Greg Bedard of BostonSportJournal.com joined Felger and Mazz on Tuesday, as he does every Tuesday during the football season to discuss the latest with the New England Patriots following the team’s bye week. Bedard gives us his 3 up and 3 down for the team at this point in the season.
Some notes from the season courtesy of NFL.com …
Demario Douglas leads all active Patriots with 361 receiving yards, with a career high of 84 receiving yards in last week’s loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
Rhamondre Stevenson and Ezekiel Elliott have a combined 813 rushing yards so far this season, with each running back averaging 3.8 yards-per-carry. Stevenson had a year high of 88 rushing yards during the teams most recent loss to the Colts, while Elliott has a season high of 80 yards in the team’s week 3 victory over the New York Jets.
Ja’Whaun Bentley leads the Patriots with 68 tackles so far this season, a he racked up a team-high 10 tackles during the Patriots loss to the Washington Commanders. Along with that, Bentley has also racked up 3 sacks on the year.
Kyle Dugger currently has the most interceptions for the team with 2. Dugger has recorded an interception in 2 of the last 3 games for the Patriots – in their loss against the Colts as well as their defeat to the Miami Dolphins.
Rookie kicker Chad Ryland has been steady this season with field goals under 40 yards, as Ryland has made 6 out of 7 from 39-yds and under.
Patriots quarterback Mac Jones has struggled so far this season when it comes to protecting the football. Jones has 10 INT’s so far this season, which is almost as much as he had in all of 2022(11 INT-14 games) and his rookie year in 2021( 13 INT-17 games).
The Patriots have failed to perform at home this season with the team now 1-4 at Gillette Stadium(1-5 in home games as the game in Germany was technically a home game for the Patriots).
3 UP
Christian Barmore
Christian Barmore has already had a week to celebrate. (Photo by Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports)
Greg Bedard: He’s my highest rated player so far. He’s a plus 31 in my grades. He leads the team with 17 total quarterback pressures. A lot of this stuff has happened in the last 4 or 5 weeks. But he’s been tremendous. Not many mental errors this past week. He really stood up well in the run game, which could earn him, you know, even more playing time, which would be nice to see down the stretch. But I think Barmore has been outstanding and he’s coming into his own.
Deatrich Wise
FOXBOROUGH, MA: Deatrich Wise Jr. of the New England Patriots reacts after a defensive stop against the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium on Jan. 1, 2023. (Billie Weiss/Getty Images)
Greg Bedard: Second on the team with 15.5 quarterback pressures. He’s a plus 20 in my grades, talk about consistency. He is there game-in game-out. I don’t know how he does it, but he gets pressure almost every game. Plus, he’s a leader for this team. I think he’s done a really nice job.
David Andrews
Dec. 6, 2020; Inglewood, CA: New England Patriots center David Andrews points to the Los Angeles Chargers defense during a game at SoFi Stadium. (Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports)
Greg Bedard: I think he’s been a model of consistency. He’s only given up 5 quarterback pressures all year. I think next lowest is Trent Brown with 9 and Onwenu has 10. So I think that, you know, while NFL scouts and executives think that he is slowing down, I still think David Andrews is really good, let alone the crap show that has gone on on either side of him this season.
3 Down
G.M Bill Belichick
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – OCTOBER 08: Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots reacts during the fourth quarter against the New Orleans Saints at Gillette Stadium on October 08, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Winslow Townson/Getty Images)
Greg Bedard: This is his show, his fault, the weaknesses on this team, the lack of depth in certain areas that he chose not to reinforce have killed this team. Spent his first three draft picks on defense. It’s a complete joke. So to me, the person most responsible for where the Patriots are right now is GM Bill Belichick.
Adrian Klemm
Oct 8, 2022; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Oregon Ducks associate head coach Adrian Klemm against the Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Greg Bedard: The offensive line has been terrible. There’s been no development. The young players aren’t getting any better. The best players on the offensive line-Trent Brown, David Andrews and Michael Onwenu were already at that level when he got here. Haven’t seen any of the young players develop Sidy Sow has done, you know, better once they put him in at guard. But he was a disaster at tackle when they put him out there. Adrian Klemm’s in charge and the offensive line is the second biggest reason why the team is where they are and so I put it on him.
Troy Brown
New England Patriots wide receiver Ty Montgomery works with assistant coach Troy Brown at minicamp in Foxboro. (Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports)
Greg Bedard: The wide receivers have been a mess since he’s been in charge. They run wrong routes all the time. There’s just inconsistency. The young guys aren’t really developing. Demario Douglas is playing better and getting more time, but you know his on field play as far as his routes and things like that haven’t really developed. It has not been good. And, you know, that whole group has underachieved for years and I’m putting on Troy.
