New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is on the hot seat not for his job, but for the way his team has been playing the last couple weeks.
The New England Patriots are 1-2 following another lackluster effort against the Detroit Lions Sunday night. The 26-10 loss has not only left the team, fans and coaches frustrated, it also leaves Bill Belichick with some questions to answer.
It is after all his personnel decisions over the last few months that has left this team with not enough weapons to even look like a decent offense. On the defensive side of the ball, his failure to find replacements for players like Chandler Jones and Jamie Collins after shipping them out of town has made for a slow and downright embarrassing defense.
With that being said, the Patriots have been here before in the last several seasons. However, both sides of the ball have never struggled at the same time like this. Scratch that, all phrases of the game has never struggled like this because special teams is nothing to write home about either.
That’s where coaching comes in to play. Bill Belichick needs to find a way to reach this team. Speaking to the media on a Monday following another loss, the stoic, grumpy head coach gave his thoughts on three major concerns following back-to-back losses.
On lack of energy on defense
Besides second-year defensive end Deatrich Wise, rookie linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley and cornerback Stephon Gilmore, the New England Patriots defense seem to lack both energy and urgency on the field.
With the offense struggling like it has, it would be nice if the defense could at least mimic how they looked in Week 1 against the Houston Texans. Suddenly, an aggressive pass rush has disappeared, and the team can’t get off the field on third downs (no matter the distance).
But, according to Belichick, the energy is not a problem.
"“I think the effort and the energy are good,” the Patriots coach said. “We’re just not having a lot of success in any area and I think as soon as we start having some you’ll see a difference, but it’s hard to have it when you’re not making enough plays. We’re not making enough plays in any phase of the game, so we’ve just got to perform better. I think the energy and the effort and all of that -we’re trying. Everybody’s trying hard. We’re just not getting it done, which is all that matters.”"
Not having Trey Flowers, Patrick Chung and Eric Rowe available for the game didn’t help either. But for Bill Belichick’s defense, Dont’a Hightower has to find his dominance again and players like Danny Shelton, Adrian Clayborn and Jason McCourty need to find ways to make noticeable contributions on defense.
On Josh Gordon
New England Patriots fans waited most of the day to see if new wide receiver Josh Gordon would be active for the game.
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Following a lot of teasing through the media, he was inactive and stood on the sidelines watching his new teammates unable to get any separation on the field. Understandably, Gordon is still learning the offense and is apparently dealing with a hamstring injury, but as the game went on, it felt like just having Gordon on the field as a decoy would’ve made a difference.
So, what was Bill Belichick’s thoughts on Gordon’s availability Sunday night. Well, he gave the usual answer.
"“We’ll just take it day-by-day and see how it goes,” Belichick said when asked how close Josh Gordon came to playing against the Lions. “There are a number of factors involved here. When he feels like he’s ready and we feel like he’s ready and there’s sufficient opportunity to back that up then we’ll see about making him active. We just didn’t’ feel like we were at that point last night.”"
While that answer can be just as frustrating for fans, the Patriots do need the time to make sure a player like Josh Gordon can contribute once he gets on the field. In this Patriots offense led by Tom Brady, speed alone doesn’t make for success. He needs to know the routes, he needs to be in spots Brady expects him to be and he needs to add intelligence to that speed.
Without any of that, he would just be another Cordarrelle Patterson on that field.
On Tom Brady’s frustration
Of course, Bill Belichick is not going to single out Tom Brady or any other player for that matter, but when asked about his quarterback’s level of frustration, he gave the type of generic answer that tells he knows just how Brady feels.
"“I don’t think anybody’s really happy with where we’re at right now at any part of the football team,” Belichick said. “Again, we know that we all have to do a better job and we’re all committed to doing that.”"
After throwing for just 133 yards, Brady’s body language throughout that game showed that of a frustrated and helpless quarterback. With Rob Gronkowski double and tripled team, the New England Patriots just don’t have the other playmakers to find separation.
Julian Edelman and Josh Gordon will eventually walk onto that field, but the team still needs another playmaker. That could be a healthy Rex Burkhead and/or Jacob Hollister, it could also be a receiver on the practice squad like Corey Coleman. Whoever it is, they need to stop stepping up and contributing now.
It’s on to Miami for Bill Belichick, but if nothing changes in Week 4, it could be on to the end of a dynasty for the New England Patriots. Time for the coach to show some energy and urgency.