Fans: What comes next?

Another week, another loss, another mailbag chock-full of interesting questions.

Do you think Belichick and Kraft quietly arranged to tank the season for a chance to draft a QB?

— Dan Shea, Danvers

No. I can’t speak on how Robert Kraft might approach things, but I think tanking runs counter to Bill Belichick’s DNA, especially as he pursues Don Shula’s record. He wants wins, and he wants as many of them as possible as quickly as possible. If you ask him about the chance his team is tanking now, he’d shoot you a look that would freeze the room.

The Patriots obviously have a good defense. So why hasn’t Belichick added some offensive weapons? He’s not stupid; he can see what everyone else sees.

— Robert Kelley, North Carolina (via Maine)

In hindsight, I believe he thought that the players he added the last couple of seasons would be worthwhile options. Mike Gesicki was a terrific red-zone target with the Dolphins, JuJu Smith-Schuster has been a quality pass catcher over the course of his career, and Ezekiel Elliott represented an opportunity to bolster the ground game. (That’s not to mention his belief in the three offensive linemen he drafted and his two free agent pickups there.)

None of them — and I mean none — have worked out the way that I think Belichick would have liked. Injury, ineffectiveness, and an inability to unlock their skill sets (which is partially on Mac Jones and partially on Bill O’Brien, in my estimation) have combined to doom this year’s additions, at least on offense.

If the Patriots land Drake Maye, what do you think becomes of Mac? Will he be kept as a backup or continue to be the starter while Maye learns the ropes?

— Don Lawrence, St. Croix (via Cape Cod)

If Bill does end up sticking around and the Patriots draft Drake Maye (or another highly touted quarterback) and Jones isn’t involved in some trade prior to spring workouts, then I think Bill keeps them and has a quarterback competition. The coach loves nothing more than bringing in talent to push the guys he already has, and that would certainly be the case here.

As for your second question, it all depends on the quarterback and the situation. If the youngster shows he can play, then he’d start. If the roles were reversed, then he’d go with Mac.

It’s obvious that the present group of coaches are not necessarily equivalent replacements when it comes to coaches like Dante Scarnecchia, Ivan Fears, Josh McDaniels, Brian Flores, and Matt Patricia (defensively), simply due to lack of discipline with the players presently in all three phases. It seems the talent drain isn’t just between the lines.

— Lee Simmons, Erie, Pa. (via Holyoke)

Great call. There are several things to unpack with this question, but I always come back to a story I wrote before Super Bowl LIII that detailed the relationship between Belichick, Scarnecchia, and Fears. These three spent decades together. They spoke to each other in coaching shorthand. They had an absolute trust.

Fears and Scarnecchia knew exactly the sort of player Belichick wanted, and they knew how to prepare the players perfectly. While the losses of others such as McDaniels and Flores (as well as Ernie Adams) played a role in the brain drain, it’s the loss of Scarnecchia and Fears that I think hurt Belichick the most.

At what point does Mac’s play, even with Bill O’Brien, make us reevaluate the blame pie for the last two years? He has straight-out lost us three games by himself.

— Hamilton, via Twitter

Based on what was a better-thanaverage rookie season, I think there was every expectation that he would build on that in 2022, even without McDaniels (the only guy to consistently maximize his strengths and minimize his weaknesses over an extended stretch). The problem was, he failed to build on that.

We can blame the coaches, the offensive options around him, or this year’s bedraggled offensive line. But there comes a time in a quarterback’s career when he needs to show that he can overcome all of that. That he can find a way to win, even when the house is collapsing around him. Find a way to win when everything around him is less than perfect.

It’s a lot to ask, but in my experience, that’s the litmus test. That’s what separates good quarterbacks from great ones. And that’s where I think Mac falls short.

Who will be favored this week — the bye week or the Patriots?

— Dennis, via Twitter

In these difficult times, it feels good to laugh.