Five things to watch
TAMPA — The Patriots didn’t have as long to stew over Sunday’s loss as their season-opening defeat, and it’s time to find out if they respond with a similar level of urgency tonight when they visit the Buccaneers.
The Pats (2-2) are also trying to avoid falling below .500 this late in the season for the first time since October 2002, which was the only season a Tom Bradyled team has ever missed the playoffs.
Here are five things to watch:
Failure to communicate
This isn't “Cool Hand
Luke,” but can Bill Belichick reach these men? So far, the rampant communication breakdowns have yielded a Patriots defense that ranks 31st in points allowed, last in yards (by 60.6 yards per game, which is also the difference between the 17thranked Jets and 31st-ranked Colts) and last in passer rating (116.5). The latter stat basically means they've turned the combination of Alex Smith, Drew Brees, Deshaun Watson and Cam Newton into Brady. Stephon Gilmore has taken a good share of blame for these woes — and rightfully so — but it takes a heck of a lot more than one guy to yield a defense that ranks near the bottom of the league in virtually every meaningful category. They worked on their communication conundrum by ditching their jersey numbers at practice, a tactic Belichick has used in the past during offseason workouts, which shows just how far he is breaking it down before attempting to build it back up. And now the Patriots have Jameis Winston, Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson on a short week? If the Pats aren't significantly better on a quick turnaround, the defense could be embarrassed on national television.
Job fair
It's difficult to know if Dont'a Hightower is ready for a full workload at inside linebacker, but the Patriots need to put him there. Will they, though? Hightower wore the bulky brace over his sprained right knee Sunday against the Panthers when he only played 58.7 percent of the defensive snaps. If Hightower can't shed the brace, it's unclear if he'd be comfortable enough at inside linebacker, because those braces make it difficult to move laterally in coverage. But if the Pats want better communication, it'd surely help to move Hightower back to the middle in place of Elandon Roberts, give him the headset that has been worn by Kyle Van Noy, and let him go to work. Speaking of new jobs, the guess is Gilmore will keep his as a starting corner, but would it be different if Eric Rowe were healthy? If Gilmore hasn't gotten it at this point (six months of workouts, camps, practices and games), is it realistic to think it'll come together in the 100 hours since the conclusion of the loss to the Panthers?
Above and beyond
For what it's worth, a quarter of the way through the season, Tom Brady's numbers are as good as anyone's right now. He leads the NFL with 1,399 passing yards, 10 touchdowns and no interceptions, and he is second with a 116.6 passer rating. The 40-year-old is the main reason why the Patriots came back against the Texans and why they were even competitive in losses to the Chiefs and Panthers. Until the appropriately maligned defense gets it together, Brady is going to have to keep up this pace (40 touchdowns, 5,596 yards) to give the Pats a chance to stay afloat.
Hit parade
The offensive line surrendered two sacks (not including a coverage sack), four quarterback hits and a pressure Sunday against the Panthers. That's somehow an improvement. The good news is Nate Solder (one hit) looked better after a couple rough outings, and it'd be a surprise if he didn't begin trending in the right direction sooner or later. Joe Thuney still hasn't allowed a sack this season, so Brady's blindside is in good shape at the moment. They better be terrific against the Buccaneers, who somehow have only recorded one sack in three games this season. That's incomprehensible.
Pressure points
Speaking of assaults on quarterbacks, the Patriots' Arkansas tandem of Trey Flowers and Deatrich Wise are becoming more and more fun to watch by the week. Flowers has three sacks, a forced fumble, seven quarterback hits, five pressures and a run stuff. Wise, who has only played 39 percent of the snaps, has two sacks, nine quarterback hits, two pressures, a run stuff, a batted pass and one drawn penalty against the offense. His sack of Cam Newton might've been the defensive play of the game against the Panthers if it weren't wiped out by Gilmore's penalty. Winston has only been sacked five times, so he has proven elusive. But Flowers and Wise have been tough to handle.