m not saying it’s going to happen, but I don’t necessarily think the cupboard is bare because you bombed on JuJu. I still think there’s solutions here to score points.”
LISTEN: Mike Reiss with Zolak & Bertrand on the state of the Patriots wide receiver position
Too close for comfort: 10 takeaways from the Patriots' win over the Jets
Not helping the kicker
Sep 24, 2023; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New England Patriots place kicker Chad Ryland (37) looks up after kicking a field goal during the first half against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
The game may not have been as close at the end had the Patriots done a better job of handling their two-minute drill at the end of the first half. After getting the ball at their own 25 with 1:21 to go and two timeouts, the Patriots moved the ball 33 yards before calling their second timeout with 21 seconds to go at the Jets’ 42 yard line. On the ensuing play Mac Jones threw a deep incompletion to Demario Douglas, setting up a 3rd & 2 with 14 seconds left.
At that point, the Patriots were looking at a 59-yard field goal for rookie Chad Ryland in inclement conditions. With one timeout left they still had the ability to use the whole field, although with an incompletion risked forcing Ryland into a tough situation. But instead of trying to pick up a chunk the Patriots got very conservative.
Instead of trying to push the ball and pick up a chunk, the Patriots ran Jones on a QB sneak. That set up a technically-more-makable but still long 57-yard attempt, which looked like it may have been blocked.
Whether the kick was blocked or not, there was also an issue with the field goal operation as Joe Cardona delivered a high snap, which rookie holder Bryce Barginer was able to handle but still upset the timing of the unit. It was one of two high snaps from Cardona on the day, something Bill Belichick highlighted after the game, along with crediting Ryland’s “mental toughness.”
Penalties pile up
Sep 24, 2023; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick at MetLife Stadium. Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
The Patriots also didn’t help their case when it came to penalties – especially in the third quarter. Leading 13-3 with what felt like two chances for definitive drives, the Patriots were undone by penalties.
With 7:26 to go in the third, the Patriots got the ball back off a Jets punt at their own 20. In a spot were at least flipping the field would have been helpful the team has three self-inflicted penalties in a row instead. On first down, wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster cracked Jets linebacker CJ Mosley late, from the side, and back towards the end zone, resulting in a 10-yard loss for an illegal blindside block. After short gains on first and second down, the Patriots then were called for back-to-back false starts from Trent Brown and Mike Onwenu. The Patriots ended up punting from their own 12, giving the ball back to the Jets just shy of midfield.
Wide receiver usage
EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY – SEPTEMBER 24: JuJu Smith-Schuster #7 of the New England Patriots runs for a first down in the second quarter of a game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on September 24, 2023 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Let’s get to some usage observations, because there were some interesting ones. That starts at wide receiver.
First and foremost, Demario Douglas was back. After seemingly getting benched last week for a first-quarter fumble, Douglas didn’t play an expansive role for the Patriots against the Jets but he was involved. Most notably, the team trusted him on an end-around pitch when trying to run out the clock late in the fourth quarter. He finished the game with that five-yard rush, and a 15-yard catch on three targets.
Realistically, last week’s benching aside, this wasn’t a game Douglas was ever going to be super involved in. Given the conditions and the opposing defense, it made sense for the Patriots to be in heavy sets for the majority of the game, taking a third wide receiver off the field. Still, it was good to see him out there even a bit, given the Patriots’ history of burying rookies after mistakes.
Speaking of players getting buried, Kendrick Bourne continues to show why so many questioned the team leaving him on the bench last year. He was the team’s leading receiver in this one, with four catches for 46 yards. Three of those four catches went for first downs, including an 18-yard catch-and-run on Jets All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner in the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, JuJu Smith-Schuster’s usage stood out for the wrong reasons. He didn’t end up very involved in the passing game, with just three targets on the day. However, two of those came in high-impact situations, on third downs with under three minutes to go as the Patriots tried to ice the clock away. Smith-Schuster failed to separate from his defender on both plays, with the passes falling in complete. Those ‘gotta have it moments’ are where teams look to turn to their highest-paid receivers, but Smith-Schuster didn’t deliver in this one.
Running back usage
New York Jets linebacker Jermaine Johnson (11) tackles New England Patriots running back Ezekiel Elliott (15) in the second half. The Jets lose to the Patriots, 15-10, at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, in East Rutherford. (Credit: Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com/USA Today Network)
This game saw the biggest workload yet for Ezekiel Elliott, and he rose to the occasion. Elliott was the Patriots’ leading rusher with 80 yards on 16 carries. He also had a catch for seven yards. There were flashes of him at his peak, as he was a pain for Jets tacklers throughout the game.
For Rhamondre Stevenson it was a slower day. He was more productive than he’d been through the first two games, with 59 yards on 19 carries. However he didn’t have a run longer than 10 yards, and struggled to extend runs after contact.
He also had a costly drop in a game where the backs were mostly a non-factor in the passing game. If the Patriots want to get the running back spot more involved when throwing the ball – which could help open up the offense – it may be time to give Ty Montgomery a look in the backfield in obvious passing situations.
Fullback (!) usage
EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY – SEPTEMBER 24: Pharaoh Brown #86 of the New England Patriots runs with the ball in the first half of a game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on September 24, 2023 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
The fullback is back in New England. Kind of.
Since Josh McDaniels’ departure after the 2021 season the Patriots’ offense hasn’t featured a fullback. In fact, the team hasn’t even have on the roster. That trend continued into this season, with Bill O’Brien’s traditional spread-out offensive attack not utilizing the position.
Yet needing to jump-start their rushing attack, the Patriots came out with a handful of traditional fullback sets on Sunday. Without a true fullback on the roster, that role went to third tight end Pharaoh Brown, who signed with the team just before Week 1. At 6-foot-6, 258 pounds, Brown certainly has the ability to clear would-be tacklers out of a hole.
The Patriots ran the ball well with him in the game, so look for those formations to continue in the coming weeks. As for Brown’s 58-yard catch-and-run touchdown? Certainly the Patriots would like to duplicate that as well, but that will be more of a challenge.
No turnovers?
Sep 24, 2023; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick pre game against ther Jets at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
Coming into this game the Patriots and Jets ranked in the top half of the league in giveaways on offense, and takeaways on defense. The Patriots had four turnovers and two takeaways in their first four games, while the Jets had five and four, respectively. Add on the fact that Zach Wilson generally turns into a bakery with all the turnovers he gives away against the Patriots, and this figured to be a turnover-heavy game.
However, that didn’t happen. There wasn’t a single turnover from either team through the full 60 minutes. Both teams played conservative, but it still came as a pretty big surprise that there wasn’t even one slip-up.
Those refs…
Sep 24, 2023; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick agrues with line judge Mark Perlman (9) at MetLife Stadium. Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
I said we’d get back to those referees, so let’s close things out with them. They were bad. Very, very bad.
There were a handful of plays that stood out over the course of the game where Bill Vinovich’s crew seemingly obviously messed up. None may have been bigger than at the end of the first half, when Jets cornerback Michael Carter II ran through Demario Douglas on a deep fade, not even feigning to turn his head and play the ball. Despite that, the flags stayed in the refs’ belts, a decision that likely took points off the board for the Patriots. This was one of two instances that Carter got away with what looked like clear PI.
Given those two plays, it appeared that this crew was in a ‘let them play’ mindset. That, objectively, is never a bad thing. If things aren’t being called that can be O.K., as long as the non-calls are consistent. That’s what made it so frustrating when Myles Bryant was called for a very ticky-tack pass interference in the back of the end zone on a third down on what ended up being the Jets’ lone scoring drive. It appeared Wilson was trying to throw the ball away, but a light shove from Bryant (and some acting from Randall Cobb) drew the flag.
Finally, there was the third-down QB sneak where the Jets actually managed to stop the increasingly-popular ‘tush push’ play. Mac Jones was stood up as the whistle blew, but CJ Mosley continued to push him back, eventually throwing him to the ground well after the play was blown dead. Despite that, there was no call from the refs.
In the end, these calls didn’t end up costing the Patriots the game. Even if they had lost, they had plenty of chances to make plays to offset the calls, and couldn’t. Still, the crew made a game that was already frustrating to watch even more agitating.
