MISSED KICKS, BLOCKS, & OPPORTUNITIES: Struggles Continue for Patriots in Win #1

Below are a few notable takeaways as the Patriots got their first win of the 2023 season:

COLE’S NOT STRANGE, HE JUST HURT
Man, there weren’t many positives in Cole Strange’s performance against the Jets. He got shoveled out of the way like he was the practice sled. There were reps where he was lifted backward three times on the same block attempt. The eye test showed that Strange had almost no strength at his disposal. The young lineman was not getting bullied this hard at any point last year, so what changed? My guess is he’s still pretty hurt. Strange suffered an injury at the beginning of the offseason training program. In addition, the Patriots faced several of the NFL’s best defensive fronts over their first three games. I hope that with more games played, Strange can get up to speed quickly. **As I edited this article, Cole Strange was ruled OUT of the Week 4 game against Dallas due to a knee injury. Womp-womp.

THE ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS OF SIGNING A ROOKIE KICKER
Bill took the rookie kicker Chad Ryland over current Titans K Nick Folk. It was quite a decision, as Ryland’s accuracy was spotty throughout his debut training camp. Yet, I understand the methodology. He cut Folk as if to say to Ryland, “Look, if you miss a kick or two, you’re not going to get cut”. The pressure is not on the team to compete this year — that much is evident. Hopefully, Ryland will gain most of his kicking experience in relatively meaningless moments. The rookie will be a good player by season’s end, but his accuracy remains an issue. 2/4 on FGs is not going to cut it if this team expects to win many games, especially with a Patriots offense that has struggled to score touchdowns consistently since before the 2019 divisional round. That said, the conditions in Jersey were pretty awful — I’ll reserve judgments until there’s a bigger sample size available.

GOOD GOD, GET GESICKI GOING!
Mike Gesicki’s averaging roughly three targets a game. Against the Jets, he caught his sole target for a nice gain and first-down conversion. To the fans who want Gesicki more involved in the offense, I hear you. He beat the hell out of us in his time with Miami. Mike Gesicki’s problem is that he came to a team where the #1 offensive option has been the TE1 Hunter Henry. They feature workhorse running-back Rhamondre Stevenson in a system that emphasizes hard-nosed football. You can see how it’s hard for Mike to generate catches under these circumstances. The Patriots have an underachieving WR room filled with players who still expect to receive the ball. The Patriots coaches need to decide which receivers will be the main focus of the passing game. Players like Mike have to step up, and coaches need to make tough decisions.