Bill O'Brien: Don't Yet Write New England Patriots 'Obituaries'
FOXBORO — Following their embarrassing 34-0 loss to the New Orleans Saints in Week 5 at Gillette Stadium, one might be inclined to think that the New England Patriots have nowhere to go but "up" as they attempt to navigate through the remainder of the season.
However, offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien believes that the Pats have yet to fall to depths far enough to warrant their epitaph.
“There’s a lot of season left,” O’Brien said Tuesday at Gillette Stadium. “There’s always obituaries being written, but there’s a lot of football to be played. So, let’s see if we can get better.”
Despite being both outcoached and outplayed in all three of the game's phases, New England's offense has understandably shouldered the brunt of Pats Nation's anger. The Patriots managed to muster only 156 total yards of offense against the Saints, with 45 coming from their running game. New England converted a measly one-of-14 third-down attempts, while averaging an anemic 3.1 yards-per-play. Throughout their past two games, the Pats have been outscored 72-3.
While sweeping changes within New England's offense have seemingly become mandatory, fans and media alike are most openly clamoring for a shakeup at quarterback. Starter Mac Jones completed only 12 of 22 pass attempts for 110 yards with two interceptions (one of which was returned for a touchdown) before being relegated to the bench for the second straight week.
Yet, when asked whether Jones would retain his position as the Patriots starter for this weekend's matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders, O'Brien echoed head coach Bill Belichick's previous affirmation in the 25-year-old's favor.
"I do ... I do.“ O'Brien said of his expectation for Jones getting the start in Week 6.
"And, look ... Mac would be the first to tell you that there’s things that he has to do better,” O’Brien added. “Whether it’s obviously to take care of the ball or maybe read the route better or get us into a better play or whatever it is."
Before O'Brien's pseudo-vote of confidence is misinterpreted as an iron-clad endorsement, Jones retention appears to be as much about his being the only choice as opposed to the right one. Jones was replaced by Bailey Zappe just over 13 minutes remaining in Sunday's game against the Saints. In four drives, Zappe completed only three of nine passes for 22 yards in relief duty, leading the Pats to two three-and-outs and two failed fourth-down conversations. In fact, had he performed at a higher level on Sunday, speculation has it that Zappe may have received serious consideration to unseat Jones.
Still, O'Brien's comments appear to paint a different picture. Of the four quarterbacks currently under New England's roof (including third-stringer Will Grier and scout-teamer Malik Cunningham) Jones is still the alpha in terms of taking practice snaps.
“I would say that Mac definitely gets most of the reps. (Zappe) gets reps, and (third-string quarterback) Will Grier gets reps,” O’Brien said. “Now, those reps might be scout-team reps or some portion of practice that those guys would get the majority of the reps during that portion of practice. But yeah, they rep every week.”
O'Brien was also asked about Cunningham, who exploded onto the scene during the Pats preseason opener against the Houston Texans in August. The undrafted rookie led the team on an exciting 75-yard touchdown drive with time expiring. Since that time, Cunningham struggled while aligning both at quarterback and receiver. In fact, he failed to produce a positive play on offense for the remainder of the preseason. Though many within the fan base may be calling for the rookie to get a shot at starting, O'Brien's praises indicate that his usage would be situational, and probably not limited to the quarterback position.
"Malik works very hard," O'Brien said. "He does a good job on the practice squad. He's mostly played receiver... We worked in some quarterback [positional drills] last week mimicking [Saints hybrid quarterback/receiver] Taysom Hill."
Whether Zappe, Cunningham or Grier receive additional practice snaps this week is still a matter of conjecture. Nonetheless, Jones remains the top option, for now. In turn, he becomes the catalyst for the Patriots' attempted metamorphosis, which O'Brien made clear goes far beyond the quarterback.
“It’s a collective effort," O'Brien stated with authority. "That’s why it’s not a one-on-one sport. It’s an 11-man sport ...
“It always goes back to your fundamentals, your teaching progressions, your fundamentals as a player. It’s a team sport, everybody’s sticking together, and making sure that we take care of the little things. Those are the things that are hurting us right now. We're trying to get 11 guys on the same page to do the right thing on every play and right now we’re not near doing that.”
New England's quest for answers begins in earnest on Wednesday, when the team returns to the practice fields adjacent to Gillette Stadium for their first structured team practice of the week.
