9:56 AM ET
Mike ReissESPN Staff Writer
- Covered Patriots since 1997
- Joined ESPN successful 2009
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- New England Patriots caput manager Bill Belichick said Monday that it would beryllium excessively hard to marque large scheme-based changes to the team's struggling discourtesy astatine this constituent of the season.
"I deliberation we request to bash what we're doing better. I don't deliberation astatine this constituent making a batch of melodramatic changes; it's excessively hard to bash that," Belichick said successful his weekly interrogation connected WEEI's "The Greg Hill Show."
"If we tin conscionable do, consistently, what we're doing, I deliberation we'll beryllium each right. We conscionable haven't been capable to person capable consistency. And that's wounded us. It's not 1 thing. One clip it's 1 thing. Next clip it's thing else. We conscionable person to play and manager much consistently."
Belichick's remarks travel successful the aftermath of backmost Mac Jones' sideline outburst calling for deeper walk plays successful Thursday's 24-10 nonaccomplishment to the Buffalo Bills that dropped the team's grounds to 6-6. Jones aboriginal said helium fto his emotions get the champion of him, but that it wasn't directed astatine anyone successful peculiar and intended to supply a spark to the team.
The Patriots fertile tied for past successful the NFL successful red-zone efficiency, having scored touchdowns conscionable 12 times successful 32 trips wrong the opponents' 20-yard line.
It is 1 of respective cardinal categories successful which the discourtesy is rated adjacent the bottommost of the NFL, including archetypal downs (28th), third-down ratio (25th), sacks per walk play (25th) and interception percent (25th).
The Patriots fertile 20th successful points per crippled (20.75 avg.).
"It's been a operation of things connected each beforehand truly -- coaching, playing, penalties," Belichick said Monday connected WEEI. "We've had immoderate precocious punishment games and we've had immoderate debased punishment games. We've had immoderate turnover games and past we've had immoderate nary turnover games, and truthful forth.
"It hasn't ever been the aforesaid problem, oregon it hasn't been the aforesaid occupation connected definite plays. Sometimes that's shifted. And there's surely been immoderate plays that haven't matched up good against the defence erstwhile they were called. So, whether that's the plan of the play, oregon the mode it deed against a definite defense, those person travel up arsenic well."
The Patriots' violative struggles person travel aft coordinator Josh McDaniels departed to go the Las Vegas Raiders' caput manager pursuing the 2021 season, and Belichick tapped erstwhile NFL caput coaches Matt Patricia and Joe Judge arsenic starring replacements. It was an unconventional attack due to the fact that Patricia's and Judge's superior inheritance arsenic assistants has been connected defence and peculiar teams, respectively.
Patricia calls the plays successful to Jones, and Judge is the quarterbacks coach, with Belichick stressing each twelvemonth that it's been a collaborative effort among each coaches.
In the offseason, Belichick besides oversaw a streamlining of the offense, which had grown successful measurement since his archetypal twelvemonth arsenic caput manager successful 2000. One extremity successful doing truthful was to let players to play faster.
The modulation hasn't produced the desired results, with Jones, successful particular, dipping aft a promising rookie season. In conscionable implicit 7 games, helium is 184-of-270 for 1,963 yards, with 7 touchdowns and 7 interceptions.
As a rookie, playing successful each 17 regular-season games, Jones finished 352-of-521 for 3,801 yards, with 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
Asked Monday if he's acrophobic astir Jones' progression, and however he's been nether duress for extended stretches this season, Belichick said connected WEEI: "I deliberation we'd each surely similar to beryllium doing amended than what we've been doing -- from a grounds standpoint and from an idiosyncratic execution [standpoint]. But we're going to look up and not backwards."
The Patriots adjacent sojourn the Arizona Cardinals (4-8) connected Dec. 12 successful a "Monday Night Football" matchup.
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