The Patriots might not have the type of leadership that was omnipresent during the peak years of the last two decades, but Bill Belichick doesn’t think leadership is what’s currently sinking New England.
Belichick’s team sits at a woeful 1-5 following their 21-17 loss to the Raiders on Sunday. It’s been a bad year for the Patriots, whose losses have either been close backbreakers or blowouts.
Clearly, there’s a talent issue on some level. But the vibe that permeated the Tom Brady-era Patriots is lacking, and they don’t seem to have the bevy of leaders they once did to help get things turned around.
After Jermaine Wiggins invoked Willie McGinest as one of those respected leaders from his playing days in New England, he asked Belichick Monday on “The Greg Hill Show” if they have that type of player on this year’s team.
“As you know Wiggy, every player is different. Every player’s personality is different,” Belichick said. “Players have different ways of messaging and having leadership. Certainly there are different styles and many different ones can be effective.
“I think we have had some great leaders in our locker room like (Devin) McCourty and Willie and (Tedy) Bruschi and (Matthew) Slater, Bryan Cox when he played. But they all had different styles, so I think you can be effective if you’re yourself, you’re sincere, you're your own personality. I think that’s more effective than trying to be somebody else.
“I think we have good leadership on our team and in the locker room. In the end, we really have to just find a way to play better and make the plays we need to make in critical situations in the game. It's been three games this year when we just haven’t been able to do that. So like I said, we have to keep working on it.”
Regardless of what the root cause is, things need to change fast for the Patriots to salvage the season from being anything other than an embarrassment. If those leaders exist in the locker room now, it’s certainly time for them to step up.