Scouting Report: New England Patriots - Q&A: Bill Belichick, Cam Newton, and N'Keal Harry

Discussing with r/Patriots about their team, ahead of Sunday's game in Foxborough.

Oct 25, 2020

Episode 7 of our Q&A series for all of the 49ers opponents - this time, it is fanbase of the New England Patriots that we get feedback from. Hearing other fans perspectives is humbling and also the most accurate way to get a perspective on the team we face tomorrow. Our questions are answered from the r/Patriots subreddit. Special thanks to everyone who participated, not just the people cited in responses below! Loved seeing all the interaction. Check out the original post here.

Who’s one player flying under the radar that’s having a breakout season? Similarly, who is the most overrated player?

u/mattsparrow

Adrian Phillips is flying under the radar as a hybrid LB. He’s on pace for like 100 tackles

u/MonkeyNoShoes

Chase Winovich and JC Jackson have been completely dominant for the past couple of years, and no one really talks about them outside of Patriots fans.

u/bosoxlover12

For actually under the radar -- Damiere Byrd.
As the X receiver in the offense, has been the Patriots #1 most used wideout as he'll play in both pass and run sets. Jules comes out when we go to just 2 WRs on the field, and often we've subbed in Zuber for Harry in those sets as well.
He's exactly what we were looking from Dorsett last year, except Damiere can track the ball well. Due to game script and the propensity to run the ball his stats aren't gaudy, but for someone who many didn't even think would make the roster over Jeff Thomas, Byrd is having a great start to his New England career.

u/TheJackalsDoom

Underrated - JC Jackson. He plays the other side of Gilmore and seems just as sufficient. Hard to say exactly as he's typically dealing with an offense's #2 threat, but he's been asked to handle a #1 and done fine. But Gilly was DPOY, so almost anyone else gets overshadowed, especially at the same position.
Overrated - N’Keal Harry. This offseason you heard SO MUCH about how Cam took him under his wing and gave him extra attention and the big brother treatment. He was going to bring out what Brady couldn't. And yet he's still just as non-impactful. At this point I trust throwing to Jules, Byrd, White and Burkhead more than Harry, 2 of those guys being running backs. Harry is a first round talent, or should I say first round pick.

The Patriots never have a shortage of defensive talent - Bill Belichick is a wizard when it comes to finding late round to mid round defensive talent.

What weakness on your defense concerns you most when playing the Niners? Similarly, what weakness on the offense concerns you when playing the Niners?

u/suchcoldsuchcomfort

Lack of size on the defensive line. Even though you are injured in many key positions, it can be very effective to run against us by stretching us to the outside. I was also really concerned at how we weren't chipping anyone off the line last week. That led to some pretty crucial open catches.
As much as I love just running all the time, we're going to have to keep you honest. Being able to pass has to improve. We can't just run it all the time, because it isn't conducive to winning football in the playoffs. We gotta keep it somewhat balanced.

u/PatricksPub

What weakness on your defense concerns you most when playing the Niners?
For me it is LB. We have none.

Despite having no good LBs, the Patriots are ranked top 5 in defense vs. TEs - a big deal considering they play the best TE in the game, George Kittle, tomorrow. However, the 49ers can gash the Patriots in the run game with their dominant OTs and speed to the EDGE - but not having Raheem Mostert is a big blow.

If you could pick one player from the 49ers to “steal”, who would it be and why? Factor in team needs.

u/MonkeyNoShoes

Kittle in a heartbeat.

u/suchcoldsuchcomfort

Offense I say we steal Kittle. Because we need a receiving and blocking threat.
Defense I would love to take Armstead or Warner. Leaning towards the edge with Armstead.

No contest here. The Patriots clearly miss Rob Gronkowski.

Strongest and weakest position group on the team?

u/suchcoldsuchcomfort

Our secondary is obviously talked about a lot.
But honestly, I feel like the real key to our success is the offensive line. I think we have plenty of strong people there. Just gotta get healthy.
Weakest... lol, I'll give you a guess.

u/Nervous-Comfort

Strongest would have to be our secondary. For our weakest it would have to be our linebackers since we only have one real linebacker at the position.

Clearly, the LBs and WRs are a problem for the Patriots, and not having Dont’a Hightower this year is a massive blow. I wonder if we see a move - Bill Belichick is no stranger to late-season acquisitions.

How has Cam Newton fit in so far? As a cultural and schematic fit?

u/Nervous-Comfort

Cam is getting along exceptionally with our team. Him and McDaniels are having a great time, with the exception of last week. Every player on our team has a nickname from the guy already 😂.

u/iscreamuscreamweall

His first 3 games here were great. Denver was bad but most people blame the fact that he was on the COVID list for 2+ weeks and the team hadn't practiced since before KC in Week 4. This Week is the first time they've practiced back to back days since like October 2-3 or something crazy like that.
So we're all hoping that whatever shaky play he had v. Denver is fixed now that he's had a full week of practice and the o-line is fully healthy.

Newton has been a very good fit both scheme-wise and locker room-wise. That means a lot, as teams had concerns about Newton’s health, general skill, and his off-field issues (which personally, were non-existent). Newton is still up there, although clearly not what he was.

The WR issues - Harry was a draft crush of many 49ers fans - what seems to be the problem? And is Edelman really... washed?

u/suchcoldsuchcomfort

Something I try to keep in mind with Harry is expectations. It's not Harry's fault his expectations are high. The Patriots drafted him at that spot. That being said, he seems to be confused sometimes. Has some really unlucky plays. He just hasn't taken the next step that many people seem to think he should.
And I don't think Jules is FULL on washed. He's struggling. Sometimes it looks like he doesn't really care...? I know he does. But his body language feels different over the broadcasts than years past.

u/edboc

Regarding Edelman, he's playing hurt with a knee issue. He's been on and off the injury report with a knee. McDaniels has said to the media that they have been managing the number of snaps he's getting.
Drafting WR has been a weak spot for this team for years, with a few exceptions. Belichick generally doesn't like spending a lot of salary cap resources into a single WR, he generally will bring in a high number of low risk veterans into camp to see who will compete for the roster spots, and generally values special teams versatility over those who don't contribute as much on special teams.
I'm surprised Meyers and Gunner aren't getting more snaps to see if they can contribute in the passing game. The last few games, the passing game has a decent amount of 2 or 3 receiver routes with max protect and no one getting open. They also haven't targeted Asiasi once, and Izzo is a very average TE. Keene has been inactive every game, and Belichick keeps pointing to the lack of the limited training camp and low number of practices as to why the rookies have seen so little time.

So far, the 49ers have picked the best ASU WR - Brandon Aiyuk, not N’Keal Harry. But Harry has plenty of time to turn it around. Julian Edelman has a massive drop issue and while it may be due to a knee issue - it’s clear that Edelman is beginning to decline as the once elite slot WR has lost a step. Does not help that he lost his partner in crime - Tom Brady.

Bill Belichick has made some questionable decisions - Mohamed Sanu, Chandler Jones, etc... are there signs of him losing his touch?

u/suchcoldsuchcomfort

I think Bill is seriously building up for one last run starting next year. I think he wants to see the roster he has compete. There is a lot of young talent here. And obviously we miss out on some veterans. But... I seriously get the feeling like he wants to just compete this season and go in hard for the next few years.
Past this year I could see Bill coaching 2 to 3 more seasons. One last push for some rings.

u/iscreamuscreamweall

Chandler Jones wasn’t really a questionable decision. At the time they couldn't afford paying everyone - I think Gronk, Hightower and DMac were also due some $$$. I don't think Bill has lost his touch at all. He was never good at finding WR's, but he's still finding fantastic O line and defensive players on the regular.

u/TheJackalsDoom

I don't think BB is losing touch. I think gambles that have typically been low risk calculations have just repeatedly been coming up as a bust. It was always one player here and there, lately it's been more frequent. Sanu seemed like a really solid acquisition at the time, who then immediately gets hurt and plays injured the rest of his time here. Michel is good, but when you see the other RBs drafted after him, you wonder what the hell BB saw in him and didn't see in them. TB left it until really late in our offseason to make a decision which screwed us at QB. We're very lucky to of gotten someone like Newton when we did. I think it's just a string of low risk decisions that have put out more of the risk than the reward. We still play a really solid game of football out there, have the lowest penalty rates, are fundamentally sound (when we get guys who've practiced for any meaningful amount of time). We're not that far out of it. I'd say just 1 quality WR and a few weeks of good practice with solid attendance and we're right back to challenging Seattle to within 1 yard, and if we get even more time to develop chemistry, oh buddy. Wilson has had forever with his team to get to where he is. Cam has had the inverse of forever.

While it may seem on the outside that Belichick has not been up to standards in the past years with draft misses and bad trades - it is clear that he has not lost his ability to identify cheap, and undiscovered talent - JC Jackson, Chase Winovich, and more all support this belief.

What should people expect from the Patriots on Sunday, and for the rest of the season?

u/suchcoldsuchcomfort

I hope to God we get back to form running. I think we just need to win a damn game again. Get something going in the season. I think we have to win the division to get into the playoffs. Unless some teams totally collapse those WC spots could be really hard to get, especially with our schedule.
I also hope we can get at least 150 to 200 yards passing.

u/eldojclimbtree

It can go either way. They have looked great and horrible this season. The lack of practice showed vs Denver. If Cam stays healthy and no more Covid problems, I think a 4 seed is the best case scenario. If it goes south, 3rd place in the AFC East.

u/CoachBelichick

A good offense. Quite honestly, I think we're going to have a very, very good offense.
With practice, Cam will fix the mistakes of the Broncos game. We are getting our entire offensive line back which is going to be HUGE. Our running game will probably do well and with that and Cams' mobility it will open up the passing game. More than likely we're going to look at this game afterwards and say something along the lines of "Wow, we actually seem like we have the makings of a good offense, but we it would be huge if we just got a TE/WR" (I have no clue whether our two rookie TEs will be good, so I'm not really sure whether we have to worry too much about TE.)
Still going to be an extremely close game though, as the 49ers outside runs are a huge weakness for our big LBs.

This should be a good game - but the 49ers cannot get giddy from a win vs. the Rams and take their foot off the gas once again. Cam Newton presents a massive problem for the 49ers.

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