Knee Jerk Reactions to Week 7: Patriots vs Titans

Things to consider while organizing the "No Kings Except Mike Vrabel" demonstration:

--More than anything, this game was a reminder of what once was, and can be again. It recaptured an old feeling the way no throwback uni ever could. It felt like welcoming someone you love, and have missed terribly, after they'd been gone for far too long. This how it was for the better part of 20 glorious years. Being favored and taking care of business. Playing smart, almost mistake-free football and waiting until a lesser opponent cracks under the strain of trying to compete. And Patriots fans doing something that used to be a staple of every season, which is take over a road stadium. Usually in a vacation destination like Nashville:

--Which brings us to four straight wins. Three straight on the road, which hasn't happened since before even I was born. (And if you've ever watched me have to scroll down to register my D/O/B on a new app, you'd appreciate how historic a feat that is.) And they they've gone on this heater by eliminating the fatal errors that cost them the game at Gillette against Pittsburgh. They're protecting the football, winning turnover battles, and by zero coincidence, they've become very hard to beat. 

--With that old school style of play, they've brought back their aggravating propensity for helping terrible quarterbacks reach all their incentive bonuses. Think Rex Grossman in 2011 or Matt Flynn in 2012. Whatever Cam Ward is going to become, he's not there yet. And hasn't cracked the Top 32 in any statistical category in a 32 team lead. (Other than getting sacked. And he's been lapping the field in that one.) But for a while there, the Pats defended him like he was a sick kid whose Make-a-Wish was to play QB like Patrick Mahomes. On the touchdown drive that put Tennessee up 10-3, all three of the Pats starting corners got air-fried in man coverage. Most notably Marcus Jones who got burned by Chimere Dike running an identical post-nod route that Demario Douglas scored on last week. And so this thing was actually a football game for about 29 minutes. But then? Drake Maye happened. 

--This wouldn't be a KJR column without me awkwardly shoehorning in some obscure historical reference. So feel free to skip ahead while I indulge myself. At the legendary Battle of Cannae in 216 BC, one of Hannibal's most trusted lieutenants, Gisgo, was in a bit of a panic because the Carthaginians were outnumbered by the Romans more than 2-to-1. And as ancient warriors were prone to do, Hannibal let out a hearty, manly, laugh in reply "Bwahaha!" he said. "There is one thing that has escaped your notice, Gisgo, and that is even more astonishing than the size of the enemy: There are so many thousands of them, and not one among them is called Gisgo." Ha! Good one, General! Then they proceeded to soak the ground red with Roman blood and slaugther poor hapless SOBs like they were harvesting crops. The point I'm going for is that on any opponent's 53-man roster, there is not one among them is called Drake Maye. Advantage: Us.

--If you were that person who was casting doubts about Maye before the season, questioning his footwork, his accuracy, his judgement, his leadership or whether he was mentally tough enough for the job, now is the time to admit you were wrong and beg for forgiveness. And because I love you and we are in a Circle of Trust that is your safe space, I will grant it. Because what this kid is doing is beyond even this fanboy's own wildest, overly optimistic expectations.

--And I just called Maye "Kid" not because he's young. But because that's what you call a Baby GOAT.

He completed 16 consecutive passes. He had one incompletion in the 1st half, and one in the 2nd. And completed as many passes in the end zone as he had hit the ground. He's just the third QB under the age of 24 to throw for 200-plus yards and a 100.0-plus passer rating (his was 135.9). And it's not like Josh McDaniels is treating him like he's 23 and babying him with checkdowns and screens. Drake & Josh are putting air under the ball. In the barren, desolate wasteland that was the era between Brady and Maye, it felt like we'd go a month without seeing a pass over 10 yards. Now the spray chart looks like this every week:

--While this might not make good narrative sense, I'm going to get to some of the biggest of Maye's big time throws in a later and pivot to talking about the defense, since it's the adjustments made by Zak Kuhr (prayers to Terrell Williams for a full recovery) that started to put sugar in the Titans' gas tank. Which the Pats desperately needed. Because by the end of the 1st quarter, the only guy on the field who'd made a stop on Tennessee was that ball boy who caused a time out.

--And the best defensive player on the field for either team was K'Lavon Chaisson. Even before his scoop and score which ought to win him DPOTW honors. Dike was supposed to chip him and then release, but it was more of the broken chips you start getting when you're halfway through a bag of Tostitos Scoops, because he barely influenced Chaisson's direct path to the ball:

--But he was a Viking Berserker in the Titans backfield long before then. This was the result of a stunt that brought Harold Landry looping in behind Christian Barmore to flush Ward from the pocket and Chaisson cleaned up the mess:

--Then there was this one where he got his pad level low beneath Dan Moore's ability to get a hand on him and Ward had :

--In simple terms, I think the game plan coming in was to go big, with a lot of 4-man even fronts featuring Khyris Tonga and Joshua Farmer, with the intent of gumming up the works in the inside run game and force Ward to beat them. Which he proceeded to do. After touchdown drive, it seemed to me they went with more 3-man fronts and attacking off the edge and the interior gaps. Robert Spillane began to spend a lot of time up on the LOS. For instance, he and Jahlani Tavai blitzed both A-gaps on that last Chaisson sack. We got more Marte Mapu, who had a huge pass breakup to kill a drive, than we've seen in a while. And Kyle Dugger began dropping down from deep safety to play at the linebacker level and as a seam/curl/flat defender. Which he did here on the play action fake, taking away Ward's primary target in the flat as Craig Woodson rotated over to the vertical route, giving Milton Williams time to overpower JC Latham for the sack:

--Which led to more of winning the in the way winning used to be done here. Minimizing your errors, forcing your opponent into situations where they have to take chances, they pouncing on their mistakes. For most of the 2nd half, once they'd opened up a sizeable lead, the Pats went into a deep shell, allowing Ward the underneath routes and the middle of the field, trading yards for time off the clock, didn't allow as much as a field goal attempt, and no points. They not only got Chaisson's TD, but also an interception on an off-target throw. Naturally by Marcus Jones, since he is simply never not running around making impactful plays: 

--Speaking of turnovers (note how I seamlessly segue back to the offensive side of the ball), Rhamondre Stevenson's redemption arc after that previously referenced Steelers game continues. Yesterday was as good as he's looked in a couple of years, it seems. He was decisive. Hitting the hole on inside power runs. Setting up his blocking on outside zones. The broadcast crew talked a lot about the Pats running away from Jeffery Simmons after karma ran over his dogma:

… but even with Simmons in the game, it seemed to me that Stevenson was picking up yards to all his gaps equally. 

--And while Maye's pockets got dirty a few times (four different Titans recorded a QB Hit), this was by far the best run blocking we've seen out of the Full House Doug Marrone has been dealt this year. They all contributed to Stevenson's 18-carry, 88-yard, 4.9 YPA, 1 TD, 3-1st downs and zero fumbles day. None better than the block Morgan Moses threw on Jihad Ward to set the edge on Stevenson's touchdown:

--It can be tougher to walk the Red Carpet at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion than it was for 'Mondre in the Titans' red zone, once Moses buried Ward in that mound of flesh. And Kayshon Boutte on the corner was just one of several great blocks Stevenson got from his receivers. Mack Hollins, as always contributed. Stefon Diggs set the edge on a 7-yard pickup at the beginning of the 4th quarter. And even Efton Chism III kicked out L'Jarius Sneed on the opening drive for a 14-yard pickup. It's definitely worth your while to keep an eye on this receiver corps in the run game because there are no business decisions being made outside the tackle box. Vrabel has these guys blocking to the whistle on every down. And it's helping repress a lot of memories of the past five years or so.

--That said, as efficient as the blocking was, it was great to see Vrabel lose his mind at his O-line after Will Campbell's false start penalty. When you're up big, that's the perfect time to remind your guys not to lose focus and then send in the backups for a few token snaps. Well played by him. No one is above the law, not even your most important rookie. 

--While Austin Hooper was bringing back a lot of great memories. This hands catch over Sneed - who's all of 6-1, by the way - like he was pulling the "I got your nose!" gag on a toddler, was straight out of the glory days of Randy Moss or Gronk:

And it's hard to overstate the case of how important that grab was. After starting out FG, punt on their first two possessions, Maye engineered an 11-play, 93 yard drive on the third. If that one ended with three points, we all would've been doing the nervous, collar-tugging, clenched teeth "Eesh" thing. Instead, it reset the entire game and was the first of three straight touchdown drives. 

--If you can't believe I've waited this long to talk about the most spectacular play of the game, not to mention one of the best highlights of the season by anyone, just imagine how I feel. I'm the one typing all this and even I'm surprised. It seems Daddy got a little too into the pumpkin beers yesterday Princess, and he's not thinking clearly. So here it is:

The Pats were in a 2X1 alignment with Boutte tight to the formation on the back/weak side. Hunter Henry chipped the outside rusher before running a shallow dig. From the outside, Diggs ran a deeper dig. And the levels concept there occupied both safeties, leaving Boutte on the outside with no one over the top. Maye was able to get set in the pocket, step into his throw, and launch a drone strike right on target. Even as Devin McCourty was just done telling us McDaniels had no interest in scoring right away. Between Maye's arm and Boutte's combination of feet and hands, we're seeing things that used to be impossible for this franchise become weekly occurrences. It'll never get old. Cherish this.

--And while that was the highlight throw, it was not without some competition for the title.  Two that stood out where these hole shots that set up Hooper's TD. First to Boutte as they sent Pop Douglas into the flat for the fake bubble screen, then the one he laid right into Hollins' hands in stride up the sideline:

--But if I had to pick a favorite throw that will not get the flowers it deserves, it was this one, dropping back to the goal line to loft it over Diggs shoulder for 18:

--A point my son made is worth noting on this one: Every time Diggs gets his hands on the ball - which was often yesterday as he had 7 catches on 7 targets - he secures it with a grip like he's trying make diamonds out of coal. And I'll add that between the route running, the blocking, the leadership and the ball security, he's exactly the WR1 I'd hoped he be. 

--Odd is this may sound, I sneaky liked the drive that started with that Diggs catch, even though it put no points on the board. With the score 31-13, the Pats were able to put on a finishing kick that took 12 plays and consumed 7:11 of the clock. It was methodical and efficient. They kept moving the sticks. Maye managed a perfectly executed RPO to hit Diggs for a 1st down. He ran a hard count that got a linebacker to show he was coming on a blitz and adjust his protection accordingly, on a play that resulted in hi hitting Henry on an over-the-ball route for another 1st. In the end it got blown up by Kevin Winston coming free off the edge on a safety blitz and forcing a punt. But fighting a war of attrition there and bleeding the clock was exactly what the situation called for there. Well done.

--That trip to the dreaded Blue Tent MASH unit Maye had to take was enough for one season, thanks. While Joshua Dobbs did what career Joshua Dobbses are paid to do and picked up that 1st down and kept the huddle warm for Maye to come back in. I have no idea what kind of tests they could run in the handful of plays Dobbs was out there. Maybe ask "How many fingers am I holding up?" Or ask Maye to draw a clock? All I know is our systems are broken when you have to prove to doctors you have enough wits about you to run an NFL offense, but not the country. Amirite? Heyoooo! [Pause for clapping]:

--This Week's Applicable Movie Quote: "Hooper drives the boat, Chief." - Quint, Jaws

--In an NFL TV landscape where even the prime time telecasts are all two-man booths, do we really need three guys for a 1 PM regional game only New England and Tennessee care about? What I'm really getting at is, as long as we have Devin McCourty, why do we have to be subjected to Charles Davis?

--Finally, it was great to see people from New England take over another stadium after the way Gillette was early in the season. Any time we get to share Masshole Culture with the world, it's a good thing. And I'm sure thanks to fans like this young lady, we'll reestablish our dominance throughout the land once more: