Bill Belichick did not sugarcoat his latest assessment of the Patriots.
New England deserved to be criticized after its third straight loss. After inspiring efforts from Weeks 8 through 10, the Patriots reverted back to their old ways. Poor coaching decisions, self-inflicted wounds and untimely defensive lapses are some of the biggest reasons why Jerod Mayo’s side stands at 3-10.
There are very few positive things to say about these Patriots, and Belichick certainly leaned into the negative on the latest “Let’s Go!” podcast episode.
“Yeah, just haven’t done enough to win very many games on any level,” Belichick told Jim Gray, as transcribed by the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed. “They’ve had trouble on defense. One of the last-ranked teams on offense, if not the bottom-ranked. Missed some key field goals and some kicking plays as well. So I’d say all three areas of the game just haven’t been good enough to win. And they still got a couple games left against Buffalo, right? They have a bye week this week, so maybe they can get a few things straightened out, but it’s just been a pretty inconsistent year. Just haven’t been able to do enough to win when they needed to.”
No one expected the Patriots to be a playoff team this season, but the apparent hope in New England was for gradual development across the board as the campaign unfolded. But outside of Drake Maye and a few others, there haven’t been many steps forward in Foxboro, Mass. this fall.
All told, changes will need to be made at One Patriot Place this offseason.
