Bill Belichick’s bizarre handling of his quarterbacks is overshadowing another baffling coaching decision from the Patriots’ debacle Monday night against the Bears.
Down 19 points in the fourth quarter, the Patriots weren’t playing with any urgency. Instead, they were huddling after every play, and still handing the ball off.
patriots needlessly created a mess at qb
Joe Buck and Troy Aikman were rightfully mystified. After Rhamondre Stevenson ran up the middle for 4 yards on 1st-and-10 with 9:31 remaining, the fans left at Gillette Stadium started to boo.
“Crowd’s getting restless,” said Buck.
“Boy, they sure are,” added Aikman.
The Patriots’ long huddle gave the duo more time to publicly question their methodical approach.
“This is a 19-point game. Little underneath throws and hand-offs aren’t gonna do it,” said Buck.
Aikman pointed out that Bailey Zappe, who started the previous two games, is probably well-versed in the hurry-up offense. But still, the Patriots didn’t play faster.
“I think that’s the frustration, the hand-offs. And also, they’re huddling,” said Aikman. “Zappe knows the no-huddle offense and everything else. He can execute everything. But they’ve been pretty methodical in their approach on this drive.”
The drive ended in an interception, as did New England’s following possession. Maybe playing faster would’ve just sped up the inevitable.
But at least the Patriots would’ve had a chance.