FOXBOROUGH – Bill Belichick’s teams used to be incredibly well-coached, and rarely, if ever, beat themselves. It was a well-known trademark for Belichick-coached teams.
Only that hasn’t been the case for awhile.
The past few years, the Patriots have been beating themselves constantly. The killer mistakes keep repeating from one game to the next.
If the expected happens, and there’s a split with the Patriots, one of the questions any Belichick pursuers should be asking themselves before bringing the six-time Super Bowl winning head coach aboard should go something like this: Are these persistent mistakes a talent issue, or a coaching issue?
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The answer is probably both, but with a heavier lean on coaching. But neither reflect well on Belichick who also buys the groceries along with teaching the players how to play and avoid mistakes.
While defensive whiz Belichick still knows how to take away an opposing team’s best player – see Travis Kelce – he hasn’t been able to stop his own team from self-inflicted wounds.
So while he hasn’t lost his defensive coaching acumen, the attention to details is lacking. So along with his draft failures, his reluctance to recognize the importance of securing elite offensive talent, he’s no longer at the head of the class when it comes to beating the mental mistakes out of his players.
On the opening kickoff from Sunday’s 27-17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, Jalen Reagor returned it 46 yards.
It looked like a great start for the offense, only Brenden Schooler was called for holding. That set up Bailey Zappe at the 13, instead of midfield. A three-and-out followed.
If this was the only penalty Schooler had committed all year, that would be one thing. But it was his fifth, and they’ve all been costly. So something has been lost in the translation with the supposed special teams heir to Matthew Slater.
During the next offensive drive, Demario Douglas caught a pass that should’ve put the Patriots at the Chiefs 6-yard line. However, it was negated due to Douglas being called for a facemask penalty. That pushed the Patriots back 15 yards and led to a field goal attempt, with Chad Ryland missing a 41-yarder.
Later in the game, the Patriots had a touchdown taken off the board thanks to another penalty. Zappe made a nice play to hit Hunter Henry for his second touchdown pass, only Conor McDermott was flagged for holding. They settled for a field goal there.
But this wasn’t just a problem with the offense and special teams. Penalty woes hurt the defense as well.
Jonathan Jones forced a fumble with Jabrill Peppers recovering the ball. But that turnover got tossed out the window thanks to Alex Austin being called for defensive holding.
So it was a litany of mistakes across the board. And it’s not the first time another team played a much cleaner, smarter game. Being 3-11, and one of the least-talented teams in the league, the Patriots can’t afford to make those kind of mistakes and expect to win. They can’t win on sheer will, and Belichick’s defensive acumen alone.
“We’ve got to just take care of the penalties,” running back Ezekiel Elliott said after the loss. “I mean, penalties definitely hurt us today.”
Penalties, and one devastating turnover.
The pick Zappe threw in the third quarter, throwing into coverage while on the move deep in his own territory was a dagger. He knew he should have tossed the ball away, went with the check-down or simply ran the ball himself. Only that didn’t register in the moment.
“Personally, you want to be perfect. You want to not have any turnovers,” said Zappe. “When you have a turnover, you’re mad at yourself because it’s so easy to just step up and throw it out of bounds. Like, ‘Why didn’t you do that?’”
Late in the game, before the two minute warning, the offense had the ball down 10, but there seemed no urgency or picking up the pace.
Aren’t those things drilled home?
Belichick, himself, rattled off the key plays in the game.
“Touchdown called back. Turnover called back. Interception,” he said. “I mean, there were a number of things. Both teams missed field goals. Big plays in the game. Scoring plays.”
It used to be that the Patriots were making all the big plays in the game, as opposed to creating them for the other team.
They used to rule plus-minus. Now with a minus-8 rating, they’re down the bottom with the New York Jets and Washington Commanders.
Can Belichick, whose game management and fourth-down decision making has also waned, get that back, the distinction of having a team that never beats itself, if he’s ultimately retained by Robert Kraft and stays here? Or perhaps if he’s not, and heads somewhere else?
One certainly has to wonder.
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