Giardi: Mike's Musings on the Patriots bringing their identity here, there and everywhere

"We talked about bringing a belief in our identity. Believing that under any circumstances we were going to win a football game – that's what we talked about before we left. We said we needed to pack two things. We needed to pack our belief and our identity. I feel like we did."

Yes, Mike Vrabel, your team did that in Baltimore, as it has all season. That’s not to say it was perfect, because of course it wasn’t. But the Patriots continue to find ways to win, be it big, small, or somewhere in between. It's been a minute since the Patriots have been that team. 

On to Musings...

NICE LIST

The tape revealed this wasn’t the best game of Drake Maye’s season (a few too many turnover-worthy plays), but it was still pretty damn good. After struggling against man coverage in recent weeks, the second-year pro chewed it up like a hungry man at the buffet. He challenged the Ravens' secondary by not only pushing the ball down the field but also attacking the intermediate areas with accuracy and touch. Maye had that going all evening, but took it to a higher level in the final quarter (12-of-14, 139 yards). 

You could tell this meant a little more to Stefon Diggs from his very first reception. Maybe it was the talk of December Diggs, or maybe it was just being in primetime again, but the 32-year-old played like he was in the prime of his career. A pair of explosives, a critical 4th down conversion, and an infectious energy led to his best outing since week five in Buffalo. Diggs skillfully navigated zone (6 catches) but also made the Ravens pay in man (3 catches, 63 yards). Put this version of the wideout on ice until January.

Maybe I should have just included Mack Hollins and Kyle Williams in the above graph with Diggs. Hollins is in Maye’s trust tree. He had drive starters and extenders, and showed just how fearless he is on those deep digs, exposing ribs and back every time he leaves his feet. Yet, Hollins does it. In some ways, he’s become a more athletic version of Hunter Henry. As for Williams, the touchdown catch would have gotten him on the ‘nice list’ all by its lonesome, but he drew a holding call and caught a slant, which isn’t something he and Maye have been successful at. 

Cory Durden and Khyiris Tonga both did well. For the latter, it was a bounce-back from his performance against the Bills. He had three tackles, a run stuff, and a QB pressure. But his second injury in a month cost him the final 2.5 quarters, and I have questions about his availability for this weekend. As for Durden, I had him down for two run stuffs and two QB pressures. Not too shabby, and if they can get Milton Williams back to pre-injury form (he’s eligible to come off the IR this week), he’ll have more juice with fewer reps.

I wouldn’t say K’Lavon Chaisson had a good game, but his punchout essentially ended the night. As I’ve said before (and will below), he’s exploitable in certain areas but that’s more about the depth the Pats have assembled (or not, as it were). Still, that was a huge play to preserve the victory. “If you ever watch the speed skater roll, how they kind of move in their body figure, it’s kind of how a couple of ball carriers move with the ball,” he said postgame. “We already knew that was going on. A couple of guys put it on film already. So, we’re going out there and [trying to] make that play.”

TreVeyon Henderson’s injury put Rhamondre Stevenson on the field for 84% of the snaps, and he gave the Pats everything he had. His touchdown run was an excellent read of the blocking scheme, and where the hole opened up (a nice little jump cut to get to where he needed to go), and he turned a checkdown into a 23-yard gain by shaking Alohi Gilman and then stiff-arming him. Stevenson has been running like the player he was a couple of years ago, and his blitz pickup was sharp (one pressure allowed).

NAUGHTY LIST

The Ravens may have been dumb enough to keep Derrick Henry on the bench in the 4th quarter because of their running back rotations (Henry 66.7% success rate on Sunday, Keaton Mitchell 20%), but they weren’t too stupid to attack the Patriots’ edges. Chaisson remains a target, but Harold Landry’s limitations are showing up more and more. Elijah Ponder was also victimized on Henry’s 23-yard run, while Jahlani Tavai got 15 snaps as an edge setter, and it was a mixed bag. Yeah, I know Chaisson forced that fumble at the end, but he’s as much miss as he is hit against the run. 

The left side of the offensive line had all sorts of problems in this one. Vederian Lowe and Jared Wilson were responsible for a half-dozen pressures each, and Lowe allowed a sack. The two struggled with some of the interior games the Ravens were playing (the right side had a few issues as well), but also had problems in 1-on-1 matchups. I didn’t feel like Lowe was moving his feet as well as we’ve seen him, and on the interception, both he and Morgan Moses on the other side appeared late to move at the snap (which may have been partly why their responsibilities met at the quarterback). All in all, the Pats’ line was responsible for 10 QB hits. 

I didn’t like Kayshon Boutte’s effort on the interception. He seemed unaware and didn’t have a good sense of where he was on the field. Throw in the OPI (kind of a horsecrap call), and sorry, this is what you get. Not quite coal in the stocking, but not diamonds either. 

Jack Gibbens played every defensive snap for a second straight game, and while there are legit moments where he makes his presence felt - he truly is a smart football player - there were two missed tackles (could argue a third), and he was in the middle of all three of Henry’s big runs. 

Vrabel may be the architect of this program that already has 12 wins, but I did not like the fake punt. Not one bit. 4th and 10? Against Tyler Huntley? In this economy? Illogical. Were it 4th and short, I’d have given him a little more rope. But Marte Mapu’s first and only option, Jack Westover, was covered. So what, exactly, was plan B? I’ll tell you - panic. Vrabel has pressed the right buttons over and over this year. The button for this decision should have been, “NO.”