Wellington himself said the mere sight of Napoleon on a battlefield was worth 40,000 men.
And he’d know; he finally ended Bonaparte’s career.
Yet at his funeral, Tennyson wouldn’t shut up about what a great leader Admiral Nelson was.
Leadership is a sort cult of personality that motivates others to sacrifice for some greater good.
–Moreover, you know it when youdon’tsee it.
And right now your New England Patriots are not getting it.
That’s a hard criticism, indeed.
But it’s not coming from me.
It’s coming from the man who was hired to lead them:
That’s a tough indictment.
And you’re free to argue why this is and what factors led to it.
But what’s not up for debate is the hard fact that they’re soft.
It’s demonstrable at this point.
None of which they are doing.
Those seven rushes netted a total of one yard.
The last time they gave less than 130 rushing yards was Week 2.
I’m not saying this is a collection of - Mayo’s word, no mine - soft individuals.
Why are you hitting yourself?"
and they’re helpless to make it stop.
–And quite honestly, the coaching staff could stand to be a lot more mentally tough.
Then we got the usual Fall Beer Assortment 12-pack of unforced mental errors.
Demario Douglas with an illegal shift on the opening drive.
An Onwenu false start on 3rd & 10.
Now we’re on the business end of the point.
Having a hard ass is better than being the butt of the joke.
–I think going deeper into the topic of their 2-ply softness is a subject for another blog.
For now let’s stick to talking about this game.
In fact, let’s take a Positivity Break, because I could really use it.
Because if nothing else is going right (hint: it’s not), he is.
It’s not perfect.
(I’m issuing a BOLO for Tyquan Thornton, if anyone can remember what he looks like.)
But at no point in his two starts has he looked like he doesn’t belong.
Like they’re throwing at him anything he hasn’t seen or any concept he can’t grasp.
The footwork everyone was understandably so concerned about is no longer a concern.
speechevery time he walked off the field on 4th down.
This team is not totally without leadership.
–But I’m burying the lede.
Because Maye’s best sequence was moving the ball 65 yards in two plays.
First a 32-yard heater to Henry.
It was all just risk-aversion.
Hitting someone on the 5 and hoping he can shed tackles.
Even if it’s considered cultural appropriation, I’ll allow it.
It’s just a lot of putting Douglas or the running back into motion.
Putting Maye under center on rushing downs and in the gun on passes.
The reads seem to be from top-down, meaning deep routes to checkdowns.
The screen game is still such a disaster it qualifies for FEMA money.
So I’ll take that as a win?
–That felt good.Namaste.
Now let’s switch to the defense, because we can’t live in a ridiculous yoga trance.
Who could’ve seen this coming after the job they did against Cincinnati in Week 1?
They gave up 32 points to a team that was averaging 18.3 coming in.
With 4.4 yard per rushing attempt, 6.2 yards per play, and 23 1st downs.
–I say again, Jacksonville made adjustments and the Patriots simply didn’t have a counter.
They were outmatched across the board.
No one capable of filling the cutback lanes of the Jaguars inside zone running scheme.
But the Pats were busy trying to disguise coverage.
It’s an example of the kind of thing that looks super clever when it works.
But when it gets blown up, it just comes across as desperate.
Like you’re trying to hide your weaknesses.
–Speaking of which, Tavai seemed like one of those real success stories.
But now the limits of that skillset has been exposed.
He’s a quality ILB in a confined area, taking on lead blocks and stuffing runs.
Once you get him into open space, he’s a liability.
Which teams are doing.
On the Jags first possession of that disastrous 2nd quarter, they began targnting him.
First on Gabe Davis on a shallow cross.
Then on a Cover-1 beater deep slant to Charlie Kirk that went for 24.
He’s a limited athlete.
I’ll workshop it.)
–One who isn’t would be Keion White.
In fact, he only saw 42 of the defense’s 61 snaps.
If he was injured, or limited somehow, fine.
But there was no announcement.
Just a total lack of pressures and an inability to set the edge from the defensive ends.
Just call me curious.
I don’t know how many times Gonzo was in solo coverage on him.
It’ll be fascinating to see how well he bounces back against Garrett Wilson next week.
–I don’t know when I’ve ever liked an NFL online grid game broadcast this much.
Breaking down the line play especially.
It might just be that I was on coffee instead of IPAs.
But it was Certified Fresh [tm] on Thornton Tomatoes.
–This Week’s Applicable Movie Quote: “Look at me.
Here I sit in a porno theater in Picadilly Circus talking to a corpse.”
David,An American Werewolf in London
–Thanks for reading.
And for all the support I’ve received regarding my family.
Thanks especially to my bosses who told me to take all the time I need.
Today, what I really needed was to Knee Jerk React to a Pats game.
My brother would’ve wanted me to.
