Bill Belichick long has scoffed at the notion that the “Patriot Way” even exists, so he, unsurprisingly, was fairly unmoved by Rex Ryan’s latest criticism.
Ryan, the former Jets and Bills head coach who know is an analyst for ESPN, took aim at his former counterpart on “Get Up!” last week. In criticizing Belichick for being cagey about naming whether Mac Jones or Bailey Zappe would be the starting quarterback, Ryan posited that the “Patriot Way” wears on guys.
“This team plays like they’re exhausted, and the Patriots Way, that’s it, it exhausts these kids,” Ryan said. “Tom Brady was the only reason you won anyway, all right? I’m just telling you the difference. Tom Brady was the absolute difference. I said from the jump, they would never win again. I said they would never win again when that guy trotted down to Tampa.
“Because I know how draining that is to those kids. And that is what you’re facing right now. You pick all of the players, you do all this. Bill Belichick, greatest in the history, I will never dispute that, OK? I have had my ass kicked by him a million times -- but if you think for a minute that it wasn’t about Tom Brady, you’re absolutely crazy.”
Getting hung up on whether the “Patriot Way” exists is just an exercise in semantics. Ultimately, it comes down to the way Belichick runs things. Since the departure of Brady, the approach has seldom worked.
In any event, Belichick was asked Monday in his weekly appearance on the Greg Hill Show if the “Patriot Way” exists, and if it exhausts players.
“Yeah, I’m not really sure what he’s talking about," Belichick responded. "Rex has never been with the Patriots, I’m not really sure what that means, either. Look, we’re going to do the best we can to prepare the team and compete every week. So, that’s what we’re going to do, whatever that is.”
The Patriots sit at 2-10 and reached a new low Sunday, getting shut out by the Chargers. Call the way of doing things what you want, it especially has not worked in 2023.