New England Patriots: Bill Belichick has new challenge

With no joint-practices and preseason games, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has another challenge he has to deal with in 2020.

This season is going to be a challenge for the New England Patriots. That was before the pandemic hit. Now things are going to be even harder.

The departure of Tom Brady was the biggest loss for the team. How could it not be? He was a pillar of the organization for two decades.

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But New England also lost some key members on defense. This includes Jamie Collins and Kyle Van Noy.

Then with the pandemic, we saw the Patriots be struck with the most opt-outs. They weren’t no names either. Patrick Chung and Dont’a Hightower were among some of the guys who opted out.

But the challenges aren’t done for Belichick yet. Speaking to the media on Monday, Belichick talked about the new challenge he has with no joint-practices or preseason games.

"“So, as we get to different points in camp depending on what we’re ready for, what we have installed, what situations we’re ready for, and then we’ll have to create those situations, practice them against ourselves or practice them against a simulated opponent,” Belichick said. “We work against ourselves, we do what we do, but that may not be what everybody else does, so we would have to create that. There are other ways we can work on those situations, but ultimately, we’re going to have to go out there and do them against ourselves. That’s one of the advantages of practicing with another team. When we didn’t practice with another team, then it was the same situation.“Even though there were preseason games, the fact of the matter is that with a minute to go in the game, the players who are going to be doing that in the regular season generally weren’t on the field anyway for that situation. Without the joint practices – which again, sometimes we’ve had, sometimes we haven’t – but then we’d have to create those situations ourselves and coach them and evaluate them and all of the things that go with them. So, that’s where we are this year.”"

This is a very interesting point. It’s hard to go your absolute 100 percent when you are going up against your teammates. Unless you are competing for a job, it’s hard to match the intensity of going against an opponent.

Also, preseason games might seem meaningless, but at least there is some semblance of a game. One team is battling against another. When you are going up against your teammates you are battling against your friends or in some cases family. How do you get the guys up when they are going to be facing the same players until the season starts?

Also, the loss of preseason games makes life difficult for Belichick and his staff. They have to somehow make decisions on their roster without guys playing any games. That won’t be easy and there will likely be a larger amount of busts in 2020.

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The challenges keep coming for Belichick, but if anyone is ready for them, it’s the amazing head coach.

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