Is he going to have surgery, is he not going to have surgery? Does he want to have surgery and Patriots want him to wait and see? Which has the potential faster healing time surgery or waiting? Regardless of what the deal is with Mac, the Patriots have a game today at Lambeau Field and Brian Hoyer is getting the start. What should watchers expect? Read on.
HOYER'S LAST START- Hoyer's last NFL start had a lot to be desired. It came a little less than two years ago when the Cam Newton-less Patriots matched up against the reigning Super Bowl champions, Kansas City Chiefs. Hoyer had two really bad plays which I'm sure he's had nightmares about. The first came at the end of the half with the Patriots in field goal range with 10 seconds and no time-outs. There was basically two things that Hoyer couldn't do in the situation, turn it over or take a sack. Well, he took the sack and then tried to call a time-out. The other was a 3rd and 8 in the red zone. This time, there was only one thing the team could not afford to do. You bet, they turned in over. Instead of throwing a disastrous pick, Hoyer got strip sacked.
11 GAME LOSING STREAK- Michael Hurley wrote a great article titled A closer look at Brian Hoyer's streak of 11 straight losses.
From that article I gathered some information about his 6 year drought. A big thing I noticed was that Hoyer's losses were almost all tight games. Eight of the eleven losses were by 6 points or less (6,1,3,2,3,3,3, and 4). In one of the games where his team lost by 16 (with the Bears at Lambeau) he left the game with a broken arm losing 3-0. The other two games were a 20 point loss to the Panthers and the previously mentioned 16 point loss to the Chiefs. In the loss to the Panthers, Hoyer had two turnovers which gave the Panthers a short field. Both times the Carolina squad made their way into the endzone.
HOYER PRE-SEASON- Hoyer played in all three pre-season games. For the most part he made the most of those opportunities as he connected on 13 of 18 pass attempts and threw one touchdown. Unfortunately, most of the guys he connected with during the summer are either injured or no longer with the team. Had JJ Taylor not been hurt, it would have been a great time to put him on the 53 man roster.
From that article I gathered some information about his 6 year drought. A big thing I noticed was that Hoyer's losses were almost all tight games. Eight of the eleven losses were by 6 points or less (6,1,3,2,3,3,3, and 4). In one of the games where his team lost by 16 (with the Bears at Lambeau) he left the game with a broken arm losing 3-0. The other two games were a 20 point loss to the Panthers and the previously mentioned 16 point loss to the Chiefs. In the loss to the Panthers, Hoyer had two turnovers which gave the Panthers a short field. Both times the Carolina squad made their way into the endzone.
HOYER PRE-SEASON- Hoyer played in all three pre-season games. For the most part he made the most of those opportunities as he connected on 13 of 18 pass attempts and threw one touchdown. Unfortunately, most of the guys he connected with during the summer are either injured or no longer with the team. Had JJ Taylor not been hurt, it would have been a great time to put him on the 53 man roster.
A FEW RANDOM HOYER STATS- In his career, Hoyer is 13/20 with no touchdowns and 3 interceptions when running play action. Hoyer wore #2 from 2016-2020 (the losing streak true years). Last season he started wearing #5. While he didn't get to play much last year, he was 9/11 with 1 touchdown, no sacks, and a quarterback ranking of 149.1.
HOW THE TEAMS STACK UP- Three games into the season, the teams are about as dead-even as could be possible in almost every category except for turnovers and punting. The Patriots have 8 turnovers while the Packers have 5. When it comes to punting and punt coverage the Patriots are currently worst in the league. Last week's 43 yard punt return by Devin Duvernay is a big reason why they are currently in the dumpster. Did the refs hold their whistles and miss a call or two on that return, most likely.
GREEN BAY OFFENSE- Green Bay's offense has only score 6 touchdowns and is averaging 16 points per game. Future hall of fame quarterback, Aaron Rodgers.has a QBR of 49.3 with 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. He's been spreading the ball around to whoever has been available. While it's still early in the season, Rodgers has 64% of his yards coming from after the catch. That's about 10% higher than usual for him. Rodgers has yet to benefit from a pass interference or roughing the passer call this season. Hopefully that continues today.
HOW THE TEAMS STACK UP- Three games into the season, the teams are about as dead-even as could be possible in almost every category except for turnovers and punting. The Patriots have 8 turnovers while the Packers have 5. When it comes to punting and punt coverage the Patriots are currently worst in the league. Last week's 43 yard punt return by Devin Duvernay is a big reason why they are currently in the dumpster. Did the refs hold their whistles and miss a call or two on that return, most likely.
GREEN BAY OFFENSE- Green Bay's offense has only score 6 touchdowns and is averaging 16 points per game. Future hall of fame quarterback, Aaron Rodgers.has a QBR of 49.3 with 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. He's been spreading the ball around to whoever has been available. While it's still early in the season, Rodgers has 64% of his yards coming from after the catch. That's about 10% higher than usual for him. Rodgers has yet to benefit from a pass interference or roughing the passer call this season. Hopefully that continues today.
KEYS TO A PATRIOTS VICTORY- Can the Patriots go into Green Bay and stop the Packers 14 game regular season home winning streak. I think so. As usual, they'll need to win the turnover battle. No offense to Brian Hoyer, but I'm going to assume he's good for 2 turnovers. With that in mind, the Patriots defense and special teams are going to need to have some takeaways. The rest of the offense can also not afford any mishaps. Should the Patriots even contemplate fielding punts the way they have been this season, I don't know. I'm not sure which is more dangerous, fielding a punt or starting the offense inside their own 10.
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