DeMeco Ryans knows that the New England Patriots are struggling, but he won’t get complacent in preparing to avoid the “rat poison” of what the record says.
“As a famous coach once said, ‘Onto New England,'” Ryans said in reference to former Patriots coach Bill Belichick’s treatment of each game. “It’s onto the next one.”
Sitting at 1-4, the Patriots could be making a switch. Drake Maye, the No. 3 overall pick in April’s NFL Draft, could be making his first start against Houston after another underwhelming performance from Jacoby Brissett.
Brissett hasn’t been perfect, but the offensive line remains an issue in Foxborough. New England’s allowed 19 sacks through five games, the third-most entering October. Seventeen of those sacks came against Brissett, while two happened late in the fourth quarter against the New York Jets when Maye closed things out.
Maye, who completed 50 percent of his passes for 22 yards, rarely has seen action during the regular season. Ryans said in preparation for a rookie passer, they’ll have to work with what’s been put on the tape.
Houston also could go back and watch Maye’s college tape from North Carolina to get a better indication of his overall weaknesses.
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“Whenever you’re preparing for the unknown, the only thing we can prepare for is what we’ve seen on tape with the quarterback that they’ve had play over these first four or five weeks of the season,” Ryans said. “Now, if the young guy gets in, we have to be prepared to adjust, so of course we’ll go back and watch as much as we can on him from his preseason plays. But our focus will just be on, structurally, what they do as an offense.”
Kickoff is scheduled for noon CT.
