Bill Belichick probably didn’t mind having Amazon Prime’s Thursday Night Football broadcast feature him on their promo for the upcoming game with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Patriots coach was featured opposite Steelers T.J. Watt, the NFL’s 2021 Defensive Player of the Year to help pitch the game and motivate viewers to tune in.
Belichick got the nod on the promo, because the Patriots don’t have a top player. They don’t have a star of note to put on the broadcast’s graphic hyping the game.
At 2-10, with Mac Jones benched in favor of Bailey Zappe, the pickings are slim, especially on the offensive side of the ball. So they went with the six-time Super Bowl winning head coach by default.
Perhaps Matthew Judon would have been worthy if he was healthy, but that’s not the point.
Seeing Belichick’s mug on the promo was emblematic of the Patriots current plight.
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They are the worst team in the AFC, and arguably the worst team in football because they lack star power. They lack game-changing players.
They don’t have anyone who is compelling enough for viewers to tune in, be it a quarterback, receiver, or dominant defensive player.
Zappe doesn’t meet the qualifications. For that matter, Jones doesn’t either.
If anyone watched the Monday Night Football game, the Cincinnati Bengals managed to take down the Jacksonville Jaguars with their backup at the helm.
With Joe Burrow done for the season after undergoing wrist surgery, the Bengals have to rely on Jake Browning, an undrafted free agent quarterback who has been developed in their system, to keep them in the playoff hunt.
Browning ( 32-of-37 passing for 354 yards and two touchdowns against the Jags) looked terrific in his second career start.
Why?
Because he has Ja’Marr Chase (11 catches, 149 yards, 1 TD) in his arsenal. He also has Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd.
Stepping in for Burrow, at least Browning has legitimate weapons to give him a chance to succeed.
Jones, Zappe, Will Grier, and or Malik Cunningham don’t have that same luxury. DeVante Parker, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Tyquan Thornton just don’t cut it. The Patriots don’t have anyone in the same league as Chase.
Parker is the second worst receiver in terms of gaining separation, according to Next Gen Stats. As for Smith-Schuster, he’s the second-worst in terms of yards after catch.
Isn’t that one of the reasons why he was brought here, and Jakobi Meyers was let go? Because he was a good YAC man? As for Thornton, he runs fast. That’s about it.
The Patriots don’t have a superstar at any offensive position.
That has to change whenever the powers that be, whether it’s Belichick or some other coach and general manager, decide how to rebuild the team.
Getting elite difference-making weapons is a must. A top tier quarterback is also on the list, along with a competent offensive line.
To accomplish the mission, the Patriots have to draft well – they currently have the No. 2 overall pick – and they have to score in free agency.
When it comes to the latter, they have to spend money.
The Patriots cannot continue the habit of being among the lowest teams in the league when it comes to cash spending.
Let’s face it. The Patriots aren’t the draw they once were. In the past, free agents would sign on because they wanted a chance to win, or they wanted to play with Tom Brady, or be coached by current poster boy Belichick.
Those days are long gone.
The only draw for a top free agent to come to Foxborough is do-re-mi. Borrowing a phrase from Jerry Maguire, it’s showing them the money.
Belichick might still have some cache, and deservedly so, but he’s not throwing or catching passes, making tackles or defending pass catchers on game day. Right now, he’s leading a star-deprived football team.
If Belichick remains as the team’s head coach and de facto general manager, he needs to finally evolve with the times, albeit late, and focus on producing a super-duper talent-infused offense to complement the defense. He needs to gear the rebuild around the offensive side of the ball.
That means significant upgrades at quarterback, receiver, and offensive tackle. More to the point, it means having a collection of players to choose from to be the face of the Patriots during promos for primetime games.
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