{"id":327,"date":"2024-10-22T07:48:01","date_gmt":"2024-10-22T07:48:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=327"},"modified":"2024-10-22T07:48:01","modified_gmt":"2024-10-22T07:48:01","slug":"all-eyes-on-robert-kraft-as-painful-reality-of-patriots-rebuild-sets-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=327","title":{"rendered":"All eyes on Robert Kraft as painful reality of Patriots rebuild sets in"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

LONDON \u2014 As a crowd of Londoners chanted his name at a packed bar on Saturday night, Robert Kraft had a message for the Patriots fans at Greenwood Sports Pub.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is unbelievable. I came in here and I got inspired and I\u2019ve gotta carry this to the locker room tomorrow,\u201d Kraft said. \u201cI\u2019ll tell you, there\u2019s nothing more important to our family than winning football games.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Sunday afternoon at Wembley Stadium, the only message that made it to the visitors\u2019 locker room was that the Patriots were \u201ca soft football team across the board.\u201d That\u2019s what Jerod Mayo said publicly, at least, after his team\u2019s 32-16 loss to an underachieving Jacksonville team. Behind closed doors, Mayo\u2019s message might\u2019ve had even more vinegar.<\/p>\n

For the second straight season, the Patriots delivered an embarrassing performance on an international stage.<\/p>\n

Last November\u2019s 10-6 slog in Frankfurt, Germany gave way to Sunday\u2019s drubbing in London. The Jaguars didn\u2019t just beat Kraft\u2019s team. They bullied the Patriots. Bleeding the clock with a two-score lead in the second half, the Jaguars ran the ball on 17 consecutive plays because they had so little respect for New England\u2019s run defense.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou talk about what makes a tough football team: That is being able to run the ball, that is being able to stop the run, being able to cover kicks. We did none of those today,\u201d Mayo said.<\/p>\n

The loss gave the 1-6 Patriots their first six-game losing streak since 1993, the year before Kraft bought the team, and now all eyes are on the 83-year-old owner who champions the importance of winning at every turn. Not only are the Patriots not winning, they\u2019re not even playing in competitive fashion. Four of their last five losses have come by more than 15 points.<\/p>\n

So with the painful reality of a rebuild setting in, does Kraft have the patience to stay the course? Or are heads going to begin to roll? It\u2019s tough to say because Kraft\u2019s expectations have been all over the place this season. At the Owners\u2019 Meetings in March, they were quite lofty.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy hope and expectations are to make the playoffs,\u201d Kraft said. \u201cThat\u2019s something realistically \u2013 we have a new leadership team, we\u2019re going to have a lot of young players we don\u2019t know. A lot can happen. We might struggle more than I want. But the good news when you\u2019re running any business is, you try to figure out what the key variables are, and then try to put people in place that you think can react and adapt to what has to happen. I really feel we have a good young team. I just hope we don\u2019t struggle.\u201d<\/p>\n

But now the struggle is real.<\/p>\n

The Patriots \u2014 who haven\u2019t won a playoff game since 2018 \u2014 are staring down a third straight losing season and this one is poised to be the worst of the bunch.<\/p>\n

Will Kraft have the patience to let things play out? Or does a team that looks increasingly dysfunctional prompt some sort of action? Is there meddling in football ops with either play-caller \u2014 Alex Van Pelt or DeMarcus Covington \u2014 or even a firing somewhere, whether coaching staff or front office?<\/p>\n

While Bill Belichick left the Patriots offense starved for talent just about everywhere, Eliot Wolf and company have whiffed with quite a few of their own Band-Aids. Jacoby Brissett was benched earlier than anticipated as he struggled, Chuks Okorafor left the team, Nick Leverett has been cut, Antonio Gibson ran for four yards on three carries Sunday, Austin Hooper lamented his slow start last week, and K.J. Osborn has fallen down the wide receiver depth chart \u2014 though he did snare a touchdown catch at Wembley.<\/p>\n

As for some of the offensive pieces in the 2024 NFL Draft class, Ja\u2019Lynn Polk has been making headlines for the wrong reasons, Caedan Wallace is stuck on injured reserve, Layden Robinson has been in and out of the lineup, and Javon Baker hasn\u2019t played since Week 3; point is, the blame isn\u2019t all Belichick\u2019s roster at this point. There\u2019s plenty to go around.<\/p>\n

However, the promise of Drake Maye could be everybody\u2019s saving grace.<\/p>\n

The No. 3 overall pick looks like he can play, and a locker room that\u2019s all over the place right now seems unified in one thing: They believe in Maye.<\/p>\n

The rookie took another step forward in Sunday\u2019s loss, going 26-of-37 for 276 yards and throwing a pair of touchdown passes. Maye didn\u2019t turn the ball over, only took two sacks, and is clearly trending in the right direction. The offense was at its best when he was standing tall in the pocket and slinging the football. It just looks<\/i> better when Maye is back there.<\/p>\n

Is a better-looking passing game alone enough to convince Kraft his team is on a winning path? While the undermanned Patriots play largely uninspiring football, Maye is the lone source of hope to cling after another lopsided loss in London.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Robert Kraft said there was nothing more important than “winning football games” the night before his Patriots lost their sixth in a row. 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