All it takes is one win to get the excitement brewing about the 2024 Patriots.

In this week’s mailbag, we hit a variety of topics from Drake Maye’s practice reps, to Rhamondre Stevenson’s workload and updated expectations for this year’s Patriots’ squad.

Let’s get right into them.

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@littleashtag
How do the Pats get the passing game going?

I think it could be a challenge with Jacoby Brissett at quarterback and the offensive line allowing a 44.8% pressure rate.

But the key is to make the opposing team fear the run and stack the box. That should make life easier for Brissett to get the ball to his wide receivers and tight ends.

Brissett obviously likes throwing to tight ends. We saw it throughout training camp when he was targeting Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper and in Week 1 when the two players combined for 49 yards on four catches. The key to big plays is getting wide receivers DeMario Douglas, Ja’Lynn Polk and Tyquan Thornton more involved.

Hopefully, when Brissett reviewed the film from Week 1, he saw when Douglas and Polk were getting open and is able to hit those players in those same spots moving forward.

@SoxPatsCsplswin
At what point do the patriots have to start managing rhamondres workload? 28 touches week 1 is a significant amount

I think the Patriots are realistic that Rhamondre Stevenson won’t have nearly 500 touches by the end of the season. But at the same time, they couldn’t pass up the opportunity to win that game against the Bengals.

If the Patriots truly do intend on being a run-first team, they need to either build up trust in Antonio Gibson to get 10-to-15 touches to spell Stevenson or to find a running back that they can depend on as a backup.

I think Gibson can do it, but he wasn’t nearly as effective in Week 1 as Stevenson, averaging just 2.6 yards per carry.

One thing that could help would be to give Gibson many of Stevenson’s receiving reps.

But honestly, this problem will solve itself. I don’t expect the Patriots to be playing from ahead and in control of many games this season. It is worth noting the Patriots gave Stevenson a veteran rest day on Wednesday when he was limited in practice. So, that’s one way they’re already managing his workload.

@SheepFf
After seeing the success of the defense getting pressure on Sunday, what’s your W/L looking like for the Patriots this year? Do you think the D keeps them in enough games to make up 5/6/7 wins?

Heading into the season, I had the Patriots going 4-13. I’ll adjust that to 5-12 after the Week 1 win over the Bengals. If the Patriots can beat the Seahawks in Week 2 – and depending on how they come out of that game – I would significantly increase my win projection.

I’ll say that expectations are still tempered within certain parts of the building. I’ve spoken to people who still believe that wins will be few and far between.

@TPJ_Sports
Hey Doug, Drake Maye is getting more reps with the starters as a backup more than any typical backup qb, do you see Drake Maye playing this year ?

I don’t know the exact percentage of snaps he’s getting in practice, but a source told me that Drake Maye is still receiving a “good amount” of first-team reps, even though he’s the backup behind Brissett. I think that’s a good sign that the team is still trying to develop Maye to start this season.

@Toxic_LDR
Doug, what do you see Sidy Sows role being when he comes off injury? Business as usual? Or do you think that Layden and Caeden (h/t @BaldyNFL for the terminology) provide a better OLine picture?

I’d expect Sidy Sow to remain the Patriots’ starting left guard when he returns from his ankle injury. He’d be doing a 1-for-1 swap with Michael Jordan, and it wouldn’t affect playing time for rookies Layden Robinson and Caedan Wallace.

I think it’s telling that Jordan remains on the practice squad despite being an every-down starter in Week 1. If Jordan was going to be the continued starter moving forward, then he probably wouldn’t be on the practice squad.

@LTizzel32
Hey Doug, how much better do you feel the offense is this year? Last year and the year before that it seemed almost impossible to score more than 14 points.

It’s one game, so I’m not trying to overreact, but I don’t think the improvement from Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe to Jacoby Brissett can be overstated, and it’s something I really harped on last week.

Brissett is not one of the top starting quarterbacks in the NFL. He’s far from it. But he also isn’t going to wreck gameplans with turnovers like Jones and Zappe did.

So, it starts with the quarterback. And the offensive line, while imperfect, was not as bad as many expected in Week 1. So, that helps, as well.

@ChefdDds89
Is Layden Robinson their future fixture at LG or RG? And do they still want to get Onwenu back to guard?

I believe Robinson is being viewed as a fixture at guard. That’s the way head coach Jerod Mayo has spoken about the rookie, saying he has the potential to be special.

@dpeezyjr
With the o line issues why haven’t the pats brought in La’el for a workout he has to be better than what they have ?

I think the easy answer here is that the Patriots don’t believe free-agent offensive lineman La’el Collins is better than what they have. Collins is a guard at this point in his career, and the Patriots already have a multitude of options in that spot.

@patriotslatam
Are the silver pants definitely back? Or just for one game?

The silver pants that the Patriots will wear in Sunday’s game are not intended to be a permanent change, a spokesperson told me. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. The silver pants look great with the blue jerseys.

@BenjaminnSmithh
All time favorite patriots game?

Three stand out: Super Bowl XLIX, Super Bowl LI and the divisional-round game after the 2014 season against the Ravens.

I’ll go Super Bowl LI. What an incredible game and week down in Houston.

@heyrichhey
Why does your Pats Chat co-host hate 311? #Chill

Now’s a good time to tell you to subscribe to the Pats Chat Podcast wherever you listen to your podcasts, whether that’s iHeart, Apple, Spotify or YouTube. Rich, I’m sorry to disappoint, but I agree with my friend and podcast co-host Michael Hurley that 311 is not a good band.