Knee Jerk Reactions to Week 3: Patriots vs. Steelers

Things to consider while being embarrassed the Hall of Fame Class of '25 had to witness this loss. Bill Parcells didn't raise this franchise from the dead and Julian Edelman didn't go from 7th round pick to postseason legend just to go off to Patriots Valhalla watching five turnovers:

--Going into the weekend, I wrote that this one had all the feels of a "statement game." I said that knowing I was putting my ass right in the crocodile's mouth and it would chomp down on if I was wrong. Well I was. This was no statement, it was a series of questions. Does this team have what it takes to win games? It is disciplined? Does it take to coaching? Is it well coached? It it capable of playing a "clean" game without metric tons of unforced errors. Dare I even pose this question but, is this team ... soft? I'm not ready to say that. But if someone laid out the case that they're Two-Ply Charmin right now, a jury of my peers with no skin in the game who could be more objective than me would have a hard time not finding the Patriots guilty on all counts. 

--Let's lay out some of the evidence. They lost a game at home despite the facts:

 They outgained their opponent 369 yards to 203. And by a 349 to 101 margin over the final three quarters. 

They converted 26 1st downs to Pittsburgh's 17.

They converted 4-of-5 4th downs.

They possessed the ball for 33:20 to the Steelers 26:40.

They had a drive that went 17 plays and another that went 15. 

--Yet as a team, they did pioneering work to find new and inventive ways to give away a football game. They advanced our species' knowledge in the field of killing our own drives while keeping an opponent's drive alive. They pushed the boundaries of human understanding of how to lose. 

--It was a group effort, to be sure. Everyone in contributed. But one man stands alone in what he accomplished in this regard. Kids, come into the den. We need to have a family meeting to discuss our Rhamondre Stevenson problem. We love him and all. And we want what's best for him. But your mom and I have decided it's time to take the ball away from him. Since the start of last season, he's had 7 touchdowns and 9 fumbles. He's a threat to hurt someone every time he tries to cross the line of scrimmage. And everyone in the neighborhood knows it:

I'd be saying this even if he was an elite running back. He isn't. He averaged 3.9 YPA last year and is at 4.0 through three games. I mean, he's not Barry Sanders. He runs more like Larry Sanders, amirite?

I'm sorry. This is really difficult to discuss. I'm just trying to break the tension. The way this roster is constructed, with just three running backs, Mike Vrabel really has no choice but to give Stevenson the rock 6-12 times a game. Even knowing other teams are keying on him. They know he's got a very punchable ball.  But this is the price you pay for the way for not having depth at the position. Antonio Gibson is a sort of mid talent as a hybrid RB, and he left a ball on the ground too. TreVeyon Henderson has yet to show the elite athleticism we saw in camp. And in fairness to Stevenson, he was the hero of the Miami game. So as dangerous as he might be to us and everyone around us, the Patriots are left with no choice. Even though we know every team will be punching his balls more than teenage boys doing "What's the capital of Thailand?" thing. This is how the roster is constructed.

--Before I get into the game itself, let's talk about the general state of the franchise. This was the second home game, and I've been to both. And it's clear that this is the place other fanbases travel to. Gillette has become to Raiders and Steelers fans what Camden Yards is to Red Sox fans. And I can only imagine it's going to get exponentially worse when the Bills Mafia shows up in December. Not that long ago, it was The Place Where Angels Fear to Tread. Now it's an easy lay because they sense they're going to see a win and tickets are very much available. So the tailgate scene was lousy with Yinzers in their black and gold Ben Roethlisberger jerseys, defiling our landscape, and performing blood rites before gold statues of their goatheaded god, or whatever it is they do when we're not paying attention. A few years ago they would've known their place and been ashamed to walk among us. Now it's like they own the place. I guess they do.

--And make no mistake, Pats fans are demoralized. At least the ones who still care. The term "Pink Hat" is about 20 years out of date. And I'm not going to be that purist, Boomer curmudgeon who gets mad at "Sweet Caroline" or anyone posting selfies to the 'Gram from their seats. Pay your money, have your fun. How you do it is between you and your conscience. But crikey, things have gotten bad in that stadium. Within seconds of Drake Maye killing a drive with a fumble in the 4th quarter of a tie game, there were dozens of people cosplaying as Patriots fans on the video scoreboard, happily dancing around like Arthur Blank at Super Bowl LI. And believe me, this is not a gender thing. For every middle-aged fat guy shaking what carbohydrates gave him to the EDM version of "Party in the USA," I'm sure there was some woman in her 20s with a rage headache because kept her season tickets and this year was supposed to be different. And because her 4-leg parlay would've hit and she'd be letting her boyfriend get to third base in the Tesla afterwards, if only Stevenson could keep a football in his hands until he broke the plane of the goal line. But I digress. What I'm saying is that, if we as a people have gotten to the point where winning and losing becomes secondary to just going to the game and having a good time? That's a journey I will not be accompanying you on. 

--Oh right, the game itself. We're way past talk about moral victories. So while I'll give this team credit for actually being in a tie game after turning it over five times, including twice in goal-to-goal situations (teams with five-plus turnovers win 6.5% of the time), the bigger issue is that we're now into about Year 7 of this team not being able to close out games. With different coaches, different personnel, different schemes, this has been the one constant since about 2018. Drake Maye violates the cardinal rule that says you throw it low at the goal line and high on the back line, so even if you don't get the reception, you're still putting points on the board. If he lofts this one to the corner, either Kayshon Boutte is getting it or no one is. Instead he tries to drill it in like a rookie, and Brandin Echols came back on the ball for the pick:

--Then there was him - I think - trying to lateral it to Michael Onwenu, instead of simply taking the ball to the ground with him, and living to fight another down:

This one was especially frustrating given that it was on 1st down after a ballsy decision by Vrabel to go for it on 4th & 1 at the Pittsburgh 40. And it was still 14-14. But mainly because apparently this franchise has learned nothing from the time in 2023 they tried to win a game at the end with a lateral to Cole Strange. Let's keep the ball out of the guards' hands going forward, shall we? 

--But the last play from scrimmage says it all. Demario Douglas has been a revelation. A true find with the 210th pick three drafts ago. But with the game on the line - quite literally, since he was at the line to gain with the ball in his hands - Pop chose to break backwards. Hoping to what? Pick up more yards than what they needed to keep the drive alive?

The lack of situational awareness has part of this team's programming for a long time now. It's no longer a bug; it's a feature. I'm not trying to give Vrabel a pass here. But nobody should need to be told to go forward when you're standing at the sticks holding the ball. Just like you shouldn't need to be reminded that your primary duty is to protect the ball. The first football coach to come down out of the trees, walk upright, and make a whistle out of animal bones was saying the same things Vrabel said at the podium after the game. But it falls to him to make his team mentally tough enough to break this cycle. They can be counted on to mess up in high-leverage situations just like their opponents were from 2001-18. And until that changes, nothing else they do will count for jack squat.

--Just as alarmingly, this was a step-back game for the offensive line. The book on the Steelers is that they can be run on to the offense's left side, away from TJ Watt, whom they stubbornly refuse to move around. Well they did flip Watt a time or two. But regardless of which end he lined up on, the run game was inconsistent, at best. Of Stevenson's 18 yards, 10 came on one carry. Henderson was on the business end of a lot of few pitches and toss-cracks, meant to get him out into space to utilize his speed. And is longest rush of the day went for all of five yards. Maye ran well, but not by design as much as being chased from the pocket when no one came open. 

--Another way the Steelers were supposed to be vulnerable is against two tight end sets. To that end, Josh McDaniels came out in 12-personnel, but abandoned it for three wide receiver looks when the first drive ended in Stevenson's first fumble. He brought back the second tight end front as the game went on and got good production out of Austin Hooper:

But the idea that Pittsburgh's base Cover-1 (with Jalen Ramsey as the deep safety) can be run on with a 7-man line met the harsh reality of the Patriots inability to run. The movable object defeating the resistable force. 

--Scarier still was the pass protection had its worst game so far. Including Will Campbell, who failed to pick up a stunt or two, and struggled at times with Nick Herbig's quick-twitch moves, outside and in:

--Still, credit where it's due. Campbell did make the best tackle of the day on Stevenson's first fumble:

--Which brings us to the biggest issue besides the fact the Vrabel's team treats the ball like it's covered in the kinds of lube Jordon Hudson's mom sells at her shop in Provincetown, is the fact opposing ballcarriers are even slipperier: 

I mean, this is alarming. I'll do a post dedicated to this one aspect of the season so far once the full stats are available. But this is the kind of metric that should induce mass hysteria throughout the land. If you can't tackle, everything else is a waste of time and energy. This is how you give up three touchdown drives to a team led by Aaron Rodgers, who is basically in the K-Hole phase of his career. With the exception of a seam route he hit Jonnu Smith on with Marte Mapu in coverage, everything is a checkdown or a screen:

And yet the defense still allowed 21 points because plays are extended and 1st downs gained thanks to the inability to perform the most basic function of tackle football, which is the first word.

--On a couple of fun historic notes, Rodgers passed Brett Favre in career passing touchdowns, and Phillip Rivers in career passing yards. However he remains 10 shy of Rivers career record for children fathered. 

--This Week's Applicable Movie Quote (tie);

"You fumble the football, I will break my foot off in your John Brown hind parts, and then you will run a mile." - Coach Herman Boon, Remember the Titans

And, "Rogers, you think you can just waltz in here and dictate terms? This isn't your war any more." - Gen. Thunderbolt Ross, Avengers: Endgame

--Big thanks are in order to the operators of the billion dollar video board for pulling the plug after DK Metcalf's touchdown, so those of us in the stadium only had to watch it once and be reminded he was available but Belichick took N'Keal Harry instead. What with Tyquan Thornton catching another TD for Kansas City last night, the less we see of Carlton Davis helpless against Metcalf, the better. Rated TV-MA. Viewer discretion is advised:

--There were some absolute garbage calls that went against the Patriots that also bailed out a some of Rodgers' drives. The most egregious of which was the one against Alex Austin that negated a strip sack by Milton Williams. Another was a "low block' roughness call against Marcus Jones, who is 5-foot-8, so low blocks are the only kind he can make. Still a third was an 18-yard DPI on 3rd down against Davis on an overthrow that had a 0.0% chance of being caught by any mortal man:

But that's what happens to bad teams. They're too bad to overcome the bad calls. It's their lot in life. It's not a lot, but it's our life. 

--Ironically enough, one of the key plays of the game that served as a real dagger was the 10-yard completion to Kenneth Gainwell, just before the final touchdown. When your name is Gainwell and you pick up crucial yards, that's what's referred to by scholars as "nominative determinism." 

--In the 1930s and 40s, there was a Major League pitcher named Monty Stratton, who lost his leg to a shotgun accident while hunting. He was fitted for a prosthetic and was actually able to return to the Majors for a brief time, going 1-3 before eventually being sent back to the minors. He found his niche there, throwing a no-hitter in 1946 for the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League. He was so universally admired for his pluck and determination in the face of adversity, that Jimmy Stewart followed up It's a Wonderful Life by playing Monty in the biopic The Stratton Story in 1949. I just thought I'd bring this up because it's an amazing story of grit and determination. It has nothing to do with the fact Christian Gonzalez has been out eight weeks with a hamstring pull.