Patriots Notebook: Zappe, OL Struggle vs. Titans

The New England Patriots have several questions surrounding their offensive line following a dismal performance in their preseason finale against the Tennessee Titans.

Following their 23-7 loss to the Tennessee Titans in their preseason finale on Friday at Nissan Stadium, the New England Patriots will undoubtedly be taking stock into their subpar performance on both sides of the ball — especially on offense.

While there are plenty of areas in which the Pats will seek improvement, a look at some individual performances may assist the team in helping devise effective strategies moving forward. It will also be invaluable in reducing their roster to the required ‘53’ by Tuesday’s roster deadline. 

In that vein, here are a few items from Friday night’s matchup on which New England’s coaches and players may be especially focused. 

Quarterback Quandary

With Mac Jones remaining on the sidelines, Bailey Zappe got the start in what was a frustrating night for the second-year quarterback. The Western Kentucky product finished 8 of 15 for 57 yards. While some of the blame can deservedly be placed on shoddy protection from a makeshift offensive line, Zappe’s difficulty in picking up pressure led to his holding onto the ball for far too long — a problem which has continued to plague him throughout training camp and the preseason. As a result, Zappe fell victim to four sacks, while fumbling three times — one of which came on a strip-sack by defensive end Denico Autry and was recovered by defender Jayden Peevey. 

With reserves Trace McSorley (0 for 1) and Malik Cunningham (0 for 2) seeing limited action, New England’s quarterbacks mustered only eight completions, while being sacked a combined six times.

O-Line - Still - a Problem

With several of their first-team linemen taking the night off, the Pats started a unit consisting of Andrew Stueber at left tackle, Chasen Hines at left guard, Jake Andrews at center, Riley Reiff at right guard and Sidy Sow at right tackle. In addition to surrendering the aforementioned six sacks, several linemen were easily bypassed by their Titans’ counterparts. Stueber particularly struggled, surrendering his second strip sack in as many games. Following Reiff’s exit due to a knee injury in the first half, reserve swing option Bill Murray aligned at right guard. Though Murray performed adequately in his relief role, the line’s inability to hold its positioning prevented both the Pats passing game and running game from gaining any traction. As such, the Pats finished with 79 total yards of offense on just 42 plays. 

Mapu Impressive in Debut

Mapu was one of the few Patriots players to live up to the hype in making his much-awaited. His aggressive style was evident in his four tackles. However, his most notable contributions come from his lining up in various spots on the defensive side of the ball. Throughout the night, Mapu aligned in man coverage, safety zones and as a sub-package linebacker. Though he is officially listed as a linebacker by the Patriots, he played both an off-the-ball role next to Ja’Whaun Bentley, along the defensive line, and both safety (box and free) positions. Mapu’s versatility and multi-faceted skill set should cause future opponents some uncertainty regarding his role on a given play.

Munson Makes His Case

Though he has been teetering on the roster bubble, Munson made a compelling case for the Patriots to retain his services heading into the regular season. He wrapped the night having compiled a team-high 10 tackles (one for loss) and showed great field awareness on his interception of Titans quarterback Malik Willis. The San Diego State product is hoping to extend his third tour of duty with the Pats, after being signed to the Pats scout team in October. He previously spent time on the New England practice squad in 2018 and 2019 and on the 53-man roster in 2021. Though Munson has been a special teams mainstay throughout his pro career, he seems to be aptly settling into a key reserve role within the Pats front seven.

Up Next:  

Following the final roster cut to 53 players Tuesday, the Patriots will officially turn their attention to Week 1 of the regular season. New England hosts the Philadelphia Eagles Sept. 10 at Gillette Stadium. 

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Follow Mike D’Abate on Twitter @mdabateNFL and Listen/Subscribe to his daily podcast: Locked On Patriots

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