#PostPulpit Mailbag: What’s been wrong with the playoff offense?

For the first time since 2019, the New England Patriots are back in the Super Bowl. After a win over the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game, attention has now turned to the Seattle Seahawks with two weeks to prepare.

So before New England heads out to California, let’s get into this week’s #PostPulpit Mailbag.

Given the lack of offense in the post-season, how much of that falls on the execution and how much falls on the play calling? – MTDreaming

It’s been a bit of both, and also would add the defensive talent they’ve played, weather in all three games, and now maybe Drake Maye’s shoulder injury as key factors.

In Denver, it largely came down to execution as Maye uncharacteristically left plays on the table due to inaccuracy. That included some low misses to Kayshon Boutte while he also didn’t seem to trust his eyes at times. The biggest miss was in the red zone after a long drive to start the second-half, as Maye pulled a ball down and took a sack with Hunter Henry uncovering for a third-down touchdown.

Another thing that has given New England’s offense issues is the attention put on Stefon Diggs. Similar to the Chargers game, the Broncos dropped bodies to bracket the veteran wideout especially on third-down.

Although Seattle doubled Puka Nucua at times last week, they often trust their guys in coverage which could free up Diggs to make a larger impact. If not, New England’s other pass catchers will need to win — as well as the offensive line, as breakdowns in pass protection also took plays off the board vs. Denver — and Maye will need to do a better job of getting them the football.

The question on everyone’s minds:

Where do we attack this Seahawks team on offense and defense? They appear to me (very casual analysis) that their offense runs through JSN. Is this accurate? And how do we contain him so that we can force Darnold into tougher decisions with the football? – LandenPatz1

It’s still early in our scouting report process and we’ll have plenty of more in-depth breakdown next week. But upon some initial research and film study here is where we’re at.

On offense, It starts with blocking Mike Macdonald’s pressure package that led to the Seahawks ranking fourth in team pressure rate (38.9 percent) despite finishing 25th in blitz rate. If it can be blocked up front, Seattle has given up a fair share of explosive plays downfield — with Matthew Stafford 7-of-11 for 226 yards and a touchdown when targeting the deep area of the field in the NFC Championship Game.

Over the playoffs, New England has struggled to generate explosives against a gauntlet of good defenses. That will need to change in order to put up some points against the No. 1 ranked unit.

“That’ll be critical,” head coach Mike Vrabel said. “Our ability to create some of those X-plays that maybe we haven’t had as many of and we’ve had in previous games. Whether we hand it off, we’re going to need to gain some chunks, and if we throw it, we’re going to need to do the same.”

One other thing we plan to diver deeper into before kickoff: how will a Seattle team that lives in nickel due to talented safety Nick Emmanwori matchup vs. the Patriots six o-line package?

Defensively, for as good as Jaxon Smith-Njigba is, slowing down Seattle starts with stopping the run. While Sam Darnold made plays through the air against the Rams, the Seahawks ran the ball at one of the highest rates this season while living under center and sequencing run action at a high rate.

Slowing down Kenneth Walker and protecting the edges in their zone run scheme will be key, while the Patriots interior pass rushers can then feast on a weaker interior offensive line.

Also, don’t forget special teams and electric returner Rasheed Shaheed. He can flip games, and it would not be a surpirse to see the Patriots kick away from him in a similar fashion as Marvin Mims last week.

What was up with Baringer in Denver? He had me longing for Kenny Walter. People were saying it was by design, but that was scary bad. – NMPatsfan

Speaking of the punts, I’d think Baringer would have liked to have some of his first-half punts back. But the second-half game plan was clear: don’t let Marvin Mims touch the football. At that point — with the way the Patriots defense was playing and with the conditions (which also raised the punting difficult — especially in the fourth quarter going into the wind) — they knew the only way Denver could score was a defense/special teams touchdown. They then opted to keep the ball away from Mims.

It was encouraging that Campbell had a better day against Denver, but it seems like our best lineup has Ben Brown at LG. Against yet another talented D line anchored by Leonard Williams in the middle, is there any chance at all that Brown sees the field over Jared Wilson (barring an injury)? – Wait for it…

If they didn’t do it after Wilson’s injury they are not going to do it now. Wilson has settled down in pass protection since his return but struggled to get much movement as a puller in the run game against Denver — but had nice blocks on two 10-plus yard runs. I’d probably stick with him at this point considering this would be Brown’s first action since Week 18.

Any sense at all why Henderson isn’t returning kickoffs? He’s clearly just a change-of-pace back this postseason and it’s too late to be protecting him with everything on the line. He’s far better than any other returner and just might break one. – ed.liebfried

While he has continued to practice there, they removed him from the in-game return spot once Rhamondre Stevenson suffered a toe injury and running back depth was limited. Now in a one-game season for the Super Bowl, would think it’s a possibility he returns to that role.

Should Tom Brady be expecting a one year wait for induction to Canton? Or is this more about BB’s behavior? We all know it had nothing to do with performance. – 1stStateSoxFan

Voters have seemed to point to the flawed voting process and they’ve cast their votes for others who are seemingly overdue. From this point of view, that’s embarrassing and voters should select the most deserving candidate (and nobody is more qualified than Belichick).

As for Brady, he should unquestionably receive all 50 votes. But I wouldn’t be surprised with anything at this point — the voters don’t deserve the benefit of doubt.

What are the Patriots top 3 needs in the offseason/draft this year? – mathblaster97

Nothing like some offseason talk with the team in the Super Bowl. But I do think it’s important that they stay aggressive this offseason to improve the roster regardless of the result. So, my top needs at this point (in no order) would be an edge rusher, young offensive tackle, and a pass catcher.

That’s all for this week’s #PostPulpit mailbag. If you have questions you’d liked to be answered next week, submit them online in our weekly submission post or on Twitter using #PostPulpit. Make sure to be following @iambrianhines and @PatsPulpit as well.