Week 3 preview: Patriots' fans need to learn to relax

With six minutes left in the Patriots’ game against Seattle, I said out loud to my gathered group of friends watching the game, “I can’t believe we are six minutes away from being 2-0.”

I did the same thing when it got to under four minutes with Joey Slye lining up for a 48-yard field goal and the Patriots leading, 20-17. “I can’t believe we are four minutes away from being 2-0.”

I was saying it in a joking manner. Some of my friends gave me the "what are you doing?" look, but most smiled and laughed a little. It was hard to believe, even for an instant.

Was I worried about jinxing the team? Of course not. Whatever was going to happen was going to happen. It had nothing to do with what little old, insignificant me, wearing a salsa-stained replica Christian Barmore jersey, may have be saying out loud while sitting on a couch in a living room with friends, thirty miles away from the stadium where the game was being played.

Of course, Joey Slye would have his kick blocked (after Jacoby Brissett took a bad sack making the kick longer and, possibly, causing Slye to kick the ball at a lower angle).

Seattle would tie the game on their next drive and send the game into overtime.

Clever me – I, then, adjusted my chant to, “I can’t believe we are five minutes away from being 1-0-1.” I just don't know when to quit, sometimes.

Well, even that was too optimistic thanks to a horrible pass interference call against Jonathan Jones which gift wrapped the Jets the ball in New England territory.

I wrote last week about the Patriots, possibly, being the Cinderella story of the NFL in 2024. For a better part of the afternoon, the Patriots were still Cinderella dancing at the ball. People across the league were taking notice.

Ordinarily, I would have been superstitious and not vocalized what I was allowing myself to think, but, let’s be realistic, this team was not going to make a Super Bowl run this year. Like the wise philosopher Ricky Bobby (played by Will Farrell in Talladega Nights) always said, “If you’re ain’t first, you’re last.”

I’d like to take the time here to apologize to one Geno Smith. I was wr-wr-wr-wrong about him. I was very hard on him in my article last week. I predicted the Patriots would win because, come on, Geno Smith. I didn't think any further analysis was needed.

But this is definitely not the old New York Jets Geno Smith I remembered. Never in my wildest dreams did I think Geno was capable of completing 33 passes for 327 yards against anybody, nevermind against this Patriots’ defense.

He threw the ball 44 times!!! Who is this guy – Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Dan Marino? He was pinpoint and he was poised. My sincerest apologies to the entire Smith family.

Looking ahead – the Patriots face Geno Smith's old team, the New York Jets, Thursday night for the whole country to see (if they have Amazon Prime). The Patriots had to wait a year, but they will, finally, get to play against Aaron Rodgers with him wearing the green unis. Welcome to the rivalry, Aaron. J-E-T-S, JETS, JETS, JETS! I hope Aaron knows how to spell.

All the attention will be on Rodgers and he deserves it. The guy is a legend. He is a no doubt, first ballot future Hall of Famer. Until Tom Brady laughed in the face of Father Time, it would have been remarkable that Rodgers is still playing quarterback at a high level in the NFL at the age of 40.

But for all the hoopla surrounding Rodgers, the Jets will beat the Patriots because of their dynamic running back duo, Breece Hall and Braelon Allen. Hall is the top dog, but the gap between the two may not be as large as you might think. Hall was four yards short of 1000 yards rushing in 2023 – his first and only fully healthy season – but he also had 76 receptions. He made an impressive leaping catch for a TD on a deep pass against the Tennessee Titans last week. Stevenson floundered on a similar pass against Seattle.

The Jets drafted Braelon Allen in the fourth round this year. Ten running backs were drafted ahead of him, but I think he may have five or six of those teams regret not picking him . Like Hall, he is just as dangerous catching the ball out of the backfield. Allen is also a bigger load than Hall and you will see him in goal line and short yardage situations. Allen could start for a lot of times right now as a rookie.

If it weren’t for Rodger’s ego, the Jets could get away with only throwing about twenty times in this game. The Patriots lost their best run stuffing linebacker this week in Ja’Whaun Bentley. It could not have come at a worse time. I am expecting the Jets to get upwards of 160 yards rushing in this game.

Which is not to say the Patriots can’t do close to the same. We already know what Rhamondre Stevenson can do, but Antonio Gibson showed he ain't no slouch, either, when he is fully healthy like he was against Seattle. He was hindered by a quadriceps injury which limited his snaps against Cincy in the opener.

Gibson is not just a third down receiving back. Actually, he has been underutilized in the passing attack to this point. He was an every down back with Washington. He showed speed, shiftiness, and balance on his way to spinning and dashing for a team high 96 rushing yards against a very good Seattle run defense. That included a huge 45 yard run in the fourth quarter which put the Patriots in position to seal the victory (in fact, it may have been after that run that I opened my big mouth).

I remember one of New England’s players saying in an interview in camp that offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt told his offense that he wants them to be the best screen team in the NFL. Well, we haven’t even see them try yet.

Pop Douglas has been Fizzle Douglas so far this year. He has been MIA. He expressed some frustration about it this week in a locker room interview. He said he hasn’t been able to show what he can do this year, through no fault of his own. 

Jacoby Brissett said as much when he said this week he needs to find a way to get, not only Douglas, but others more involved. Brissett has been far too conservative. I understand the offensive line sucks, blah, blah, blah. He has no time to throw.

Spare me. There are, believe it or not, worse offensive lines out there. See the LA Rams, Chicago Bears, and Baltimore Ravens.

I think Brissett buys in too much to the “I am the veteran who was brought in here to lead this team with a steady hand and not turn the ball over” aura that surrounded his arrival. He entered the league playing for Bill Belichick who always preached “protect the ball.” But the Patriots won't be able to compete, consistently, with their quarterback only throwing for 150 yards every game.

It has led to talk already about Drake Maye giving New England a better chance of activating the passing game going. What a shock. The Patriots hadn’t even lost their first game yet, and whispers could be heard that Maye, maybe, should be inserted for Brissett in overtime.

The whispers have got a little bit louder since the game ended. Let’s call it a murmur now.

For all his faults and limitations, Brissett is doing just fine. I have been pleasantly surprised by his elusiveness in the pocket and his mobility. He has scrambled for some key first downs. I didn't think he had that in him. Maybe desperation and fear is the mother of scrambling ability.

You also have to admire the guy’s toughness as he has taken some big hits. Those are hits that Brissett is sparing Maye. He has taken some hits which I think would have sidelined some other quarterbacks in this league (not mentioning any names).

The concern I have with continuing with Brissett is this – much has been made about playing Brissett slowing the development of Maye, but I am concerned playing Brissett is hindering the development of the wide receivers. I think that is going unnoticed. Ja'Lynn Polk is better than this. We all know Douglas can do more.

Drake Maye stood out to me in the preseason by getting the wideouts involved and throwing to the outside. The offense's entire energy level elevated exponentially when he was in the game.

Javon Baker looked like his favorite target. Polk also got more looks when Maye was on the field.

Maye wouldn’t have any concerns throwing the ball to a diminutive target like Douglas. I, seriously, think that is a big concern for Brissett. Brissett said as much in training camp that it was an adjustment throwing the ball to someone as small and quick as Douglas.

Again, I think Brissett is afraid of throwing interceptions and overthrowing Douglas. Brissett would much rather throw to bigger targets like Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper or safer, shorter passes to his running backs in the flats.

Again, that is fine. It is the same reason I wasn’t worried about jinxing the team by saying what I said in front of my friends during the game. This is a bridge year. We all know that even though some have a hard time accepting it. When the Patriots eke out a win, like they did in the very first week of the season, they see parades in their heads again.

Screw patience. Let's go out and make some trades. We are back, baby!

All that "stay the course" discipline and "it's going to take time" acceptance that fans had to have force fed down their throats in the offseason and training camp gets rejected at the first taste of victory.

But then reality sets in again. It is tough to accept, but the simple goal for this year – after the continued downward trajectory of the last few years - is to reverse that trend. It really is a low bar for rookie head coach Jerod Mayo. It is a luxury not too many rookie head coaches have.

Wins and losses don't matter this year. All Mayo has to do this year is to have his team show improvement. They already have in many respects. The Patriots have played two competitive, if not overly entertaining games.

They had a legit chance of being 2-0. They should be 2-0, but that's okay.

So let’s keep the eye on the prize and not worry about instant gratification for a change. Look at it as an opportunity to focus on our mental health for a year. 

Look at it this way – we don’t have to stress out about how losing this game or that one can affect our playoff seed or home field advantage in the playoffs. We did that for two decades. 

We got addicted to the Red Zone Channel. We ignored out families for entire afternoons. We stayed up late on Thursday, Sunday, and Monday nights to make sure our rivals lost.

Let’s take a year off from that worrying. Enjoy the company of your friends. Enjoy the food and refreshments. Maybe even record the game and go out and do things on Sundays in the Fall that you’ve missed out in the last twenty-five years. Go outside and see the foliage. Go for a hike. Go apple picking. Go do a corn maze. Go to that Sunday concert you would ordinarily debate skipping because of the game.

So don't worry about Thursday's game. Go to bed early. Get a full night's sleep. You'll wake up refreshed Friday morning and have a productive day. You'll thank me later.

Prediction: Jets 24, Patriots 16