We are now through the first month of the NFL season, and so far it’s fair to say that the reigning Super Bowl champion New England Patriots have disappointed so far. The Patriots stand at 2-2 and second in the AFC East behind the Buffalo Bills. 
The biggest disappointment so far for the Patriots has been the play of the secondary, most noticeably big offseason addition Stephon Gilmore. Gilmore has struggled in coverage and with penalties early this season, including a hands to the face penalty late in the 4th quarter against the Carolina Panthers which helped play a role in the Patriots loss. 

The Patriots other big offseason acquisition in wide receiver Brandin Cooks hasn’t played as big of a role as most expected, but has shown signs of promise. Cooks played a huge role in the Patriots win over the Houston Texans where he had five catches and racked up 131 yards with two touchdowns, including the game winner with twenty-three seconds left in regulation. 

While the Patriots offense hasn’t looked as smooth as it has in years past, they are still performing at a high level with Tom Brady maybe playing his best football yet at age 40. The Patriots struggles so far is solely on the defense and coaching. Through four games the Patriots are allowing 32.8 points per game, which is last in the NFL, a big difference from the 15 points per game the defense let up last year, which led the entire league. 

The Patriots defense will be tested yet again this week when they face off against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday Night. If the Patriots don’t want to move to 2-3 on the season the biggest change they need to make is their defensive scheme and play a tight man defense, rather than the zone they have been playing. Malcolm Butler is one of the most physical and scrappy cornerbacks in the entire league and Stephon Gilmore is one of the bigger corners in the league standing at 6’3. The Patriots need to play to their strengths; which is being physical off the line of scrimmage. Playing a tight man coverage won’t allow quarterbacks to throw underneath and in the middle of the field, and will also allow the Patriots to send extra pressure after the quarterback. The scheme and game plan that defensive coordinator Matt Patricia has been running so far this year hasn’t been working and it’s time to make a change to best fit the strengths of your players, if not Buccaneers’ Jameis Winston and Mike Evans will light up the Patriots secondary this week and opposing offenses will continue to do so throughout the season.