Matt Cassel: It's time to give Matt Patricia a little credit

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Is it time to give Matt Patricia some credit?

The New England Patriots' offensive play-caller has been the subject of plenty of criticism since rejoining the coaching staff. Given Patricia's lack of experience as an offensive coach, many questioned why Bill Belichick would give the keys to the offense to a defensive mind who went 13-29-1 as head coach of the Detroit Lions.

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Those questions were warranted after a brutal Week 1 loss to the Miami Dolphins. But since then, the Patriots offense has steadily improved even with starting quarterback Mac Jones sidelined due to an ankle injury. On Sunday, Patricia and Co. steamrolled his former team, 29-0.

Should we praise Patricia for how he's fared as a play-caller in recent weeks? Former Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel thinks so.

"I think there was a tremendous amount of pressure coming into this season, deservedly so," Cassel said on Patriots Postgame Live. "But you look at him -- and I was with him in Detroit. I also was with him when he was an offensive line assistant when I first got to New England. And I'll tell you what, he's really bright. And there's nobody that works harder than Matt Patricia. I've always figured out that he's going to find a way to make it work.

"You can see the evolution of this offense from Week 1 to what happened Week 2, 3, 4. Now we're in Week 5 and you can see there's a rhythm to this game. There's not a lot of procedural issues at the line of scrimmage. They've got the check-with-me game going. The different types of run schemes that they run with. The gap scheme, the inside zone, the outside zone. But marrying the formation with those runs. You saw today, they were in this bunch set and they would run an inside zone. Then all of a sudden they would come back and they're overloading the interior part of the defense, and they run the outside track sweep which was a very successful play for them today."

Cassel also acknowledged Patricia's ability to adjust after injuries to Jones and backup QB Brian Hoyer. With Bailey Zappe under center, Patricia has done his part to make the fourth-round rookie feel comfortable.

"So the variation of the run game, but then also understanding who your quarterback is. Understanding he's a rookie on his first start," Cassel added. "Getting him some good throws. Getting him into rhythm. Some screen passes as well. He didn't overwhelm him with a lot of stuff, but I think he's doing a tremendous job.

"The way that this offensive line's playing too, he deserves a lot of credit for that. A lot of people want to beat him up. I'm telling you, I want to praise him. He's doing a great job."

Of course, the 29 points put on the Lions should be taken with a grain of salt. Detroit has the league's worst defense and the Patriots scored only two touchdowns in the win.

But as Cassel mentions, New England's run game was outstanding in Week 5. Rhamondre Stevenson took the pressure off Zappe with a career-high 161 rushing yards.

Regardless of whether it's Zappe or Jones at quarterback, Patricia will look to earn more praise when the Patriots visit the Cleveland Browns next Sunday.

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