The New England Patriots return to Gillette Stadium this week where they’ll welcome the Indianapolis Colts to town.

For anything not covered on Pats Pulpit throughout the week, let’s take a look in this week’s Sunday Patriots Notes.

Finding answers

Before the Patriots stepped on the field this season, head coach Jerod Mayo knew this year was about laying a foundation for hopeful winning seasons in the near future. Part of that included finding out which young players New England could count on following this season.

With five games remaining in the Patriots 2024-25 season, Mayo has a few players left that he and the organization want to learn more about.

“I would say, not to get too specific, but I will. You need a guy like Layden Robinson to show what he can do. We need a guy like Cole Strange before the end of the season to see what he can do. You can use Caedan [Wallace] in that same bucket. We need to see what the receivers can do and what they’re going to look like going forward,” Mayo said Friday.

“And that’s the hard part for me. Look, you want to win right now, but at the same time, I think it would be a disservice to go to the end of the season and not know exactly what we have.”

That process will start on Sunday, where rookie Layden Robinson is expected to draw the start at left guard. It will mark the first start for Robinson since Week 9 — where he then reverted to the bench mid-game — and first at left guard.

Fellow offensive line help could then be coming. Mayo shared that Strange will be activated at some point this season. Caedan Wallace is then set to return from injured reserve in the near future as well. Both players being back on the active roster during/following the bye week would not be a surprise.

Once they return, starting spots could be had. Strange has been working at center since his return but could slide back to his natural left guard spot depending on Robinson’s play. The right tackle position is also up for grabs for Wallace after Demontrey Jacobs, who is expected to start at right tackle versus the Colts, was benched against the Dolphins.

As for “the receivers,” Mayo was likely referring to rookies Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker. As a second-round pick, Polk’s struggles have been well-documented this season recording just 12 catches for 87 yards with two touchdowns. Baker, meanwhile, has yet to catch a pass as he’s struggled to see consistent playing time.

“It’s the details,” offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said Wednesday. “The young guys, they just have to understand that this is a spacing game. You got to be in the right spot at the right time — time’s up with the quarterback’s footwork. And we’re not quite there yet. We’re getting there, but this isn’t street ball. We’re just not going where we feel like we need to be. It’s got to be precise and that’s how the passing game works in the NFL. These guys will continue to grow.”

As Mayo looks to wrap up his first season in charge, winning games will always be the priority. But with a long-term approach in mind, Mayo knows they may have to ride through some growing pains to uncover those long-term answers.

“I never thought that we would be able to re-establish a culture in Year 1. It’s a process,” he explained. “It’s hard to change a culture. We’re trying to put those pieces together. I think it would be a disservice to get to the end of the year and not know exactly what we have from a player or coaching perspective. That has to be our focus.”

Confidence in Dugger

Since returning from a recent ankle injury, Kyle Dugger has not looked like his usual self in the Patriots secondary. That was highlighted by a rough outing in Miami where the safety was on scene for several opposing touchdowns.

Despite the recent performance, defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington’s confidence in his captain has not wavered.

“I’m not concerned with Kyle,” Covington said. “Kyle has done a lot of great things for us. So for me to be down on Kyle on anything, no. I think he’s going to continue to do some good things for us in the future. He’s one of our leaders on the defense. He’s one of our top communicators and knows the defense in and out.”

Same goes for safeties coach Brian Belichick, who noted the ankle injury “is what it is” at this point of the season.

“No one has a higher standard for themselves than Dug,” Belichick said. “No one has more confidence in him than me. I’ve spent a lot of time with him. We came in together in 2020, watched him play a lot and have a lot of confidence in him on the field. So I think he plays to that standard a lot and that’s what we expect.”

Pro Bowl

The NFL has officially opened Pro Bowl voting and three Patriots are expected to draw consideration: CB Christian Gonzalez, PR Marcus Jones, and ST Brenden Schooler.

When asked about Schooler’s campaign, special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer noted how the gunner is doubled or even tripled teamed as team’s game plan to take out No. 41.

“That’s what kind of presence he has on the field. So when the voting happens, I hope guys recognize that and vote for him,” Springer said.

Going deep

Christian Gonzalez has quite the Pro Bowl resume himself as one of the league’s most impressive corners during his sophomore campaign. That is especially true defending the deep ball as he’s one of just two corners (Derek Stingley) to allow just one completion on 10-plus deep targets.

“That’s a cool stat,” Patriots cornerback coach Mike Pellegrino said when asked about what made his corner successful in those areas.

“Speed. Can’t teach it. He’s got great top end speed and poise at the top of the route. What do I mean by poise? He doesn’t panic when he sees that ball in the air or the guys pulling away down the field, like he feels him turn on the jets. Christian’s cool, calm, collected and just going down the field with it. Get his eyes back up, see the ball, it’s great.”

Gonzalez could be tested deep this week as he matches up against Anthony Richardson, who holds the highest depth of target (12.9 yards) among all qualified quarterbacks.

Penalty problems

The Patriots offense went backwards far too often in last week’s loss to the Dolphins. That was largely due to pre-snap penalties, which Alex Van Pelt shared was an issue in practice leading up to the game. The issue then proving costly on Sunday left a sour taste in the coordinator’s mouth.

“There’s no question that’s horse crap,” Van Pelt said. “One of our main objectives of the game was operation, and that’s pre-snap. We talked about not going backwards on first down or second down. And we went backwards. We were digging ourselves out of holes, especially in the first quarter…

“I reiterated to these guys how important practice is. It just carries over to the game — in good ways and bad ways. I showed them both examples and that was the bad way that it carried over. So focus on practice, focus on doing it right during the week, and it generally carries over to game day. But that was the most disappointed I’ve been; it was more like a preseason game early in the first quarter. I told the group, we took a step backwards. We had taken a couple steps forward. Now we have to find a way to get moving forward again this week.”

No regrets

“Absolutely not,” Alex Van Pelt responded when asked if he regretted not starting Drake Maye Week 1 with the benefit of hindsight.

“I think we had the plan going into place and I think it’s showing now that was a good decision for us. Would he be as developed had he started the first game, maybe? Could have gone the other way as well. So again I stated in the spring this is a marathon. This not a sprint. This is about a career franchise quarterback and trying to develop him the right way and I feel like we did it that way.”

My Cause My Cleats

In addition to wearing throwback uniforms against the Colts, some Patriots players and coaches will be wearing custom cleats as part of the annual initiative that allow players to express their commitment to the causes that are most important to them.

Among the foundations represented by New England players will include Special Olympics (Drake Maye), KyleCares – Mental Health (Christian Gonzalez), and Team Impact (Brenden Schooler).

“I think it’s a great program. I think with our platform — win, lose, or draw — we always need to give back to the community,” Jerod Mayo said. “I appreciate all the guys that participate in that… I think it’s a great cause, and that’s been a staple of this organization for a very long time is giving back.”

Forecast

Sunday’s Foxboro forecast for Colts vs. Patriots is expected to be sunny with temperatures just above freezing (36 degrees at kickoff). The colder weather will have a direct impact on the kicking game as the ball won’t travel as far — which has special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer expecting more kickoff coverage and returns down the stretch.

10 for 10

Drake Maye has thrown 10 touchdown passes to 10 different receivers to start his NFL career. The last, a 38-yard score to Austin Hooper against Miami, tied Maye with former Denver Broncos QB Steve Ramsey for the most consecutive touchdown passes to a different receiver to start a career.

Setting up the week ahead

The Patriots are off on their bye, but still are set to be in the building on Monday and Tuesday. Jerod Mayo will hold his usual virtual media availability Monday morning before what will probably be a lighter practice on Tuesday. They will then break for the bye.