New England Patriots: The great Bill Belichick outcoached all season long
Is the New England Patriots losing season due to Bill Belichick coaching?
After two decades of dominance, it is tough for any New England Patriots fan to put the blame of the team’s losing season on one of the greatest coaches this century, but this entire 2020 season has seen the great Bill Belichick outcoached almost on a weekly basis.
While Monday night’s 38-9 beating at the hands of the AFC East champion Buffalo Bills was mostly due to a lack of talent in key areas and the team basically quitting, it is hard to ignore the fact that Belichick and his coaching staff have not been able to coach players up.
It is hard to ignore that the coaching staff has underperformed in 2020 by not having the team prepared for the situational football that had them heads above the rest for so long.
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It’s hard to admit, but the fact that the advantage is now on the opposing sidelines is obvious by the week. The Bills on Monday night made the Patriots look like how other AFC East teams looked against them for so long…simply out-coached.
"“Well, it was obviously a good performance today by Buffalo,” Belichick said following the 38-9 whipping, via Patriots.com. “They have a good team. They’re well-coached. They played well tonight. Yeah, we just weren’t able to do much in any phase of the game. They outplayed us across the board, outplayed us and out-coached us. They did a good job. They’re a very good football team. We can see why they’re the AFC East champions this year. They deserve to be.”"
Again, Belichick had to admit the opponent playing harder and coaching better than his squad.
The coaches, particularly the master of coaching has commonly been outwitted by opposing coaches who make the necessary adjustments within the game that Belichick typically makes.
That aspect of how this season has gone has nothing to do with the absence of Tom Brady. Offensively, perhaps TB12 would’ve covered up some of the flaws and perhaps guided the team to a couple more victories this season, but the fact that the New England Patriots don’t have a No. 1 or even No. 2 wide receiver option has to be blamed on the general manager aspect of Bill Belichick.
Whether due to suspect drafting over the past few seasons or just not doing what it took to trade for a player like Stefon Diggs or sign a top-level receiver in free agency is beyond what available resources may or may not been available. It is the fact that Belichick believes he can win games with less.
As Patriots fans and the entire league has seen in 2020 is talent is still necessary in key positions. Without the quarterback (Sorry Cam Newton), the lack of talent at the wide receiver and tight end positions can’t be covered up. The team entering the season with the lack of depth they had, that’s on Belichick.
Turning to the defensive side of the ball, well that is on Bill Belichick as well. Sure, the Patriots have had injuries and the opt outs of Dont’a Hightower and Patrick Chung prior to the season didn’t help things, but the defense has been bullied and out schemed all season long.
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Much of that has to do with the lack of talent, but more of it is due to not putting players in positions where they can make an impact. That has been a staple of the great Bill Belichick. As great as he has been, perhaps the biggest adjustment this offseason will be the New England Patriots coach taking a look in the mirror and revamp this team by adjusting his coaching approach and philosophy.