There’s no way to look optimistically at what the New England Patriots receivers did on Sunday in their team’s 18-12 loss to the Denver Broncos.
Damiere Byrd finished with three catches for 38 yards, which would be respectable for a WR3 or WR4, but Byrd has been New England’s top wideout, at least when counting snaps, and he played 55 (96%) on Sunday. Julian Edelman was on the field for 75% of offensive snaps, and he had two catches for eight yards. And N’Keal Harry had two targets for zero catches, zero yards and zero touchdowns despite getting 51 snaps (89%).
Newton had a rough day against the Broncos. His receivers didn’t make his life any easier. But he stayed positive about the group following the ugly game. During his weekly appearance on “The Greg Hill Show” on Monday, Newton was asked whether he still has faith in the unit after a tough loss.
“There’s no need to press the panic button. There’s no need to start reinventing the wheel. We have the answers, and I’ll say it again, we have the answers in that locker room.”
Newton added: “I mean, the grass is not always greener on the other side — a wise man once told me that. It just comes down to us producing better and that is playing better, that’s playing situational football better. A lot of times, and mentally looking back at the game, that was just a sloppy display of football. For the first couple of series’, it was just different people taking turns making mistakes. That cannot happen. Offensive football is the ultimate team sport where even one person not doing their job, it shows. I think it showed yesterday.”
Indeed, one might argue that the Patriots offensive performance was a product of poor play from almost every offensive player. Whether it was Isaiah Wynn allowing two sacks, Newton holding the ball too long (and throwing with inaccuracy) or tight end Ryan Izzo failing to separate, the Patriots had offensive players who were struggling to execute all over the field, and it was all interconnected. But if New England is looking for its weakest link, they should probably gaze directly at those pass-catchers. When running back James White is the team’s biggest threat, they have problems.
“Offensive football is the ultimate team sport,” he said. “Just the lackluster performance of not having your head in the right position on a block can be the difference in the gain of two or the gain of 12. For us, we just have to control our narrative and we need 11 guys focusing on one assignment, not one guy trying to focus on 11 assignments. I think if we have that type of mentality, I think we will be good.
“… And we’ll get guys back hopefully and some guys need to mend and heal up. But yet through it all, it is our job as players to produce. I know looking at eye balls in that locker room and competitors as people who just seize the moment and make the most of every opportunity, we will get that job done.”
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