The Miami Dolphins visit the New England Patriots in Week 5, the first of the annual home-and-home series between the AFC East division rivals. Things are different with New England this year as they head into the first season without Bill Belichick as the team’s head coach since 1999. As Jerod Mayo puts his stamp on the Patriots, what can we expect to see on Sunday?

I turned to Taylor Kyles from SB Nation’s Patriots team site, Pats Pulpit, to get a better picture of who are the 2024 Patriots. You can head over to Pats Pulpit to see my half of the conversation.

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What has been the biggest change from the Bill Belichick era during this first year with Jerod Mayo as the team’s head coach?

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Jerod Mayo has tried to empower players and lead with more empathy than Bill Belichick did. Of course, the results haven’t been great thus far, but players have supported him wholeheartedly and seem to understand the situation New England is in.

Whether that continues if the team continues losing is anyone’s guess, though.

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Evan Lazar, a reporter for Patriots.com, the team’s official website, said this week the Patriots are “teetering on mutiny.” What is the biggest source of frustration and why does it seem like the team is already falling apart?

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Evan actually walked back his comments, and players vehemently pushed back against that idea. I’d also agree that it’s too soon to say things are falling apart when the potential future face of the franchise, Drake Maye, hasn’t played a meaningful snap.

That said, Jacoby Brissett has disappointed. He’s in an impossible spot with a different offensive line every week, and he’s taken some massive hits. Still, he hasn’t been throwing to open receivers and is giving the offense very little production downfield. The veteran also committed an uncharacteristic five turnover-worthy plays last week.

Defensively, quarterbacks have been able to get outside of the pocket and extend plays every week. They did a better job after a rough first drive against the 49ers, but they haven’t faced anyone close to Tyler Huntley athletically. The dual threat will be a big challenge for their defensive front.

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Jacoby Brissett was expected to be the veteran presence at quarterback while rookie Drake Maye catches up the speed of the game. The Patriots offensive line has not been great, with Brissett sacked 15 times already this year, but the veteran quarterback has not been great either. He is currently 31st in the league in passing yards. To put that another way, Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa is 32nd, just 53 yards behind, and Tagovailoa has only played in a game-and-a-half. What is going wrong with Brissett and how long will it be before Maye assumes the starting role?

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I touched on Brissett earlier, but so I’ll focus more on Maye here.

I thought we’d see the rookie sometime in October, but the onslaught of offensive line injuries could complicate that timeline. Coaches have said that isn’t a factor in his timeline, but it’s hard to take that at face value. Maye was hit multiple times after going in at the end of the Jets game, and his play was shaky despite some real flashes. He’s reportedly impressing in practice, but offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt clearly wants him to learn as much as possible behind the scenes before throwing him into a tough situation.

Maye will play this season, but unless Brissett gets hurt or continues his turnover streak, I don’t think it will be until November at the earliest.

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The Dolphins offense has clearly been struggling without Tua Tagovailoa under center. If you were designing Miami’s offensive game plan, how would you look to attack the Patriots’ defense, and what would you avoid?

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I would focus on attacking Jahlani Tavai. He’s a good player, but Miami had success running at him on outside zone tosses last season, and he was at the point of attack when the 49ers gashed the defense with a similar concept last week. Teams have also exploited Tavai in coverage by stressing him horizontally. I don’t love the idea of him covering Raheem Mostert or De’Von Achane, which feels like an inevitability on early downs. Safety may also be thin with Jabrill Peppers being ruled out and Kyle Dugger having missed this week of practice.

I would avoid throwing at the corners. Christian Gonzalez has yet to allow an explosive reception this season despite covering the best receivers every week. Jonathan Jones is on the older side, and he’s seemingly been on a pitch count, but he’s still sticky and incredibly tough. Marcus Jones is an incredible athlete with good ball skills, and he matches up with the Dolphins’ receivers well.

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What are the expectations for the Patriots for the rest of the year?

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The expectation is that New England will finish with a top-10 pick, but show flashes of promise once Drake Maye takes over. The offensive line situation is a mess due to injuries, but Ja’Lynn Polk, DeMario Douglas, and Rhamondre Stevenson are a solid corp of young playmakers. Kendrick Bourne will also be returning from injury after tearing his ACL last season in Miami, which should be a significant boost to the passing game.

The defense may not finish in the top 10, as some expected before the season, after taking so many hits. Still, the run defense is stout and coverage is generally tight. Keion White has been carrying the pass rush, but there’s hope for improvement if they can be more coordinated on line games. They should finish in the top half of the league statistically.