Belichick talk includes own status
The Patriots continue to sail into uncharted waters for Bill Belichick, with the team falling to 2-9 after a 10-7 loss to the Giants on Sunday.
In his Monday morning interview on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show,” Belichick commented on kicker Chad Ryland, who missed a 35-yard field goal attempt in the closing seconds that could have tied the game.
“Chad’s a very talented player, but this is two weeks in a row we’ve basically missed extra points,” he said of the rookie. “That’s not good enough.”
It was symptomatic of how the season has gone in the view of the coach.
“Been quite a few of those this year,” Belichick said. “We had our chances, obviously couldn’t convert.”
Would the Patriots bring in another kicker?
“I’m not ruling anything in or out,” said Belichick in a press conference after the interview. “I try to do what’s best for the team.”
The Patriots now hold the third-worst record in the NFL.
The ongoing uncertainty at quarterback dominated pregame headlines, but both Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe played against the Giants. Neither proved particularly effective, as each turned the ball over (Jones did so twice).
“Thought he had a decent week of practice,” Belichick told WEEI on why he chose Jones to start, explaining that the former first-round pick had gotten “a majority of the reps” in practice.
“We just need to stop turning the ball over, offensively, period,” Belichick said.
Looking ahead, Belichick refused to say which player would start in Week 13 against the Chargers.
“We’ll take a look this week,” he said.
Pressed on why he wouldn’t say which player will start even if Jones continues to get most of the practice reps, Belichick explained that it isn’t regular procedure.
“I didn’t announce a starter, and I’m not going to announce starters at every position every week,” he said. “You could ask that every week. That’s not really what I’m going to do.”
Interestingly, Belichick didn’t entirely dismiss the possibility of bringing in another quarterback.
“I don’t really see that right now, but I mean I wouldn’t rule anything out,” he said. “Anything that would help our team. We’ve brought players at any position. You never know what’s going to happen. If I think there’s somebody, [or] if our pro scouting department thinks there’s somebody that would help us, we’d certainly listen to it and take a look, at any position.
“It’s not really about the quarterback position. Really could be any position. So, I don’t know. Nobody that comes to mind, but we’ll see.”
Looking back at the choice to draft Jones 15th overall in 2021, was it Belichick’s decision, or owner Robert Kraft’s?
“Organizationally we thought it was the right thing to do,” Belichick said on WEEI.
Belichick was again asked at the press conference if it was his decision to take Jones in the 2021 draft.
“Collectively, yeah, we were all for that,” he said. Asked about a claim earlier in November from ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky that the longtime coach already knows he will be leaving the Patriots after the season — and that the location is already determined — Belichick had a blunt response.
“Yeah, that’s ridiculous,” he said. “I’m just trying to do the best job I can right now. Obviously [I] need to do better.”
In contention for top pick
Another embarrassing loss kept the Patriots firmly in contention for the top pick in next year’s NFL Draft.
The Patriots (2-9) are in third for April’s draft order, according to Tankathon.com. The Giants fell to sixth. The Bears continue to lead the race for the No. 1 pick by way of the Panthers, who traded their 2024 first to Chicago last year to acquire the top pick in the 2023 draft and select quarterback Bryce Young. Carolina dropped to 1-10 after 17-10 loss to the Titans.
The Cardinals are still second after a 37-14 drubbing at the hands of the Rams. Arizona, which has not had a bye week, is 2-10.
Teammates stick up for Douglas
A day after the fourth-quarter hit that took Demario Douglas out of the loss to the Giants, some Patriots were upset about the way things were handled, and because it wasn’t flagged by the officials.
“I can’t speak on the referees,” linebacker Jahlani Tavai said Monday on a conference call. “If we’re talking about protecting players . . . especially when it’s so noticeable and everybody sees it, then people have to protect us. Protect guys like [Douglas] who are in a vulnerable position. He’s looking up for the ball. He has a quick second to process what’s happening in front of him. In that process, from what I saw, it was a hit that should have been called.
“It was also very upsetting seeing that because it was one of your guys. I love that guy, Pop. I’m just praying he’s OK and hoping that people are aware of that. And they don’t let it happen again.”
Douglas was attempting to return a punt with just over 14 minutes left in the fourth quarter and was corralled by New York’s Cam Brown at high speed. The impact of the collision sent Douglas to the turf, where he banged his head. Initially, the rookie wide receiver was listed as questionable to return, but he was then downgraded to out.
“It’s just crazy,” an exasperated safety Jabrill Peppers said after the game. “They preach all this player safety stuff, but that doesn’t get flagged.
“You can’t say you care about player safety and not flag that play.”
Douglas was in the locker room at MetLife Stadium and chatted with reporters. Belichick said he wasn’t sure about Douglas’s status regarding the concussion protocol.
“I’m not 100 percent sure on that,” Belichick said. “Really, we get those follow-up reports here today depending on how things went last night or this morning. So, we’ll see. But, he wasn’t able to go back in the game.
“The Monday morning reports are usually a little more accurate than right after the game, so we’ll see how things are today.”
Pointed remarks on defense
While the Patriots offense continues to struggle to put points on the board, the defense has certainly more than held up its end of things, as the team has yielded 20 total points in the last two games. The defense is yielding 22.5 points per game overall, down from 28.2 in mid-October.
“We hold ourselves to a high standard, and we always want to meet those expectations we hold for ourselves,” Tavai said. “We’re always striving to put a donut on the scoreboard.
“We just strive for perfection.”
QB Burton in for tryout
According to the league transaction wire, the Patriots had five free agents in for workouts on Monday: quarterback Austin Burton (Purdue), tight end Michael Ezeike (UCLA), defensive back Cameron McCutcheon (Western Carolina), tight end La’Michael Pettway (Iowa State), and tight end Christian Sims (Bowling Green). Burton is the son of WBZ-TV sports anchor Steve Burton.