New England Patriots vs Carolina Panthers: Game Four Preview and Prediction
By Hal Bent
HOW THE PATRIOTS COULD LOSE:
Obviously, this is on the defense and the offensive line in New England. Those two units have turned what looked like a potential juggernaut in 2017 into just another team trying to figure themselves out and still win games in the first quarter of the season.
The offensive line is intact from 2016 but has not been the same. Left tackle Nate Solder looks like he is still getting up to speed after an injury-plagued offseason and preseason. Right tackle Marcus Cannon missed last week’s game and has not been himself with his ankle injury. In the middle, the three young blockers remain inconsistent and are key culprits in the struggling running game.
On defense, New England is downright baffling. The loss of Hightower gets much of the blame but the scheme drawn-up by Matt Patricia deserves blame as well. The Patriots get little pass rush from their defensive tackles and their edge rushers lack speed and explosiveness (which is what Derek Rivers was drafted to bring before landing on injured reserve). Trey Flower and Deatrich Wise have five of the six sacks through three games.
New England needs to find a way to make quarterbacks more uncomfortable in the pocket as the season progresses. Whether that is Hightower blitzing, letting the other linebackers loose after the quarterback, or getting safety Patrick Chung back to his blitzing ways to disrupt the blocking assignments of the opponents. In short, the conservative defensive style is not working and the Patriots need to get aggressive.