Patriots midseason review: Grades and evaluation of 3 key components

New England Patriots are 5-4 after nine games and at the season’s midway point. Let’s take a look at three key areas and how they have performed.

They would be coaching, offense, and defense. The team still sits in an unfamiliar last place in the AFC East Division, a game behind the Dolphins and Jets and two behind the leader, the Buffalo Bills.

Winning their last two games vaulted the Patriots back into the discussion for a possible playoff berth and actually within striking distance of the top spot in the AFC East, as well.

So let’s evaluate how they have done to this point of the season in these three key areas and begin with the coaching.

New England Patriots coaching has been fair to middling

The New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is controversial in his assistant coaching assignments if nothing else. Instead of replacing long-time offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels with a bonafide offensive mind, he chose instead to go with a tandem of two former head coaches.

Matt Patricia a former Patriots defensive coordinator, and Joe Judge, a former Patriots special teams coach lead the offense.

Those moves have both flopped. Not only has second-year talented quarterback Mac Jones regressed, but the vanilla offense seems to be better known by the opposition at times than the Patriots players.

These selections have been busts and what might the record be if Belichick had been more conventional? The grade at this point for coaching is a C with the defensive coaching bailing out the offense.

In addition, the draft has had mixed results with the top two picks faltering and free agency was also a dud. They also did nothing at the trade deadline. Thus personnel management also under Belichick was underwhelming in the offseason. They’d get a weak C- grade here.