This is now: BB and the direction of the Patriots
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In recent history, the closest is probably Russell Wilson (214 rushing attempts, 1388 yards and 7 rushing TDs combined in 2013 and 2014), but even that comes with the caveat that he was a pretty solid passer anyway, and he was supported by perhaps the best defense of the last 20 years.
I think Kraft will have to pry the whistle out of Bill's hands. I don't think Bill will willingly leave the game on a sour note and if he does he knows that his sons coaching careers could be over.
My point is Fields has more of the tools for a modern NFL. Sure you have to stretch to get him to adapt to pocket passing.
Conversely you opted for a poor athlete with a noodle arm where you’d have to stretch to have him do well under pressure or be able to do anything beyond a simple toolkit.
They are all gambles. My point is his gamble harkened to a bygone era
I can’t even fault him for drafting Mac. I still think it was a good / smart pick. It doesn’t even matter how Mac performs from here on out.
However, we can see why he hanged on to Newton so long. Life is rough playing quarterback roulette every few years, just ask the Bears.
i agree, what you can blame him for is player development, specifically on the offensive end. No one seems to get better once they get here on that side of the ball.
I think Mac probably could have been passable but he got fucked for any year two growth last year with the cluster at OC, and then this year the OL is literally the worst I’ve ever seen. It doesn’t excuse anything we’ve seen from him, because you don’t invest in another contract for him given what he’s shown, but he was also not set up for success in either of the past two years because of either the coaching or talent around him. People like to run the question of “Would Brady be Brady without Belichick?” but the question here is “Could Mac have been more without Belichick?” Because right now, he couldn’t be less.
It was an amazing 2 decades. But it’s time. I don’t trust Bill to revamp this thing from the bottom up which is clearly what it’s goino to take.
The next few years/decade are gonna be a rough ride
The next few years/decade are gonna be a rough ride
I'm a big time Belichick homer, but it is time for him to move on. I absolutely will defend him tooth and nail over anyone trying to tear down his past accomplishments. He has proven all he ever needs to prove. But for all coaches/GMs in professional sports there is a shelf life and it is over for him here. Whether its him focusing too much on the defense, him being unable to connect with the players now given his age, the game as a whole moving him by, whatever reasons one wants to come up with, the fact is its no longer working and the team is not going in the right direction. If I'm Kraft, I give him the rest of the season and I won't call it a firing, but Belichick will have to step down from his role once the season is over.
I've thought for quite a while that Kraft wouldn't let him go because as bad as it was to see Brady win elsewhere, it would be even worse for it to also happen with Belichick. He wouldn't repeat the same mistake twice. But Kraft has to accept that as a risk now.
Also, if I'm Kraft I look long and hard in the mirror over the criticisms that have long been lodged towards Belichick but that I probably have a big hand in, the complaints over cash spending, the complaints over the Pats not being willing to push things out salary-cap wise as much as other teams, etc... The fact that Kraft spent all this money on the stadium renovations while the team did little during the offseason and has clearly regressed looks absolutely horrible. Some of that probably isn't fair, but the complains have long been out there and if I want my team to be as successful as it was the last 2 decades I need to put my ego in check and accept the fact that perception can matter more than reality.
As for the replacement, as much as Mayo deserves the shot, Kraft has to go with an offensive coach. We've seen it the last 3 years, the model of having a defensive minded head coach doesn't work that great in today's game. Mac Jones, who deserves a ton of blame himself, has had to go through 3 offensive coordinators in 3 seasons. With a defensive minded coach you always have the risk that someone comes in and steals your offensive coordinator and it puts you back considerably. We've seen it happen here after 2021. Get an offensive guy as the head coach and while yes, success will mean his coordinators are still at play of leaving, you'll still have the head guy around on the side of the ball that matters most. Mayo can stay as DC if the new coach wants it.
I've thought for quite a while that Kraft wouldn't let him go because as bad as it was to see Brady win elsewhere, it would be even worse for it to also happen with Belichick. He wouldn't repeat the same mistake twice. But Kraft has to accept that as a risk now.
Also, if I'm Kraft I look long and hard in the mirror over the criticisms that have long been lodged towards Belichick but that I probably have a big hand in, the complaints over cash spending, the complaints over the Pats not being willing to push things out salary-cap wise as much as other teams, etc... The fact that Kraft spent all this money on the stadium renovations while the team did little during the offseason and has clearly regressed looks absolutely horrible. Some of that probably isn't fair, but the complains have long been out there and if I want my team to be as successful as it was the last 2 decades I need to put my ego in check and accept the fact that perception can matter more than reality.
As for the replacement, as much as Mayo deserves the shot, Kraft has to go with an offensive coach. We've seen it the last 3 years, the model of having a defensive minded head coach doesn't work that great in today's game. Mac Jones, who deserves a ton of blame himself, has had to go through 3 offensive coordinators in 3 seasons. With a defensive minded coach you always have the risk that someone comes in and steals your offensive coordinator and it puts you back considerably. We've seen it happen here after 2021. Get an offensive guy as the head coach and while yes, success will mean his coordinators are still at play of leaving, you'll still have the head guy around on the side of the ball that matters most. Mayo can stay as DC if the new coach wants it.
On the topic of his sons, hard to have any sympathy because that's the risk one accepts with nepotism. Maybe his sons really are good at what they do. They do coach on the side of the ball that is performing their duty. But when one hires their sons, it will always be questioned whether they actually qualify for the job or if they got the job over someone who deserved it more due to their father. If Belichick doesn't want to go because it means his sons will be out of the NFL, then that is an admission on his part that either his sons don't deserve such a job in the first place, or that he has damaged his son's ability to distinguish themselves by having them work directly underneath him rather than them trying to find work elsewhere.
I can see why Kraft didn't say no to the nepotism, he'd be the biggest hypocrite imaginable as practically every other owner would be if he refused it. But if Belichick sticking around to protect his sons having a job in the NFL that's not the reason to keep him here as the head coach.
At this point it seems obvious to question whether BB has the capability or interest in building the team back into a contender.
What isn't obvious is what happens on the follow. Including the Pats, about half of the NFL has been to a Superbowl since NEs first against the Rams. Even fewer have won.
The point is, you can move on from Belichick but what you get on the follow might be better or it might be a lot worse. And its not like those ~15 franchises are owned by inept types who aren't focused on winning or the results from all of their spending.
Winning in the NFL is hard, doing it consistently even harder and as we are learning, even sustained excellence is finite.
What isn't obvious is what happens on the follow. Including the Pats, about half of the NFL has been to a Superbowl since NEs first against the Rams. Even fewer have won.
The point is, you can move on from Belichick but what you get on the follow might be better or it might be a lot worse. And its not like those ~15 franchises are owned by inept types who aren't focused on winning or the results from all of their spending.
Winning in the NFL is hard, doing it consistently even harder and as we are learning, even sustained excellence is finite.
McKenna writes that the Patriots defense allowed 34 points to the Saints today. OK
This article is.... exceptionally bad. Focusing on the defense? Based on 1 game with half the team missing and the offense putting up 1:30 drives is.... truly asinine, I assume it's because "Bill built a terrible offense" isn't as hot a take as "Bill is losing it on defense too"
no, but several have made it there, (and to NFC and AFC title games, which tells me it's not particularly predictive of success or lack thereof).
I think the problem stems from there just aren't enough hours in a week to be both the GM and the Coach, especially in the last 10 years or so. There is so much data to cover as a GM, plus a much larger prospect pool. I'm not trying to say it's impossible, but I just can't see it as being the both more effective or efficient option over separating those positions. I feel like to succeed at just one of those positions you need it to consume as much time as you can give in this day and age, especially when you need to rebuild most of the roster
He made it work with Pioli back in the day. Not sure why he can’t do it again. I get we all want control but your point about time commitments is very real. There’s just too much to do. And he’s beyond the years where he can spend 90 hours in the office without some kind of wear and tear.
Andy Reid went 8-8, 9-6-1, 11-5 (eliminated in first round of playoffs), 10-6, 8-8, 4-12 in his last six years (2007-2012) with the Eagles. They've done pretty well for themselves since, but Reid's done even better with KC. Don't get me wrong, if the Pats cut the cord with BB, I'll sign up for the Eagles results in a heartbeat, but they've got 2 7-win and one 4-win season since that time, while Reid has always had at least 9 wins in KC. Good teams and good coaches sometimes have bad stretches. It just feels especially calamitous because the Patriots haven't for so long.
Don’t really get the folks who think he should remain as head coach and relinquish GM duties. His coaching hires have arguably been worse than player acquisition. His staff is comprised of former coaches, former players, and family. This is stagnation. If they had good offensive players, I’m not sure they’d know what to do with them.
If BB took a some humble medicine - meaning bringing new voices into the organization in the offseason, and these would have to be voices who would actually push back on him - then I see the point in keeping him around. If he thinks doing the same thing is going to bring different results, bring in someone else who will try to right the ship.
If BB took a some humble medicine - meaning bringing new voices into the organization in the offseason, and these would have to be voices who would actually push back on him - then I see the point in keeping him around. If he thinks doing the same thing is going to bring different results, bring in someone else who will try to right the ship.
The conversation has now changed a bit for me!
We're on to the draft.
Along the way, my first call is to the Chiefs to see if they'll take Juju back even if we have to pay some of his salary next year.
Second call is to the Broncos to see if they will trade Jerry Jeudy now.
People wanted the team to bottom out and hated that Bill and co would not bottom out. They are now bottoming out and...its all Bill's fault.
My read is that he’s suggesting people wanted to bottom out, bill refused, now they are because of what bills done. I don’t think he’s at all saying bill planned this
I ask this innocently. Has the name Chris Board been mentioned once this year? I haven't heard it.
Special teams are a complete and total mess, along with the rest of the team.
Special teams are a complete and total mess, along with the rest of the team.
Thought the same thing the other day, to the extent that I looked him up to see if he was an active member of the team.
another area where Bill’s philosophy is way behind the times. ST has never been less relevant to winning. Most teams go for it on 4th down vs punting, kick offs are essentially eliminated, ideally we would go for it more on 4th and short (which statistically is usually the EV+ decision for winning). Roster resources are allocated like ST is a third of the game. I wonder if some of our recent draft misses were looking at some players and over valuing ability to be “four down players”, vs someone who can help you on the first three downs.
Bill might show up on your doorstep and slap the taste out of your mouth for this post.
I think there has to be a balance. When you're a good team and the margins in championship games and SBs are small, the STs guys could determine an important game. When you're getting smoked by 35 then maybe reconsider how resources are allocated.
They have one special teamer that was picked before the 5th round.
They have zero special teamers that make more than 1% of the cap.
If you spend even one second thinking special team allocations are holding this team back, you've wasted your time.
We're about to find out how Bob and Jonathan Kraft respond to seeing their team becoming the laughingstock of the NFL and dealing with an apathetic fanbase. This team is unwatchable right now and while I wouldn't be shocked if they turn it around somewhat against the weaker middle part of the schedule and are sporting a 6-7 record by the time the Chiefs come to town in December, I doubt that it will be the brand of exciting football that Patriots fans are craving. I suspect that fans will largely tune this team out as the season goes on and the Krafts will see that apathy hit the bottom line in some fashion.
With the Celtics looking like a top 3 team, the Bruins looking at least semi-competitive, and the Red Sox likely to add some big name FA talent this offseason the Patriots are definitely looking at afterthought status in the Boston sports market, which hasn’t happened in a very long time.
Going to be very interesting to see how ownership responds. Most likely course of action remains running it back with BB but the thought of BB leaving is now no longer inconceivable.
I think BB ought to consider doing what Brady did. Brady identified a team that had everything needed to win a Super Bowl except it had a sub-replacement level QB. He went there, was a more than competent QB, and won a Super Bowl.
The question for today is, what team out there has all the talent to win a Superbowl but has a sub-replacement level head coach? The Chargers?
The question for today is, what team out there has all the talent to win a Superbowl but has a sub-replacement level head coach? The Chargers?
The Bucs were 5-11, 5-11, 7-9 in the three seasons immediately preceding Brady's arrival. Winston was 16th in the league in EPA/Play in 2019, not this utter disaster of a quarterback. We're still doing the "well, of course he won there, a lot of guys with a baseline of competence could have done it" stuff, huh. My guess is Bill could take his pick of underachievers in contrast to the talent (Dallas, the Chargers) and we'd collectively find out a QB has much greater immediate impact on a good team than a HC.
Jameis had 30 INT and 12 fumbles (9 of which they lost) his last season in Tampa. He was, in fact, an utter disaster.
He also made a shit ton of plays, which is why the EPA/Play had him as a middling QB. Are we still judging hitters by RBIs too? Brady made as many or more plays while cutting down on the turnovers which is why they made the jump, but just improving in one area of the equation would have them as a middling team again.
That year I predicted a SB win for Tompa because TB’s underlying metrics were all excellent and it was a stacked roster. Turnovers are the worst thing you can do EPA wise. Winston killed his team.
Then he would have made the move at the end of 2022 when Navy let Niumatatolo go. Whoever they hired is going to be there 3-4 years.
RBI are largely a function of other performers on the team, whereas QB turnovers are largely a function of QB play. There is also still admittedly some level of impact surrounding talent has on these QB numbers, but in this case it makes Winston’s numbers even worse, because that roster was stacked.
Don’t think BB would ever deal with Jerry but, on paper, that would make a ton of sense.
It was 17-17, wasn't it? Pick 6, terrible pitchout fumble, dropped pass fumble. I didn't even include all the 3 and outs and get right back on the field. Having said, that, the defense didn't play all that well; but in the modern NFL you should win giving up 17 points; even 24 allowing for one gift td.
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If you have a reasonably competitive team, ST's are still very important. Run 2022 back with a healthy Bailey and it would have made a huge difference. Start with the 2 kickoffs run back in the finale and work your way back from there. One guy fucked them over in 3 areas- punting, kickoffs and holding.
The Patriots are the most popular team in the region by a wide margin and it would take years of losing seasons to change that. Their pre-season games had higher ratings than quite a few Celtics playoff games.
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