I’m still thinking about that Seattle game.

I’ve read the good, the bad, the ugly. The calls for Josh McDaniels’ head. The people already deciding Drake Maye stinks. It is worth remembering that it is September. Week 1. Breathe for a second. As Bill Belichick used to say, September is the new preseason.

But “it’s only Week 1” does not mean we pretend it didn’t happen.
The Patriots controlled almost every traditional number football people love to point at. They held the ball for 8:34 longer than Seattle, ran 19 more offensive plays, and picked up six more first downs.

Unfortunately, they lost the two numbers that mattered most: the turnover battle, 3-0, and the final score, 13-10.
That is where the frustration starts.

A lot of people are already harping on Drake Maye and asking whether he is the guy. Relax, you clowns.
He does have a major issue that needs to be resolved.

Maye has turned the ball over 11 times in his last five games: seven interceptions and four lost fumbles. Eleven is bad enough. It also understates how often the ball has actually been in danger. He has fumbled seven times in that stretch.

Turnovers are a legitimate problem. If Drake wants to be one of the best quarterbacks in football, he has to protect the ball. Multiple-turnover games cannot happen. Hell, the goal needs to be simple: don’t turn the fucking ball over at all.

One small positive Wednesday: he took three sacks and did not put the ball on the ground. That was a problem last year, and he has shown he can make adjustments. Now he has to make the same adjustment with the interceptions.
Vrabel put it plainly: “You can’t get bored making the right decisions.”

He was clearly talking to Drake Maye. Take the easy throw when it is there, even if it is boring.
To be completely honest, though, it also felt like a message for Josh McDaniels and his boring-ass play-calling.

The Drake and Josh partnership got off to a rocky start in Year 2.

If this offense is going to reach its potential, both of them need to give a little. Maye is at his best when he can push the ball, play fast, and make things happen. You have to imagine he watched Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams light up Carolina and wished they played like that versus Seattle.

McDaniels has been one of football’s best offensive play-callers since 2006. I am not joining the crowd pretending otherwise. But he needs a little more of the college game’s killer instinct. When you get a lead, do not just protect it. Try to bury them.

The Patriots took a 10-0 lead into halftime, and McDaniels immediately acted like they were up 50. It became his familiar bag of dives, draws, and slow-developing screens.

Maybe Maye’s limited preseason work contributed to it. The larger frustration is that, after seven months to sit with what Seattle did to this offense in the Super Bowl, New England fell into too many of the same habits.
The problem with playing that way in the modern NFL is that a game can flip in two snaps. You can control the ball for 34 minutes and still be one coverage bust away from losing.

A player like JSN does not need all day to hurt you. He just needs one look without Christian Gonzalez on him. Controlling the clock matters. But it only matters if you keep turning those possessions into points.
Whether you love or hate Lane Kiffin, his leaked halftime speech from LSU-Clemson gets at my biggest ask for the Patriots.
LSU was up 31-3 when Kiffin told his team: “You send them a fucking message. Who the fuck is on their schedule? They have to play you. And don't think we lighten up late.”
They won 51-10.

That is the mentality I need the Patriots to have.
When Josh McDaniels has a lead, there is always a part of you waiting for the other team to get back in it. You are a couple of three-and-outs away from anxiety. The frustrating part is that his offense has also shown it can score when it has to. New England blew a 21-point lead to Buffalo last year. The very next week, they had to claw their way back against Baltimore.

So coach like you are down. Keep your foot on the fucking pedal until the game is over.
As they turn toward Pittsburgh, I need to see this offense and this team find that killer mentality. Come out aggressive. Play like the game is never safe. Make Pittsburgh deal with you.

Full preview later this week.