Anthony Smith’s Steelers, Freddie Mitchell’s Eagles, Marty Schotteneheimer’s Chargers.
It was way back in the heyday of the Tom Brady-led dynasty, but they all learned the same lesson. Don’t poke Bill Belichick and the Patriots, don’t say anything that could remotely be considered critical of New England.
Indianapolis linebacker Bobby Okereke and the Colts defense may be set to learn the same lesson this Saturday night.
Recall that Okereke made the seemingly innocuous, cliché comments about the Colts defense planning to try to stop the Patriots running game in order to make New England “one-dimensional” and put the game on the shoulders of rookie QB Mac Jones to “see what he can do.”
On one hand, the game plan tell is a big ol’ nothingburger. For decades defenses have talked about taking the running game away from any opponent to force that team to be one-dimensional and win through the air. In many ways it’s Football 101, even if a bit dated in the pass-happy world of 2021.
On the other hand, you never know what Belichick and the Patriots will take offense to and there is a tinge of Jones disrespect in the Colts chatter. There’s an implication that if you take away Damien Harris’ and Rhamondre Stevenson’s contributions on the ground the rising star New England rookie quarterback isn’t capable of the getting the job done through the air. The Patriots have shown they can win WITH Jones guiding the offense after all, a part of the plan with the running game and defense, but many have pondered whether the team can win a big game or come through in a big spot BECAUSE of Jones and the passing attack.
Okereke was just speaking the obvious, saying what many have thought. Heck, it’s probably the way the Patriots feel heading into the big AFC contest at Lucas Oil Stadium against MVP running back candidate Jonathan Taylor and a passing attack led by resurgent if at times still mistake-prone veteran Carson Wentz.
Yet Okereke’s comments may have struck a raw nerve in New England, in the inner circles of Belichick’s world where there seems to be growing feeling that Jones isn’t getting the respect he deserves for the job he has done this season.
It started almost exactly a month ago when former Patriots scout and current Senior Bowl Director Jim Nagy, who still clearly has friends and contacts inside his former Gillette Stadium workplace, got his dander up a bit regarding the idea that Jones landed in the perfect system to find success that eludes other rookies.
“They are basically making excuses for the success he’s having and I’m tired of hearing it,” Nagy said on “Mut at Night” on WEEI. “Let’s give the kid some credit for how he’s playing.”
Mike Lombardi, the longtime Belichick friend, former Patriots assistant and father of current New England wide receivers coach Mick Lombardi, went on a similar Jones rant less than a week ago, reacting to the rookie QB’s win in windy Buffalo in which he threw just three passes.
“Nobody wants to give the kid credit for being good. The kid is really good. They didn’t want to give him credit when he was good at Alabama,” Lombardi said on “Merloni and Fauria” on WEEI of the No. 15 overall pick and fifth QB taken in the draft. "What more does Mac Jones have to do? I don’t understand why people keep questioning this. The kid is really good, can we just leave him alone?”
Apparently, no. Okereke poked at Jones, Belichick and the Patriots with his “one-dimensional” comments. And, if you paid attention, Belichick may have even responded in his Wednesday press conference, dipping his toe in a media back-and-forth ever so slightly by taking a page out of former New England wide receiver Wes Welker’s press conference playbook.
Belichick described the Colts using some form of balanced, well-balanced or balancing throughout.
What’s the opposite of “one-dimensional”? Well, in the world of football, it would be balanced. Huh, interesting word choice by Belichick. So the Patriots are “one-dimensional” and the Colts are oh so “well-balanced”?
And if you listened closely – maybe too closely! -- it almost sounded like the “balanced” comments were dripping with sarcasm about a team that is so clearly led by Taylor’s rushing abilities as arguably the best healthy back in the NFL today. Even Indy’s passing game is founded in part by the RPOs tied to Taylor’s threat.
Oh and Belichick may have even called his shot a bit, when asked about the Colts defense being among the best in the NFL in terms of not allowing big plays and the idea that Jones, who already has a “dink and dunk” reputation, might need to focus even more on short passes Saturday night in Indy.
“They haven’t allowed a lot of explosive plays. I don’t know if they will or won’t,” Belichick said, seemingly leaving the possibility very much open for his poor little “one-dimensional” offense to explode on the road.
Remember the Patriots season finale loss in Miami in 2015 when Belichick decided New England needed to run the ball almost exclusively with Steven Jackson and Brandon Bolden? That his team needed to establish something that it hadn’t really done because it probably would need to do just that in the oncoming postseason? Maybe, just maybe, the opposite could happen against the Colts. Maybe, just maybe, while the Colts are focused on preparing to stop the run, Belichick is preparing to unleash Jones and his still-developing, still-questionable passing attack to answers some questions, derail some doubters and add another tool to his team’s postseason toolbox.
Two weeks after New England ran the ball 46 times and asked their rookie QB to throw it just three times in an impressive win in the cold winds of Buffalo, New England exits the bye with a new challenge in the perfect climate-controlled conditions of the Colts home dome. Obviously they’ll have a very different game plan. One that will included significantly more passing, maybe even a pass-heavy approach looking to hit some big plays.
It feels and sounds like not only does New England have a big game to try to win Saturday night in Indy, but it may also have a point to prove.
Hey Okereke, want to see what the “one-dimensional” Patriots Jones can do? Careful what you wish for.
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