1 – With the Patriots in the midst of their worst season since 1992 and Bill Belichick’s future very much in doubt in New England, it appears some are having trouble differentiating between past accomplishments and present problems.
That started this spring when Belichick himself strangely declared that the “last 25 years” was a reason Patriot Nation should be excited leading up to the dubious unknown of the 2023 season.
Now we know much more about a 2-9 New England squad that’s among the worst teams in football, a team that’s in the midst of benching its starting quarterback and is as thoroughly unentertaining as it is unsuccessful.
As such there is speculation that this could and even should be Belichick’s final season on the sideline in Foxborough, as the coach plays out the string on a second-straight losing season and third in four years without Tom Brady under center.
Asked this week about the criticism facing his boss and the potential for Belichick to be replaced in New England, Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien seemingly doubled down on past accomplishments to defend a future Hall of Fame coach who’s clearly on the hot seat.
“This is Bill Belichick we are talking about,” O’Brien said. “Bill Belichick has done so much for the game of football, the New England Patriots organization. It’s football. We’ve lost some tight games. To think about what he’s done here in this organization, what he’s done for this community, what he’s done for this game, for the game of football, he’s been 50 years in the game of football. To me, I think everybody needs to understand, look, we all gotta win. We’re in a winning business. We’re not winning right now. But I also think you have to step back and look at what this guy has done for the game of football. I think that’s very important to think about.”
It is. And it’s why Belichick will go into the Hall of Fame. Why he’ll be remembered and revered as one of the greatest coaches in the history of the game of football. Why statues will be erected.
Belichick’s accomplishments over the last 50 years are immense. His legacy elite. No one is saying otherwise. No one can take that from him.
But that doesn’t change the reality of the present. He’s a 71-year-old coach of a really bad football team. A team that’s regressed in recent years because of decisions Belichick has made.
As Belichick has emphasized endlessly over the years, everyone in football must reestablish themselves each season. Be judged on their present abilities and future potential, not their past performances and accomplishments.
As harsh as it may seem to him, O’Brien or anyone else, Belichick should be held to the same standard.
2 – All signs point to Bailey Zappe earning the start at quarterback when the Patriots host the Chargers Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium. It will be Zappe’s first start since last October 16, a blowout win in Cleveland. While the second-year former fourth-round pick’s potential has been muddied by some suspect performances in relief duty of Mac Jones this fall and struggles on the practice field, Zappe put up elite production in his two starts a year ago on the way to a pair of wins. In his two previous NFL starts Zappe completed more than 70 percent of his throws, topped a 100 passer rating in each and led a squad that outscored the opposition – Lions and Browns – 67-15 in a pair of wins. That’s exactly the kind of performance the Patriots are probably looking for from the upstart backup for a team that’s struggled mightily to score points.
3 – While Zappe is expected to start against L.A., rookie practice squad elevation Malik Cunningham may be in the No. 2 QB role again. Though as recently as a week ago O’Brien noted that Cunningham was taking limited practice reps at quarterback, the Louisville product could provide his own kind of boost to the offense thanks to his athleticism and playmaking ability with the ball in his hands that motivated New England to try to convert him to wide receiver. Cunningham played just six offensive snaps when he was the backup to Jones in Las Vegas, his only stats a 5-yard sack. But he may be needed for more than that on Sunday, whether he’s called on for situationally-specific plays taking advantage of his unique skills or simply as the backup to Zappe.
4 – While it’s understandable that the focus in New England has been on the quarterback position and a change atop the depth chart, the focal point of the offense can and probably should be the ground attack led by Rhamondre Stevenson. The third-year runner has topped 80 yards on the ground each of the last three weeks, the first such streak of his young career. With a team-best 580 yards on the ground, Stevenson could be in line for his second-straight 1,000-yard season if he can run as productively in the final six games as he has over the last month. While he’s technically on pace for 896 yards on the year, Stevenson only needs to average 70 yards per game over the final month-plus to reach 1,000 yards. Given that he’s averaged over 90 yards per game of late, and has been running as explosively and violently as he has all season, Stevenson has a legit shot to become the first Patriots running back to top 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons since Curtis Martin did it for three straight years from 1995-97.
5 – Third-year defensive tackle Christian Barmore is currently tied for the Patriots team lead with four sacks, sharing the spot with Matthew Judon (and Ja’Whuan Bentley) who landed on IR after just four games. Barmore has had a stellar season in the middle of the New England defensive front. Barmore has a chance to be the first non-edge defender to lead the Patriots in sacks in a season since Mike Wright had 5.5 sacks in 2010.
6 – Beyond Zappe’s performance on Sunday in an effort to inject life into the passing game, it will also be interesting to see which pass-catchers step up for New England. With Kendrick Bourne on IR and rookie Demario Douglas inactive with a concussion, the Patriots’ top target role is very much up for grabs. Bourne (three times) and Douglas (twice) are the only New England pass-catchers with nine or more targets in a game this season.
Presumed preseason No. 1 WR JuJu Smith-Schuster could be in line for an increased role against the Chargers, even though he’s had more than four targets in a game just three times all year, only once since Week 4. Smith-Schuster, DeVante Parker or Hunter Henry could be targeted for increased opportunities against L.A.
7 – Prediction Time!: For the second time in a month a team rumored or at least speculated to be a possible future employer of Belichick visits Gillette Stadium as Justin Herbert’s Chargers (4-7) hit town. It’s been a disappointing season for L.A., which is why they could be in the search for a new head coach sooner rather than later. The talented team has lost five games by a field goal or less. Meanwhile the Patriots are benching a starting quarterback due to performance for the first time since 1992 as Zappe takes over for Jones. Maybe that will be a boost for an offense that has scored 17 or fewer points nine times this season, including seven or fewer in consecutive recent losses to the Colts and Giants. The Chargers can score points, ranking 8th in the NFL. Weather could be an issue with rain expected for Gillette throughout the afternoon. While New England’s defense has fought the good fight most of the season, they face a bigger challenge this week even though they’ve had success against Herbert in the recent past. Still there’s no reason to pick New England or give Belichick’s team the benefit of the doubt at this point. So we won’t. Well go with the Chargers to get the 27-13 win as the Patriots’ struggles continue and the team’s march toward a top-three pick in the draft moves forward.
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