Decisive loss in Miami brings out the critics
Based on the letters we received in the hours immediately after Sunday’s 31-17 loss to the Dolphins, people aren’t happy with the coach, the quarterback, and the general direction of the Patriots. Let’s get to it.
Last week, you had the credit cake after the win. I want to hear how you’d slice up the blame pie after that one.
— Thomas Higginson, Chatham
Mac Jones, 35 percent: The quarterback had a strong start but tossed a brutal interception in the second quarter that felt like it changed the momentum of the game. It’s not fair to put it all on his shoulders, but as is the case most weeks, the quarterback gets too much of the credit and too much of the blame.
Bill Belichick, 30 percent: Like the quarterback, the coach traditionally gets too much of the credit and too much of the blame, so that’s part of why he’s ranked so high. But the decision to activate JuJu Smith-Schuster and not play him until the fourth quarter was odd. Not going for it at the end of the first half with all three timeouts is also part of the discussion here.
Offensive line, 20 percent: After its best performance of the season, the group reverted to its inconsistent form. While it wasn’t all on the offensive line — the quarterback certainly missed some chances — Jones was sacked three times and hit seven times. Not great for a group that looked to be rounding into form after last week.
The officiating, 10 percent: Curious calls on both sides, but the defensive pass interference call on J.C. Jackson was questionable, while the flag for the hit by Smith-Schuster was also a puzzler.
Jackson, 5 percent: The cornerbacks had an up-and-down afternoon, but Jackson’s illtimed step forward at the start of Tyreek Hill’s 42-yard touchdown reception set the stage for a big afternoon for Hill and the rest of the Miami pass catchers.
Why don’t the Pats go to the hurry-up offense more often? Can Mac Jones learn how to roll out and throw at the same time? And how about getting him out of the habit of throwing off his back foot? And does the OC have an obsession about running dive plays at about 80 percent of first downs?
— William L., Cape Cod
William, one of the things that stood out for me when it came to Jones’s postgame press conference was his reaction to a question on what he liked, what worked for him. He said the tempo plays were good, and the results certainly showed. (They came on the one scoring drive of the day that didn’t come after a takeaway.) I don’t necessarily think they’re capable of keeping their foot on the gas that consistently, but given the result and Jones’s response, I’d look for more of that in the future.
If Mac Jones’s flaws are so obvious now, why weren’t they obvious at Alabama?
— Bill Petti, Whitman
He was surrounded by worldclass talent at just about every position while in college. He’s someone who needs to be propped up; he’s not the sort of quarterback who’s capable of succeeding unless everything is perfect. I used to think it was hyperbole when Jones’s critics would suggest he had a better collection of skill-position guys around him in college than he does now, but I think that’s shown itself to be the case, at least this season.
How many years do you think Kraft will allow Belichick to waste as he slowly plods into mediocrity while trying to surpass Don Shula’s all-time wins record?
— Ryan McCue, Providence
In my experience, Robert Kraft doesn’t want to be the guy who was at the controls when the franchise lost the greatest quarterback of all time and one of the greatest coaches of all time. That being said, I have to imagine he’s also uncomfortable with the direction this team has taken in recent months. My experience is that he and Bill Belichick will have a long conversation this offseason that starts with the owner suggesting very strongly that he needs to hire a general manager. If Belichick resists, then I think that’s the first step in a larger discussion regarding Belichick’s future with the franchise.
Why didn’t the Patriots see during the offseason what most fans have — that they don’t have enough playmakers, their offensive line is shaky, and their starting quarterback is not of NFL caliber?
— Mo Maher, Malden
It’s shocking to me to see just how bad things have gotten since the summer. I don’t want to say we were lulled into a false sense of complacency, because they were competitive in the preseason, as well as the joint practices in Green Bay.
But I sincerely believe that many of the issues — at least on offense — can be traced to the health (and personnel decisions) of the offensive line. It’s never been right, going all the way back to Mike Onwenu’s ankle rehab. Cole Strange was injured the first day they were in pads. Trent Brown has suffered multiple injuries (head, knee, ankle, chest). Calvin Anderson and Riley Reiff have never been 100 percent healthy. And the rookies were thrown into the deep end of the pool and had to learn how to swim. Just a perfect storm of awful for the group.
If you are blowing up the Pats, which players do you keep and build around?
— John Ess, Quincy
Good starting point for 2024. I’ll give you 17 names, in no particular order, who should be foundational elements for this team in 2024 and beyond, using skills, financial value, general leadership, and intangibles: David Andrews, Mike Onwenu, Cole Strange, Kendrick Bourne (even after the torn ACL), Demario Douglas, Pharaoh Brown, Rhamondre Stevenson, Jabrill Peppers, Kyle Dugger, Christian Gonzalez, Marcus Jones, Jonathan Jones, Matthew Judon, Keion White, Christian Barmore, Bryce Baringer, and Brendan Schooler (only because I’m assuming Matthew Slater is going to retire at the end of the season).
More names can make this list between now and the end of the season, but right now, those are my guys I’m moving forward with.
How can Bill rebuild this roster when drafting and signings of free agents have set this team back several years?
— Marc Gonick, North Easton
In my experience, the two best rebuilding jobs he handled came at the end of the 2006 and 2009 seasons. The first time, he recognized that the team needed a talent overhaul, and went out and landed Randy Moss and
Wes Welker, among others. The second provided a talent boost, but also involved disinfecting a toxic locker room.
If Bill is going to be the guy at the controls this offseason (a legitimate question), he’s going to have to work similar magic. The good news? They could have their highest overall pick since 2001 (when they drafted Richard Seymour sixth overall), and a ton of cap space. The bad news? This presents itself as a far more challenging rebuild than either of those two years.
When and where do you believe Bill’s approach with the team went wrong? After all, six Super Bowls weren’t all good fortune. But now the Patriots are pedestrian at best with gaps throughout the entire organization.
— Hyman Namaan, Andover
How far back do you want to go? While I agree there are currently gaps up and down the roster, in my experience, the real root of all of this was botching Tom Brady’s dismount. They should have figured out a way to keep Jimmy Garoppolo on the roster in 2017. If they couldn’t do that, they should have had a post-Brady plan better than the one they executed.
It’s a quarterback league, and to leave yourself scrambling to land Cam Newton, and then not do a better job acknowledging and preparing for the strengths and weaknesses in Mac Jones’s game is slipshod work. I’m not going to lay it all on the quarterback position; the offensive line and missed calls at wide receiver are also part of the conversation. But that’s at the heart of this discussion.
Will Robert Kraft consider pulling Bill Belichick out of the drafting process due to the complete failures of the past . . . with a few exceptions?
— Doug MacPhee, Peterborough, N.H.
I could be wrong, but I don’t think any coach has ever been left out of the drafting process completely. So that might be a big leap. But I wouldn’t be surprised if there were a few more faces in the war room this year offering some potential pushback to the coach.