New England Patriots and ref (Photo via The Sun)
The New England Patriots might be in store for a rough season in 2024, and it started with their preseason play.
New England has to be having second thoughts about deploying top pick Drake Maye at quarterback if they cannot have better players at the offensive line position.
Drake Maye looks very promising, but the Patriots aren’t ready to support a rookie quarterback.
During the New England Patriots final preseason game against the Washington Commanders.
Their offensive line play is so bad that even NFL referee Shawn Hochuli took a shot at New England’s struggling group.
New England Patriots left tackle Chukwuma Okorafor committed an illegal formation penalty in the first half, which negated an impressive touchdown throw from quarterback Drake Maye to wide receiver K.J. Osborn.
The penalty marked the third such penalty on Okorafor, with all three being for illegal formation.
NFL referee Shawn Hochuli stepped up and destroyed the New England Patriots by saying, “Illegal formation, once again, left tackle No. 77 was lined up in the backfield,” he said, as seen on the NBC broadcast.
DAMN… THE REF TAKES SHOTS AT THE #PATRIOTS OFFENSIVE LINE
“Illegal formation, ONCE AGAIN, left tackle #77 was lined up in the backfield”
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) August 26, 2024
Ouch.
The first half for the New England Patriots’ offensive line was rough. They were whistled for seven penalties.
Things were so bad that veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett exited the game following one series after he suffered a shoulder injury.
He was sacked on the play after New England’s offensive line couldn’t execute a play in front of him.
New England Patriots finished the preseason with a 1-2 record after falling to the Washington Commanders 20-10 on Sunday night.
New England Patriots Need To Save Drake Maye From Terrible Offensive Line Play
New England Patriots offensive linemen are a problem.
Drake Maye might look like the second coming, but he’ll never be able to show it if he can’t be protected.
“I think that the biggest concern for me is not the X’s and O’s of what to do; it’s the lack of discipline that they showed today,” Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo told reporters after the loss, per NESN. “And that’s on all of us, that’s on me. It starts with me. I got to be more diligent and getting on those guys about pre-snap penalties and the rest of the coaches have to do the same. But, the players also have to take responsibility for those pre-snap penalties.”
“We got flagged because we didn’t adjust,” Mayo said. “… If you see (the refs) calling those types of plays, you got to self-correct and get better. We just didn’t do that tonight. We have to gel as a unit. That’s one of those units where you got to be close on the field and off the field and build that trust. It’s a process that we’re continuing to go through.”
The Patriots have a couple of weeks to work on their formations before they open the season at Cincinnati.
