Patriots Bill Belichick Gets Candid on P Jake Bailey Struggles: Doubtful vs. Jets
FOXBORO — While New England Patriots head coach is known for his unique personality traits, he is typically reserved when it comes to both effusive praise and pointed criticism when it comes to his current players on the Pats roster.
However, Belichick was uncharacteristically candid when speaking about the recent struggles of punter Jake Bailey.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s been good and then it hasn’t been consistent,” Belichick told reporters on Friday morning. “It’s not like it’s all bad … it’s not like it’s all good. It’s just inconsistent.”
The term ‘inconsistency’ has seldom been synonymous with Bailey. Since arriving in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft, he has, more often than not, been among the top punters in the NFL. He is also quite adept as the Pats kickoff specialist. Still, Bailey entered the season looking to improve upon his 2021 performance — a season in which he had problems with accuracy and had three punts blocked.
Just two years removed from his All-Pro turn in 2020, Bailey is once again struggling to find both power and accuracy. The Stanford product is currently averaging 35.3 net yards per punt, which is last in the league among qualified punters. His five touchbacks rank second in the league. Bailey's first-half season woes reached a crescendo during New England’s Week 9 win over the Indianapolis Colts, in which he booted a weak 7-yard punt in the waning moments of the game.
To make matters worse, Bailey’s troubles are coming just months after signing a four-year, $13.5 million contract that included $6.5 million fully guaranteed. The deal, to which the sides agreed in August, made Bailey one of the league’s highest-paid punters, and runs through the 2025 season.
Needless to say, neither the timing nor the nature of Bailey’s difficulties are ideal.
Though Belichick stopped short of directly chastising his specialist, he did offer some thoughts on the collective steps to be taken by his punt unit to correct the irregularities.
“Obviously, it starts with the specialist [Bailey],” Belichick said. “But there’s other things that we need to improve upon with the punt team and kickoff coverage as well, Like any technical thing, a golf swing, punter or whatever, there’s mechanics,” Belichick said. “The consistency and execution of it, again … there’s plenty of talent there. There’ve been some rainbows out there, like there always have been. Work harder to make it more consistent.”
Despite the glaring need for improvement, a new wrinkle was added to Bailey’s narrative this week when he was a surprising addition to the Pats report. Designated as a limited participant with a back injury since Wednesday, Bailey was officially listed as doubtful for New England’s Week 11 matchup with the New York Jets. It is unclear whether Bailey’s back injury is directly related to his recent struggles, having yet to be listed on New England’s reports prior to this week.
With both defenses expected to take center stage on Sunday, field position for both the Pats and Jets will be critical in determining which team may have the edge. If Bailey is sidelined, veteran punter Michael Palarday would be available for a game day elevation via the practice squad. Should he defy expectations by suiting up, he must bring his best effort in what promises to be a closely-contested battle between the divisional rivals.
Kickoff between the Pats and Jets is set for 1 p.m. on Sunday from Gillette Stadium.
Follow Mike D’Abate on Twitter @mdabateNFL and Listen/Subscribe to his daily podcast: Locked On Patriots
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