We’re running a mailbag every Sunday morning during the season. If you have questions on the Patriots, NFL, or want gripe about past answers, email cmason@masslive.com or tweet @bychrismason. Now let’s get to this week’s questions!
Is recently-released Odell Beckham Jr. a fit with the Patriots offense? — Tom G.
I don’t see it.
As it stands, Mac Jones is taking strides and gaining confidence every week. He’s been making good decisions with the football and spreading it around. The last thing he needs at this point in his development is a look-at-me receiver demanding more targets. As it stands, Jakobi Meyers is the only player on the roster being targeted more than six times per game. That’s a good thing.
On Friday, ESPN did a deep dive on what went wrong in Cleveland, and there was one particularly revealing quote about Beckham’s hand in Baker Mayfield’s regression.
“Odell is in his head, and (Mayfield) is pressing every time (Beckham) is around,” a Browns source told ESPN. “Odell throws him off . ... and it gets all (expletive) up from there because Baker becomes indecisive.”
If that’s happening with an established NFL starter and former No. 1 overall pick like Mayfield, it could be even worse with a rookie quarterback like Jones.
The Patriots have a good thing going on offense. They’re growing together and seemingly getting better by the week. At this point, I don’t think it’s worth throwing an Odell Beckham Jr. wild card into the deck — especially when you consider he only has 40 catches over the past two seasons.
Is it okay to have playoff aspirations or do we need to see what the Patriots’ record is after playing the Falcons? — Samuel F.
By all means, aspire away. That’s what makes sports fun, right?
Of course we’ll know more after this three-game stretch, but the Patriots have shown enough at this point to be optimistic. At 4-4, they’ve taken two of the league’s elite teams to the wire in losses — Tampa Bay and Dallas — and pulled off their best road win of the post-Tom-Brady era in Los Angeles last weekend.
And the AFC is pretty wide open.
Now, I’m not saying it’s time to plan a parade route — three of New England’s four wins have come against Houston and the Jets — but a playoff push? After seeing what we’ve seen to this point, it’ll be disappointing if they’re not playing on Wild Card Weekend.
Are the Patriots ever going to name a defensive coordinator? — Miller
They have to eventually, right? ...right?
This isn’t the first time that Bill Belichick hasn’t named a coordinator, but it is the longest he’s gone without one in New England. At some point, one of these guys will earn the title.
As an aside: Among the fanbase, it’s amusing that Belichick seems to get all the credit when the defense plays well, while Steve Belichick gets all the blame when they struggle. It reminds me a little of the Tom Brady/Josh McDaniels dynamic from a few years ago. If you flipped on sports radio, when the offense was firing on all cylinders it was because Brady is the best ever, and when they weren’t it was always because “Josh is getting too cute with the play calls!”
Talk about a no-win situation for those two.
Can the offense throw 30-plus times and win in Carolina? Or do they have to establish the run? — Ethan
Run, run, run.
Carolina has been really good against the pass this year — at 188 yards per game, they’re second to only the Bills — and that was before Stephon Gilmore really got into the mix.
Of course, game situations often dictate play-calling. If the Patriots fall behind by a couple scores, they’ll have to pass. But running with Damien Harris should be a point of emphasis right off the bat. He’s been terrific lately and it’s a recipe for success on the road.
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Patriots mailbag: Is Odell Beckham Jr. a fit with Mac Jones and the New England offense? - MassLive.com
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