The Patriot Way is Dead

The Patriot way is something that has tried to be replicated across the NFL for decades. The list is long, but the Lions, Dolphins, Broncos, and Raiders are just a few teams that have tried it. All with little to zero success. And since Brady has left Foxboro the Patriot way is been less and less successful. It's apparent now that the Patriot way is dead. But Bill Belichick has not realized this unfortunately. And he might be one of the last football people to recognize this. For decades Belichick was not only the best head coach in the NFL, but one of the best GM's as well. The former might still be true, although the record does not show it. But the former is absolutely true now. The depth of the roster is just not there, and now that depth is being tested.

It's the same story, different year in Foxboro. The offense has been terrible this season. The Patriots are 30th in the NFL in scoring this season at 13.8 points per game. And this is a problem that has been foreseeable over the last 3 seasons. The defense is good. But now the Patriots will be without arguably they two best players the rest of the season. Matthew Judon is out through at least early December, and rookie Christian Gonzalez is done for the year. So how does GM Bill Belichick react? He goes out and trades for a former player just like he always does. Same story, different year.

JC Jackson is going back to Foxboro after an underwhelming season and a change with the Chargers. Why does Bill Belichick continue to run the same plays over and over when they rarely work out? JC Jackson was good for the Patriots, but has been nothing short of bad with the Chargers. It was just a late round pick swap that got the deal done. So the Patriots are not giving up a ton of money. But the bigger problem with the Patriots still exists; the Patriot way is dead. There is no depth on this roster, and that comes down to Bill Belichick's inability to identify talent consistently. Maybe this move works out for JC, but the bigger issue is still in charge in Foxboro.

Year 3 is a make or break year for NFL quarterbacks, especially 1st round picks. Year 3 is the final year before the team decides if they are going to exercise the 5th-year option on the rookie deal or not. Occasionally when a 5th year is declined, that quarterback will stay with their team. See Daniel Jones and the New York Giants. But most of the time when players get their 5th year option declined, it spells the end is nearing. The New England Patriots are in that position right now with Mac Jones. And surprising we still do not have an answer to the question; Is Mac Jones good? Is rookie season was a resounding success. Last year with Matt Patricia and Joe Judge calling plays, he regressed. This is a massive year for Mac Jones and his future with the New England Patriots.

Watching Mac this season, I would say he is already in a better spot than any point last season. But there are still limitations to the offense, and we don't know who's to blame for that. The offensive line has not been good this season. Yet Mac has found ways to score enough to keep the Pats in games late. The pass catching options lack true explosiveness. Yet Mac is 16th in the league in passing yards. So is Mac Jones good? I think he is, but there are some damning stats that show he is simply not the guy. I want everyone to know that wins are not a quarterback stat. However, when digging deeper Mac Jones has not gotten the job done when it's mattered the most.

24 is a key number with the Patriots. Over the last 3 seasons (Mac Jones era) the Patriots are 0-14 when opponents score 24 or more points. What is frustrating for Patriots fans is the defense has allowed 24 points or more the fewest times over the last 3 years.

Mac Jones and the offense have not come through in crunch time. The Patriots are 0-12 in games where they get the ball down 7 or fewer points in the 4th quarter. They have not been winning games when it comes down to the offense making plays.

The Patriots have faced 15 teams that went on to make the playoffs that season. They are 3-12 in those games. And the 3 wins are not impressive. One was against the Bills where Mac had a total of 3 passing attempts. The second what against the Titans when 14 players were out for COVID including AJ Brown and Derrick Henry. And the last came in 2022 against the Dolphins with Skylar Thompson at quarterback.

In addition to not coming back in games. The Patriots have rarely put late game drives together that resulted in points. The Patriots are 1 for 21 in drives in the 4th quarter that would have tied the game or given the Patriots the lead. The one was last season against the Cowboys in a game where Mac threw a pick 6 in the 4th quarter that put them down 8.