Patriots Bill Belichick On Inept Offense: 'No Magic Wand'
FOXBORO — As The American President, Andrew Shepherd, would say: the New England Patriots have “serious problems to solve … and they need serious people to solve them.”
The Pats are mired in a sea of questions following their 24-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Thursday night at Gillette Stadium. After subpar performances in all three phases, fans and media alike are demanding answers; especially when it comes to the team’s struggling offense.
Unfortunately, for coach Bill Belichick, an immediate fix does not appear to be in their field of vision.
“Just keep working through it.” Belichick told reporters via video conference on Friday morning. “There's no magic wand here.”
Outside of rookie Marcus Jones’ 48-yard touchdown, the Patriots offensive play-calling strategy continues to focus on avoiding the loss, as opposed to playing to win. While there is a time and place for conservatism, New England’s playoff peril demanded a more aggressive approach. Throughout the night, the Pats showed little urgency in their attempts to put the Bills defense on its heels, while exhibiting uncharacteristically poor clock management. The Pats also lost the time of possession, with Buffalo owning the ball for 38:08, as opposed to their 21:52.
When asked about his team’s mishandling timeouts in key situations, combined with their inability to keep Buffalo’s offense off the field, Belichick saw the miscues resulting from execution, rather than poor planning or effort.
“We’ll take a close look at the film, but generally speaking, I thought we competed hard,” Belichick remarked. "Like I said, we just didn’t do enough, in any area really, just do enough to win the game.”:
One of New England’s most persistent problems is futility on third-down conversions. The team converted only 3 of 12, two of which came in the game’s closing moments.
The Pats entered their Week 13 contest intent on utilizing quick-passing concepts, which in turn, they hoped would force the Bills to tackle in space. Yet, even in their most well-intended efforts, several of quarterback Mac Jones’ pass attempts hit their intended targets short of the first-down marker. With inadequate protection from the team’s offensive line, Jones has had insufficient time to operate. As a result, he has had little-to-no choice but to take short-yardage check downs.
Jones’ frustrations with the team’s passive strategy reached a fever pitch during a sideline outburst, in which the 24-year-old can be seen yelling expletives.
Rather than chastise his quarterback for his rather overt display of emotion, Belichick acknowledged that Jones’ passion is indicative of some much-needed change.
“Mac's a very competitive guy. Love his attitude, love his passion for the game,” Belichick said of Jones. “He works as hard as anybody. As we move forward, try to work to find ways to be more efficient, be more productive in every area. So that's coaching, playing, interaction with teammates … all of it.”
It should be noted that Jones was not alone in his displeasure with the Pats’ offensive output against the Bills. Wide receiver Kendrick Bourne and tight end Hunter Henry were among New England’s skill position players to voice their irritation with the team’s showing.
Still, the proverbial ‘buck’ stops at Belichick’s desk. While there is no instant antidote for what it currently ailing his offense, the 70-year-old understands that substantial work must be done in the days leading up to their next game.
“The bottom line is, we need to just keep working to improve it every week … It's not as simple as working against – improving your time in the mile run. This is about competing against another team. We need to continue to work to do things better on our end. Then as it relates to our specific opponent, then match them up and doing well against that opponent. So that's really the process.”
Following a brief weekend respite, the Pats will begin their preparations for Week 14. The team will travel west for a Monday Night Football matchup with the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Dec. 12.
Follow Mike D’Abate on Twitter @mdabateNFL and Listen/Subscribe to his daily podcast: Locked On Patriots
New England and beyond! Get your Patriots game tickets from SI Tickets ... here!
Follow Patriots Country on Twitter and Facebook
Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Patriots? Click Here
More Patriots coverage from Sports Illustrated here.
