Through the first two weeks of the season, the offense has become a major concern for the New England Patriots. They’re scoring just 15.0 points per game and are up to six turnovers in those two games.
That has, unsurprisingly, led to a major blame game going around. Much has landed on the shoulders of quarterback Drake Maye. Some has landed on the wide receivers and injuries to the wide receivers. Then, the offensive playcalling from Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has also come under fire.
McDaniels has been criticized, in particular, for his playcalling becoming too predictable and lacking creativity. That’s something Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel was willing to defend as far as the need to establish a running attack was concerned. However, there is still a growing sentiment that the offense isn’t being put in a position to succeed.
New England Patriots HC Mike Vrabel Gets Honest About Playcalling
Mike Vrabel made an appearance on The Greg Hill Show in the wake of the Patriots’ Week 2 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Unsurprisingly, the playcalling became a topic of discussion.
What Vrabel would share was interesting. In essence, he believes it’s more about execution by the players than the playcalling itself.
“There’s plays where they’re dog [expletive] calls and the players make a play. There’s good calls, and the guys don’t make a play,” Vrabel said. “You have to watch every play. Like there will be a X play run—I’ll watch every 20-yard gain—and it’s either a guy making a play or there’s a holding call that they miss. And that’s what it is. I think the easy thing is to say, ‘Well, that’s a terrible play call or the guy should’ve done better.’ Fellas, we have to be able to get into a rhythm.”
Hindsight is 20/20. That is undeniably true. After all, players can make a playcaller look better or worse, depending on execution. That doesn’t mean that all plays put players in a position to succeed, though.
There was improvement from the Patriots in Week 2 on offense. However, turnovers and not finishing drives in the endzone remained a major issue. So, until that changes, the questions are going to continue.
Dan Orlovsky on Playcalling and Patriots QB Drake Maye
One person who pointed to the playcalling as being a direct reason why Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is struggling is Dan Orlovsky. The ESPN analyst suggested that the playcalling is changing Maye’s approach to playing the position.
“He looks like a young man that’s scared to make mistakes right now,” Orlovsky said. “And I think the playcalling is part of it. Unaggressive playcalling will create unaggressive play. Certainly thinking of the thing that I could do to not mess up. If you look at some of the throws that he’s not making, that’s more concerning than some of the throws he is making.”
For Orlovsky, there is a more pressing concern, though. That’s that Maye’s footwork is off, and it makes it seem like he isn’t confident with what he’s seeing, which is making him miss opportunities in turn.
“Does that look like a guy who’s confident in what he’s looking at? Absolutely not,” Orlovsky said. “The tight end is wide open. That’s the number one on the play. We’re designing the play for him. You guys have heard me say, ‘Look at the right foot of the quarterback.’ Does it look like he’s planting in the ground with conviction?”
Maye is completing 67.3% of his passes for 386 yards. However, he only has 1 touchdown to 4 interceptions. He’ll look to bounce back in Week 3 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Patriots HC Mike Vrabel Shares Brutal Truth About Playcalling