Bill Belichick's Patriots About To 'Start Over' As Season Slipping Away Five Games In
It's like the old days for the New England Patriots now.
No, not the Tom Brady old days. And not even the get-to-the-Super-Bowl old days with Bill Parcells as coach.
The Patriots look a lot like the sorry lot of the early 1990s when forgettable names such as Rod Rust and Dick MacPherson coached teams that typically finished last in the AFC East and were rarely competitive.
That's Bill Belichick's team now.
Uncompetitive.
Borderline embarrassing.
"Plain and simply we got to find a way to play and coach better than that," coach Bill Belichick said. "So what we're going to do is start all over and get back on a better track than we're on right now."
FOXBORO, MASSACHUSETTS - OCTOBER 08: Carl Granderson #96 of the New Orleans Saints sacks Mac Jones #10 of the New England Patriots during the second quarter at Gillette Stadium on October 08, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Winslow Townson/Getty Images)
Bill Belichick Has No Answers To Questions
The Patriots lost to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, 34-0, to fall to 1-4.
The game was 24-0 at the start of the fourth quarter marking the Patriots being outscored 56-0 in the previous six quarters. That mark is 69-0 through seven quarters now.
And they had three turnovers Sunday, meaning they have committed 10 turnovers the previous seven quarters. Said another way, the Patriots have more turnovers than points over multiple games.
So the mood in the locker room afterward was, as tight end Hunter Henry said, "not great. I'll just leave it at that."
This comes one week after the worst loss in coach Belichick's career, a 38-3 loss to the Cowboys.
So a 35 point loss followed by a 34 point loss.
"Same old story," offensive lineman David Andrews said.
At least Belichick is getting consistency out of this team.
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS - OCTOBER 08: Mac Jones #10 of the New England Patriots reacts while sitting on the bench during the second quarter against the New Orleans Saints at Gillette Stadium on October 08, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Winslow Townson/Getty Images)
Patriots Have A QB Problem And More
The Patriots have been outscored 72-3 the last two weeks. So Belichick believes he and his team need something of a reboot.
"We need to start over again," Belichick repeated.
Belichick said he has "started over" in previous seasons. And what does that entail?
"Starting over," Belichick said.
This comes as starting quarterback Mac Jones was ineffective and ultimately did not finish the game for the second consecutive week. This was also the second consecutive game Jones did not get New England's offensive unit in the end zone.
It's the apocalypse in New England, folks.
"It's not good enough at any level," Henry said. "Obviously something needs to be different and we've got to do things a little bit differently, that starts with our side of the ball."
The Patriots, in fact, have authored 32 consecutive drives without a touchdown, per the CBS telecast. And that is the longest streak of offensive sadness under Belichick as coach.
One more thing: The 34-0 home shutout was the worst in Patriots franchise history.
"It's hard, right?" Jones said. "We don't want to score zero points. That's not the goal."
So the Patriots are at a crossroads.
UNSPECIFIED - CIRCA 1991: Head coach Bill Belichick of the Cleveland Browns looks on from the sidelines during an NFL football game circa 1991. Belichick coached the Browns from 1991-95. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
What Happened To Patriots And Belichick?
Whatever starting over in October means, it doesn't mean adding a bunch of new talent.
That's a problem because Jones isn't good enough to lift the offense. The offensive talent around him obviously does not have enough playmakers to lift Jones.
The pass protection is terrible. They're allowing a QB pressure rate of over 47 percent this season. It was actually a full blown 50 percent last week in the loss to Dallas.
And the defense is unremarkable in practically every way, failing to pressure the opposing quarterback, failing to make opponents one-dimensional, and not coming up with turnovers.
"There's a lot of problems," Belichick admitted even as he was saying Jones will continue at quarterback.
All of this points to Belichick. All of it.
He put this team together as the club's final authority on personnel decisions. He drafted Jones. He put the coaching staff together. He is a defensive mastermind whose defense seems clueless.
But starting over won't include him being ousted, at least not during the season.
After the season? Let's just agree "starting over" better work.