Callahan: Predicting the Patriots’ Pro Bowlers, Drake Maye running more and more Week 13 thoughts

Welcome to the Friday Five Each week during the NFL regular season I ll drop five Patriots-related thoughts on Friday to recap the week that was in Foxboro and look ahead to kickoff Ready set football Run Drake run There s an old saying among offensive coaches If you can t block em read em Meaning if your offensive line can t block an edge defender or defensive tackle well enough don t Leave him deliberately unblocked on an option run where the quarterback can either hand the ball off or keep himself based on his read of the defender If the defender pursues the running back at the snap the quarterback keeps the ball and runs the other way If he freezes the quarterbacks hands the ball off and let his running back burrow behind a double-team working the other side of the defense Down two starting offensive linemen for the foreseeable future calling more option runs with Drake Maye could help the Patriots in two tactics No It might jumpstart a suddenly stalled run challenge that averaged yards per carry last weekend versus a Bengals defense that had allowed more than rushing yards in two of his last three games The Patriots at this time rank fifth-worst in the league by rushing DVOA No Option runs could heat up a suddenly cold red-zone offense that s slipped to th in the league in touchdown percentage and has converted of drives into touchdowns the last three weeks In Cincinnati the Pats were stuffed six times at the -yard line including a sparse times on traditional handoffs Maye s legs might also offset protection issues in the passing challenge though offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels will have more levers to pull there McDaniels can call short passes misdirection plays or keep a running back or tight end in to block Or both The Patriots can go no-huddle to tire out the defense or dial up screens For now it sounds like Mike Vrabel would prefer the Patriots not involve Maye as a runner no matter how their rush offense is struggling We ve had a few of those option plays and we ve called particular of those plays And so you kind of want to be careful Vrabel noted Wednesday Guys are going in concussion protocol left and right Again we ll be willing to do anything to win a football challenge but I think being smart is likely the biggest thing But with five games left and a prospective first-round bye at stake if another battle comes down to the -yard line might the Patriots be tempted by the reward of Maye running threat be damned Pro Bowl Patriots AFC quarterback Drake Maye of the New England Patriots passes during the flag football event at the NFL Pro Bowl Sunday Feb in Orlando AP Photo Chris O'Meara The NFL opened voting for the Pro Bowl on Thursday So who in New England will make it Maye for starters He s a lock None of the Patriots running backs warrant serious consideration Stefon Diggs deserves a hard look with catches for yards and three touchdowns this year How about Hunter Henry Henry is second in the AFC in receptions and touchdown catches among tight ends Defensively nickelback Marcus Jones should be a no-brainer He might make the Pro Bowl as a returner but he s one of four defenders in the NFL with -plus tackles three interceptions and a sack this season Jones took one of those picks back to the house last Sunday The bet here is Maye Diggs and Jones get the call Shutdown cornerback Christian Gonzalez has not dominated like he did last year and still doesn t have an interception Rookie kicker Andy Borregales can argue a strong situation but falls short in the name-recognition department which makes Chargers veteran Cameron Dicker and Houston s Ka imi Fairbairn more likely selections in a fan vote Special teams ace Brenden Schooler could also make the cut but he s tied for th in special teams tackles through Week Vederian Lowe better stronger The last time you saw Vederian Lowe playing left tackle for the Patriots he had a torn labrum Lowe revealed Wednesday he tore his labrum in October during a win over the Jets and continued to play through the injury which contributed to particular of his worst games of the season The -year-old is now back in the starting lineup due to another injury Will Campbell s hurt knee and feeling much stronger heading into his first start of the season especially in his shoulder If I had days rehabbing where I could pick and choose if I want to go upper or lower body I was going upper Lowe noted Wednesday You know getting the shoulder stronger I needed to come back better than how it was before So that s kind of the mindset I ve been on trying to get the shoulder as strong as I can get it back even stronger than I had it before Lowe s recovery extended into the summer when he did not practice right away He nonetheless made the company as one of the Patriots top offensive tackles behind Campbell and veteran right tackle Morgan Moses Lowe may replace Campbell for the rest of the season with the rookie going on injured reserve Wednesday in a move that will at least cost him the next four gmaes Barmore s strange season Let s start with a reminder Related Articles Callahan What the Patriots should be thankful for this Thanksgiving Drake Maye responds to too poised criticism from Giants star pass rusher Patriots down starters at Wednesday practice before Giants battle Patriots to place Will Campbell on injured reserve sign cornerback Patriots mailbag Can new coaching staff lift replacement offensive linemen Sacks are not a perfect metric for pass-rushing impact Every defender wants sacks but the best pass-rushers don t necessarily lead the NFL in sacks every year They do however rank among the league leaders in pressures and pressure rate That explained while Christian Barmore ranks seventh among defensive tackles this season in total pressures according to Pro Football Focus does that match the eye test No Barmore has just one sack and six QB hits this season over a dozen games numbers that more closely resemble his stat line from a year ago when he was limited to four games due to two bouts of blood clot-related markers He s logged a QB hit in just one of his last seven games So what gives Hard to say It would be unfair to allege Barmore is underachieving in light of his healthcare situation though the -year-old has often maintained he feels good The Patriots have done well managing his workload to keep him available Perhaps the best way to describe Barmore s lack of traditional rush is soft pressure Not because he s not there but quarterbacks don t feel him the way you would expect an million defensive tackle to be felt Basically he s in the neighborhood just not knocking down the door Vrabel low on Thanksgiving In a light moment at the end of his Wednesday press conference Vrabel revealed Thanksgiving is not among his favorite holidays Christmas is No Vrabel noted Fourth of July is a close second I m a big firework guy And then it s a toss-up St Patrick s Day Halloween Still Vrabel commented he was plenty thankful My family I think that having them here this week is going to be good going to be nice he reported And then I would say the opportunity to coach this crew I think the players the coaches the staff That s what I m thankful for Got selected good friends that have helped along the years