Adjustments New England Patriots Must Make Post-Bye Week

The New England Patriots won't play in Week 9 because it's time for their 2017 bye week. As head coach Bill Belichick recently explained, the time off is much needed.

“Every week it's been a grind, whether it's going back to the preseason scrimmages, whether it's the preseason games. We've been at it here for a long time," Belichick said, per Mike Reiss of ESPN.com.

This doesn't mean, however, that the Patriots are going to spend their bye week loafing. While the players might not engage in intense practices, they'll certainly be asked—along with the coaching staff—to reflect on the season and make some adjustments.

If you've followed New England at all during Belichick's tenure, you know the name of the game is constant improvement. Yes, the Patriots are in a good spot at 6-2, but they want another Lombardi Trophy. That route to 6-2 hasn't always been pretty, and there are certainly areas in which the Patriots can get better.

Whit this in mind, let's take a look at some of the adjustments the Patriots must make coming out of the bye week.

Retool the Quarterback Room

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The first order of business for the Patriots is to retool the quarterback room. No, New England isn't going to replace Tom Brady, but they do need to find him a new backup.

This is because the Patriots agreed to trade away Jimmy Garoppolo on Monday. He was dealt to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a second-round draft pick. This leaves New England with Brady as the only QB on the roster because former third-stringer Jacoby Brissett was traded to the Indianapolis Colts at the beginning of the season.

Julian Edelman has often served as the Patriots' emergency quarterback, but he's out for the year.

New England obviously believes Brady is durable enough to survive the season or else it wouldn't have let go of Garoppolo. However, it can't possibly hope to carry just one quarterback.

One option is Brian Hoyer, the former Brady backup who was released by San Francisco following the Garoppolo deal.

*Update: According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Patriots and Hoyer did indeed agree to a three-year deal on Wednesday.

Improve the Pass Protection

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We've been talking about this virtually all year, but the Patriots have to figure out a way to protect Brady better. Otherwise, he's going to have a hard time staying healthy. He's already been sacked 21 times already, six times more than he was in 12 games last season. This puts him on pace to be sacked 42 times on the year, which would be a career high.

Since the trade deadline has come and gone, adding a top-tier lineman is almost certainly out of the question. Therefore, the Patriots will have to make scheme adjustments during the off week.

Changing up protection packages along the line is option No. 1. If that doesn't seem to be working, New England may also want to consider keeping the running backs and tight ends in to block more.

Altering the game plan to focus more on running the ball is also something that must be considered. While New England isn't grossly unbalanced, the team has attempted 309 passes while rushing just 221 times.

Brady, by the way, leads the NFL in passing attempts.

Get Other Tight Ends Involved in the Offense

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The Patriots traded to acquire tight end Dwayne Allen and signed undrafted free agent Jacob Hollister during the offseason. However, neither has been a significant piece of the offense. Even with Rob Gronkowski missing a game due to injury, the two have combined for just three receptions and 37 yards.

New England needs to get at least one of these players involved in the offense and lighten Gronkowski's workload. The star tight end recently alluded to the fact he may be getting overused in games.

"Some plays here and there, I do good and others I feel like I just don't have it for that one," Gronkowski explained, per Ryan Hannable of WEEI.com. "I've just to play all four quarters, every play, to the max."

Gronkowski has an extensive injury history, and now he may be getting worn out in games. If the Patriots want to have him both available and fresh come playoff time, they need to start getting him some rest.

Get More Creative in the Red Zone

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New England hasn't had much of an issue getting into scoring range. However, it hasn't been actually getting into the end zone as much as anyone on the team would like.

"No question about it," Belichick explained, per Mike Giardi of NBC Sports Boston. "We're giving up too many big plays on defense and can't convert on third down in the red area. Those are two huge issues."

New England scored just one touchdown in four trips to the red zone against the Los Angeles Chargers last week. The Patriots have scored touchdowns on just 50 percent of their red-zone trips this season. Overall, New England has scored 22 offensive touchdowns and attempted 23 field goals.

It's not like the Patriots don't have the weapons to take advantage of red-zone opportunities. Adding some new wrinkles to the red-zone offense should help New England start scoring touchdowns at a higher rate in the coming weeks.

Come Up with New Blitz Schemes

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Pressuring opposing quarterbacks has been an issue over the last couple seasons for New England. The defense was tied for 16th in the NFL last season with 34 sacks and is on pace to produce just 32 this year.

The Patriots run a 4-3 base defense that is supposed to bring pressure from the end positions. The issue is that New England doesn't have an elite edge-rushing end. Trey Flowers led the team with seven sacks in 2016 and is on pace to reach the same number this season.

To put that into perspective, Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett—a guy you might call an elite edge-rusher—has four sacks in just three games this year.

As previously mentioned, the trade deadline has passed. Therefore, the Patriots aren't likely to add quality pass-rushing talent to the roster anytime soon. Good pass-rushers aren't just sitting at home on the couch.

Defensive coordinator Matt Patricia has had to rely on the blitz to bring pressure this season. He needs to come up with some more creative packages in order to make blitzing more effective. If the defense cannot start bringing more pressure, it's going to have a hard time beating elite quarterbacks in the postseason.

Keep Working Advanced Coverages Back into the Defense

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Communication on the back end of New England's defense was a major issue over the first month of the season. It led to a lot of big plays allowed and both of the Patriots' early losses. New England is still ranked dead last in the NFL in pass defense, with an average of 295.5 yards per game allowed.

Over the last month, Patricia simplified his coverage schemes in order to reduce miscommunication and eliminate some of the big plays. To a large degree, it has worked.

The Patriots are still giving up a lot of yardage through the air, but opposing scoring is down big-time. The Patriots allowed an average of 32.0 points per game over the first four weeks of the season, but just 12.8 points per game over the last month.

Patricia started adding some coverages back into the game plan in Week 7 against the Atlanta Falcons, as Bleacher Report's Chris Simms recently noted.

"I saw some new coverages on film against the Atlanta Falcons, which tells me the coaches are more comfortable with the players and their ability to do their jobs," he wrote.

The Patriots need to keep working advanced coverages back into the defense now that players are beginning to pick things up. This would help confuse opposing quarterbacks and would give Patricia more freedom with his blitz scheme. Hopefully, that would lead to fewer yards being surrendered per game.