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Bill Belichick has by no means been a relentless optimist. Certain, there are moments he’s tried to stay on the sunny aspect of the road.
And even total seasons. Like 2020, the primary yr A.B. (after Brady). The roster was weak, the Patriots had cap points and COVID demanded a stage of chipperness from leaders in each business.
Typically, although, Belichick snorts at excuses and prefers pessimism. He didn’t earn the nickname “Doom” 40 years in the past due to his cheery disposition.
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So his, “Gee, we nearly had ‘em!” outlook after the Patriots’ 20-7 loss in Miami hit the ear humorous. As did his halftime remark — relayed by CBS throughout the telecast — that it was actually solely two dangerous performs that had the Patriots trailing 17-0.
Disenchanted, positive. Nonetheless going to Dairy Queen??? YOU BET!!
“It Wasn’t That Unhealthy” Invoice confirmed up after the Patriots’ closing preseason recreation. After a sloppy outing towards the Raiders, Belichick joked that his workforce should have left its good work “on the observe subject” in two days main as much as the sport. Ignoring that on a kind of days, the workforce carried out atrociously.
He’s spent an inordinate period of time this summer time preaching persistence and being much less “Do Your Job” and extra “Blame me if the fellas don’t look so good …”
The truth is, the Patriots weren’t simply two performs away from being even with Miami. The slip-ups weren’t random, out-of-nowhere gaffes.
The 2 performs in query — a strip-six landing and a 42-yard fourth-down slant — have been end result performs.
The psychological trip on the offensive line that led to the strip sack nearly instantly adopted an uncontested sack that got here due to one other psychological trip from the identical aspect of the offense of line.
The identical offensive line plagued with communication points and breakdowns all through coaching camp and the preseason. The identical offensive line that’s had 4 completely different coaches since 2020. The identical offensive line bookended by two tackles who aren’t essentially the most constant performers with a rookie guard plunked on the left. The identical offensive line at the moment co-coached by Matt Patricia, who can also be unfold manner too skinny for a man who can also be a first-year play-caller.
Truthfully, who may have seen an offensive line breakdown coming within the opener???
The opposite big-play landing was a 42-yard slant thrown to Jaylen Waddle on a fourth-down simply earlier than halftime. It capped a 92-yard drive authored by the still-not-that-impressive Tua Tagovailoa which included conversions after a third-and-7, a first-and-15, and a third-and-19.
It’s not like Miami pulled that play from their posterior. They have been — at that juncture — shifting it fairly effectively.
The upshot of all that is that the Patriots aren’t only a whisker away as David Andrews stated after the sport.
“We beat ourselves up. I believed we ran the ball effectively. Clearly, they did some issues to counteract that, a number of the pressures, however I believed we ran the ball effectively, however we beat ourselves. Three, 4 turnovers, a strip sack for a landing. Extra of ‘cannot win until you retain from shedding’ form of day than anything. I feel there was numerous positives. Components of me are inspired. Components of me are — , let one slip away.”
The Patriots didn’t give the sport away. Miami took it by exploiting issues they knew New England may wrestle with, making massive performs ultimately zone on the Patriots’ first drive and simply earlier than halftime and by ready for the Patriots to mess up which they did with two fourth-down pre-snap penalties.
Need an instance of a recreation the place you might say, “It was only one dangerous play…?” Final yr’s opener towards Miami when Damien Harris fumbled on the Miami 9 with 3:18 left and New England down 17-16.
That was a recreation that was even apart from that play. This one wasn’t. There have been loads of missteps. And for a workforce whose margin for error goes to be very low early within the season, fourth-down encroachment, too-many-men-on-the-field and blatantly missed blocking assignments received’t lead to slim losses however kinda sizable ones.
Particularly if Belichick goes so as to add to his workforce’s diploma of issue by principally benching its most dynamic offensive participant.
Kendrick Bourne final yr was a godsend. He had 55 catches for 800 yards however now he can’t wedge his way onto the field? The Patriots are that loaded offensively?
If a man will get sideways with the teaching workers, I assume there’s an evidence. However Belichick says it’s not disciplinary so let’s take him at his phrase.
So which means the one man able to delivering an explosive play final yr and the one man who delivered one on opening day was solely worthy of two snaps. Actually?
Both everybody doesn’t know what they’re taking a look at and Bourne actually stinks or Belichick doesn’t know what he’s taking a look at and doesn’t notice Bourne is sweet.
We all know it’s neither. So there must be another cause to take a seat Bourne that’s “in the perfect curiosity of the soccer workforce.” Identical manner — on a much bigger stage — it was finest if Malcolm Butler simply watched that Tremendous Bowl towards the Eagles.
That’s one other a part of why everybody nonetheless will get Dairy Queen after the sport. Belichick is aware of he’s making life exhausting on his workforce with unconventional selections like altering the offense, flipping his tackles, having no actual substitute for Josh McDaniels, and so forth., and so forth.
So he’s asking for persistence because the workforce negotiates these wacky selections.
And he’ll in all probability must ask for much more now that Mac Jones — who threw a fleet of floaters into Dolphin workforce conferences and had a pedestrian efficiency — wound up getting clobbered into a back issue.
Mac’s the chief optimist. Now, if he’s damage or unavailable the Patriots run the actual threat of staggering from the gate 0-2 with a recreation subsequent week in Pittsburgh.
Which might stink. And imperil the Dairy Queen journey.
