Patriots tried to correct an offensive issue mid-game by moving one of their best players
"He's one of those guys that's a huge disruptor." That's what New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo said about Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jeffrey Simmons earlier in the week. And he wasn't kidding. Simmons was doing his best to try and get passed the Patriots offensive line in an effort to bring down quarterback […]
"He's one of those guys that's a huge disruptor."
That's what New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo said about Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jeffrey Simmons earlier in the week. And he wasn't kidding.
Simmons was doing his best to try and get passed the Patriots offensive line in an effort to bring down quarterback Drake Maye. And he was having some success in the first half that forced New England to make a mid-game change.
Despite starting the game at right tackle, Mayo made the decision to bump Mike Onwenu inside to guard at the end of the half and put Demontrey Jacobs in at tackle instead.
The reason for doing so: Simmons.
"We felt like we needed to match up with one of their best players,” Mayo said. “When you watch the film you’re going to see, the interior of the pocket at times was soft, and we thought putting our best player in there was the best thing to do for the team."
Rookie Layden Robinson started the game at right guard, but the team decided that Onwenu was a better matchup for the Titans veteran.
Simmons finished the game with five tackles and one sack.
"They were hard to handle inside, especially 98 (Jeffery Simmons), and we knew that coming into the game," Mayo stated.
Cohesion among the offensive line has been an issue for the team this season. And because of that, it is bleeding into the run game along with the quarterback's performance.
Maye was sacked four times in Sunday's loss, and was also the team's leading rusher. Rhamondre Stevenson was behind him with only 16 rushing yards, while Maye finished with 95 yards.
There are a lot of issues the Patriots have had to and will continue to address as the season continues, and the offensive line is one of them. That's a key step in improving the run game and giving Maye more time to make a play.
