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  Debate

Debate

Is Jerod Mayo's treatment of Jacoby Brissett justified, or is it time for a change in strategy?

The “Patriots are cooked.” That’s what most fans and analysts make of Jacoby Brissett’s somewhat eyesore of a performance throughout four weeks. The New England Patriots might have a sense of urgency to restore their offense after watching their journeyman quarterback take six sacks in the last game against the San Francisco 49ers.

That’s enough for Mike Florio to sideline Tom Brady’s former teammate and ask the Boston team to “sit his [Brissett’s] a-s down.” The Patriots are on a 3-game losing streak, and for the longest time, the blame for it went to the shabby O-Line. Florio and his colleague can’t watch the fans get “bullied” by Brissett’s performance. Is it time for Drake Maye to take charge?

Should Jacoby Brissett take a backseat?

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The Patriots QB1 is acting a bit Russell Wilson-esque, and not in a good way. He’s been holding on to the ball for too long just to take an unreal number of sacks in a single game. It’s hard to put a finger on what game disappointed us the most. Was it the 24-3 loss to the Jets, or was it the 30-13 loss to the Bay Area team? Well, Michael Holley of NBC had something to say about it.

“No one should have to watch Jacoby Brissett anymore. This is cruel. This is some form of bullying that you got to sit here and watch this, that fans have to watch Jacoby Brissett stand there and hold the football over and over. They are not a great team, and at times I look at the Patriots offensive line, and it reminds me of an expansion team. I’m not even joking,” Holley quipped in a recent installment of the Pro Football Talk.

Before we talk about the porous O-Line, we need to talk about Jacoby Brissett a bit more. The 49ers had an early start to the game, but not because of Brock Purdy. Instead, it was Jacoby Brissett who threw a pick-six in the second quarter, and Fred Warner returned it for a touchdown. Moreover, his 32 PFF grade for the last game was the second worst of his career.

Despite all this, HC Jerod Mayo has no doubts about Brissett’s quarterbacking abilities because, in his eyes, the journeyman QB is doing a “good job” while displaying “toughness and dependability.” But maybe people want to see a different story unfolding in Foxborough. They want to see their third overall pick ball out when the lights are shining bright.

Michael Holley chimed in on this and said that Brissett is being “lauded” for his failed efforts to keep the ball safe. “Drake Maye, your number three overall pick gives you a better chance of making an unexpected play than Brissett, who just doesn’t want to make a mistake, so he holds the ball gets sacked and then is being lauded for being tough enough to get back up when he either makes a mistake or his line makes a mistake.”

What’s your perspective on:

Is Jerod Mayo's treatment of Jacoby Brissett justified, or is it time for a change in strategy?

Have an interesting take?

Clearly, the New England Patriots have an advantage if they bring in Drake Maye against the Miami Dolphins, who are also struggling with their offense and lost Tua Tagovailoa to a concussion. It was apparent after watching Tyreek Hill go on a tirade on the sidelines. They are also a team that lost their last three games. However, the Pats doing better will depend on their O-Line, to which the Patriots have made some changes. But would they be huge enough to make a difference in the eyes of the world?

The New England Patriots find an answer to their shabby O-Line

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The unsettling thing about all this is that after 4 weeks and 3 consecutive losses, the Patriots’ total offense ranked dead last in the NFL. It’s the same case with their passing offense, dead last. Even more horrendous is the fact that they rank second in sacks allowed (17). So, as they headed to play against the Dolphins, they brought in veteran lineman Jesse Davis for a workout.

via Imago

They resorted to bringing Davis in after Vederian Lowe, David Andrews, Caedan Wallace, and Michael Jordan were listed as questionable before the week 5 game against Miami. However, Jesse Davis being permanent on the Patriots roster is still not confirmed. Maybe his 72 career starts will make a huge difference in the uphill climb that the Patriots face going forward.

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Things seem a bit more serious after hearing what Pats RB Antonio Gibson had to say after the Niners game. Per him, the players got home at around 4 AM ET and reported to practice the next day at 1 PM for a mandatory running. As a result, they didn’t get a much-needed day off to take care of their bodies. Clearly, there’s trouble brewing in paradise.