#PostPulpit Mailbag: Should Alex Van Pelt be one-and-done as offensive coordinator?

Things could be starting to trend in the right direction for the New England Patriots , who are winners of two out of their last three games. We aren't talking playoffs here, but more small steps in the right direction — like winning back-to-back games for the first time since 2022 — will be encouraging signs in the back half of the year.

With that, let's get into this week's #PostPulpit mailbag.

Most people seem to be satisfied that Drake Maye is developing well, has improved a lot since training cap and looks pretty good running the offense. But those same people are often criticizing AVP and talking about dumping him for someone better in the offseason. Seems crazy to me - doesn't AVP get credit for the work he's done so far? As Chicago has demonstrated, it's not that easy. - c.lassiter

Even from someone who was at the front of the Drake Maye-hype train during draft season and believed that he could have started from the jump, Alex Van Pelt deserves plenty of credit for his work with the quarterback.

Jerod Mayo gave him that credit on Wednesday shortly before Maye gave his OC his flowers.

"He's been huge. I think he's just a confidence booster for a quarterback. You love playing for an offensive coordinator like AVP," Maye said Wednesday. "He's positive, and also at the same time will coach you hard. He's done it; he's played quarterback in this league and at a high level. So, he knows what needs to be done and the task.

When it comes to Van Pelt, he surely hasn't been perfect in his first season as offensive coordinator. There have been questions with his scheme or play sequencing at times, while he also had some continuous issues in end-of-half situations.

At the same time, it's been tough to get a full read on things based off the personnel Van Pelt has dealt with. That especially rings true along the offensive line, which he admitted this week that the moving parts throughout the year have limited his call sheet at times.

Then comes the Maye part in all of this. With the way Maye has played early in his career, I'd be very cautious of changing the voice in his ear in Year 2. That does not mean the two sides have to be together forever, as there could (very likely) be a point where Maye needs a more dynamic or creative scheme — similar to how Baltimore transitioned from Greg Roman to Todd Monken for Lamar Jackson.

We'll see how the final eight weeks of the season look, but players have enjoyed working with Van Pelt and he has nailed the most important part of his job (working with Maye). Where we stand now, I'm not rushing him out the door.

We finally got see some creative plays from Van Pelt which was that unique razzle dazzle laterals that picked up nine yards. I like these types of plays occasionally. Will there be more of this school yard stuff or was it just a fluke? - Patriotpower

Watching Cleveland's offense in previous years under Van Pelt, he has never been shy of dialing up a trick play.

"That's fun. You should always have something in for the guys," Van Pelt said this week. "I always felt like if you have a trick play or two in the guys kind of light up when you call it in practice. Sometimes those plays spend weeks in the hopper, we call it, and just getting it ready, getting it ready, getting it ready and then using it at the right time."

Has the O-line really improved or are they just benefiting from Drake's mobility and quick release? - UnicornsShowPoniesWheresDaBeefThunderCat!

They have improved and it comes down to two things to me. The first is definitely Drake Maye as his athleticism and playmaking ability can overcome some of the issues. When dealing with pressure, Maye is sixth in EPA per drop back and 10th in success rate. Brissett, meanwhile, was 24th and 19th, respectively.

The second factor here has been continuity. Each of Brissett's five starts came with a different starting line combination up front. Health has allowed New England to slowly settle on one combination (Lowe-Jordan-Brown-Onwenu-Jacobs) since Maye has taken over, which has then led to better play and lower pressure rates.

Barring an injury in practice, New England is ready to start the same five up up front for the second straight week against Los Angeles, whose front, headlined by rookie Jared Verse, will be a major test.

So suddenly the Pats were able to get some push against what was supposed to be a pretty good Bears DL. What do you think that's about? I don't think it's just a better effort level. I see the threat of a first down pass and the 2 - tight end sets as the main difference. They just can't load the box now. - ed.liebfried

The Bears defensive line is a tale of two sides. Entering last week's matchup they ranked fourth in pass DVOA headlined by the fifth highest pass rush win rate in the league. Against the run, however, Chicago ranked 30th in DVOA.

That played a hand in New England finally getting their rushing attack going, but hopefully they can build off of that success this week against the Los Angeles Rams , who have had their own issues defending under-center runs and play-action off of it.

Will we be seeing more Osbourne and Thorton instead of Bourne? While I can understand needing to see what you have TT and to a lesser extent KJO, should those looks come at the expense of Kendrick Bourne? - 1stStateSoxFan

The wide receiver room saw an interesting change against Chicago as Kendrick Bourne played zero snaps as K.J. Osborn (29 snaps) and Ja'Lynn Polk (26) saw increased reps. From this point of view, it had to do with some lack of details in Bourne's game against Tennessee.

If New England wanted to bench Bourne to play Polk and Javon Baker more — fair. But, Baker played just four snaps (zero routes) as the 27-year old Osborn saw the increase in snaps.

Speaking on Thursday, Van Pelt hinted that Bourne could work his way back into the lineup.

"He's a big part of this offense. Just felt like there were some areas where he could improve [against Tennessee], and that was kind of based on that, but he'll be a big part of us moving forward," Van Pelt said. "He brings a lot of energy to the field, his effort is exceptional. So that's just the way it went last week, change week to week right now."

If you could only add one piece to this team, would it be a stud LT or a game-breaking WR1? - Matt1102

For as appealing as Drake Maye has made it to go receiver here, I'd still lean tackle for now.

Is it time to stop rooting for the Pats to lose in order to secure a top 5 draft pick? It looks like there are a number of winnable games remaining. - coolbeanz

There was never a time this year to begin rooting for losses — that came last year when you needed as high of a pick as possible for the quarterback. Now that your have Drake Maye, you should be hoping for wins to start to build a winning culture and attract free agents. I get the higher draft pick is appealing, but you're not "tanking" for a tackle or receiver.

How many of the six quarterbacks drafted in the first round this year will earn a second contract with the team who drafted them? - BirdStealsTheBall

I'll go three. You can guess which ones (hint: ones Drake Maye).