Bill Belichick coaching for his Patriots job and his NFL legacy
Will poor drafting and a series of head-scratching roster moves finally lead to a disastrous season for Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots?
While Patriots fans are still hopeful the preseason struggles, particularly on the offensive side of the ball, is not as bad as it looks, the Boston Media and NFL pundits see a potential train wreck looming, one that could be worse than the Cam Newton experience in 2020.
After going on a massive spending spree following that season, Belichick had a quiet offseason following a 10-7 season that sparked enthusiasm even after a beatdown in the playoffs at the hand of Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills.
That Wild Card loss revealed some series holes on the defensive side of the football. The team needed to get younger, faster, and tougher on all levels. It also revealed a deficiency in coaching. Too often during the past few seasons have Belichick and the Patriots been out-coached. Too often has Belichick stood at a podium following a game and admitting the faults of the coaching staff.
Is New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick a coach on the decline?
That all too familiar trend continued following the preseason finale against the Las Vegas Raiders in which Belichick once again saw his new-look offense sputter in a 23-6 loss.
"“It’s too many big mistakes and too many little mistakes,” Belichick said, via Patriots.com. “Turn the ball over, get two touchdowns called back, give up a couple of big plays on defense that were totally unnecessary and just basic fundamental execution in all three phrases of the game needs to be better. So, we need to coach better, we need to play better. We’ll start working on that this week.”"
Those mistakes aren’t something Patriots fans or the rest of the NFL are used to seeing. Has Belichick lost his mojo as an NFL head coach or has the game just past him by. Has the Patriot Way lost its way. Furthermore, was it more about Tom Brady and gamers like Julian Edelman than it was really about Belichick?
While his resume will continue to put credibility behind those who still utter the words “In Bill We Trust,” the roster moves and poor drafter over the last decade, has led to a roster depending more on potential than it has in two decades. There are still dependable veterans like Devin McCourty, Matt Judon and Matthew Slater, but Mac Jones, Christian Barmore, Rhamondre Stevenson and Kyle Dugger will each need to make leaps to make the team competitive in 2022.
That’s where the rest of the NFL is laughing at Bill Belichick and waiting for him to finally collapse.
Although the 2022 NFL draft class is turning out to be a good one, at least through the preseason, those selections were still head scratchers.
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It starts with the selection an offensive lineman in Cole Strange over more desperate needs in the first round may play out in Belichick’s favor, but if one or two of the young linebackers from previous drafts that he is counting on stepping up don’t, then that will go down as another mark against Belichick as an NFL executive.
But this is really about the genius coach. Despite the lack of superstardom on the team, the roster is still talented enough to make some noise in 2022 and its up to Belichick to put that talent in position to be successful. The AFC East or the rest of the NFL will no longer roll over at the sight of the New England Patriots and the mystique of Bill Belichick, the last two seasons proved that. Now, the future Hall-of-Fame coach must make the adjustments to compete.
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That is what makes this final roster cutdown so important. Can and will Belichick make the right moves that will benefit the team? The magnifying glass is on him more than it’s ever been and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft may be the one watching the closest.