Inside the most dysfunctional Pats season under BB

[Hammer of Thor]

I sincerely doubt that BB is going to change the scheme again.

The Pats will stay with the SF type offense.

I agree with you. There’s a reason BB wanted it implemented to begin with. That Patricia and Judge didn’t know how to do it doesn’t mean he’s given up on it; maybe he’ll ask BOB to be part of it. I could be wrong here if course, wouldn’t be the first time snd won’t be the last.

I think part of his rationale is that you don’t need an elite QB to win with that style, just a good one will do. SF’s seamless transition from Jimmy G to Purdy just emphasizes that point. And it’s a great ball control offense (even with the deep shots) which helps keep opponents’ explosive offenses off the field. Whether Mac is that good QB remains to be seen, but it’s clear that after 2021 BB thought he could be.

 

[Bill Lee]

BB figured with this roster, he could coach the team to a playoff spot even if things went bad.

He wanted to coach with his buddies on the cheap, probably pocket a bonus, and reboot this year if needed.

It was never the plan to be this bad in his wildest dreams. Bill knows he can steal a few wins, during the year, but never thought these bozos would be giving games away.

I still don't get the "cheap" angle. Josh was said to be the highest paid OC in the league after he blew off the Dolts, and quite high even before then. Krafty Bob was one of the first owners to go for a stand-alone practice facility. I've never heard the Pats being referred to as being "cheap" until the last year or so. I don't see why cheapness keeps being brought into it. It feels like an anti-Semetic dog whistle to me. MP and JG were being paid by their former teams, but NESN said they were being paid "commensurate" salaries by the Pats with the Giants/Lions paying the rest of the money the coaches were contractually entitled to. It seems in the absence of other evidence we should just say it was circumstantial, but it seems some feel it sexes up the story so they won't let it drop. The Herald isn't saying anything about the cheapness angle AFAIK.

I do think BB made a major miscalculation. I think he felt MP/JG would be "good enough" and that he himself would be able to jump in and get things back on track if they didn't go well. The Herald saying he was yelling a lot at Judge says to me it was more than a little bit of course correcting going on. It seems that whatever he thought he'd get from JG he simply didn't get. That's not letting MP off the hook, but it's interesting the article pointed out BB's anger was directed at JG and didn't say anything about MP.

 

[TomPatriot]

I sincerely doubt that BB is going to change the scheme again.

The Pats will stay with the SF type offense.

Not too sure about that.

 

[ahmed]

It seems all the coaches from BB's tree fall into the trap of emulating his disciplinarian methods and fail to recognize how he treats the players with respect and takes input from them when things are not going well.

This was obvious from almost day 1 with exception being the original co-ordinators (Romeo and Weis). The others mostly grew up after BB had his success and all they saw was players falling in line.

I remember the first dynasty players talking about how they used to question BB if they didn't agree with him. A whole different dynamic when the HC has 3 SBs.

However BB's style is really only possible if you keep winning and more importantly if you already won and therefore easier to make the players buy in.

 

[StrawHatPatriot]

I don't know how anyone is willing to give up on Mac with all this evidence that the coaching stuff was a complete **** show.

I've said that Mac isn't great, but is not as bad as he looked last year. I think Mac is ultimately mid, but that he still technically deserves a shot.

Zappe got a simplified version of the offense vs some pretty weak teams and he got exposed for his lack of height vs the Bears.

Eh, Herbert and Allen are tall as **** and they get passes batted down. Let's not act like Mac was good in that game, nor should we ignore that Zappe led 2 straight touchdowns before

But it is weird how the team called more play action for Zappe than Mac. Did they want to test Mac and not protect him, i assume thats it.

10-7 with McD as OC the year before with not really a better roster, i would even say the 2022 roster was better, makes me think that talent isn't anything, coaching matters more than i thought to put players in position to succeed

Coaching matters but players are still more important. Marcus Jones, Judon, Stevenson, etc. Made huge plays and kept us in games. If Mac was better in that Raiders we would have technically gotten in at 9-8 inspite of the horrid coaching.

As bad as our coaching was, this season honestly wasn't going to look that different with better coaching. We would have blown out bad teams, but still lose close to good teams because Mac and our receiving corps still have a talent ceiling, even if they're not bad

 

[StrawHatPatriot]

This may be the most "Dysfunctional". However, 2015 was the most dissapointing coaching job. That was maybe one of the best Patriots teams in many years. The Super Bowl was lined up.

Broncos (Part 1), Jets, Eagles, and Dolphins games stuck out. All very avoidable losses with suspect coaching in each. Had they just won one of those games, that AFC title game is in NE. Where crowd noise is no longer a factor. Nothing is ever a guarantee in life. However, they beat Denver at home and kill Carolina imo. Playing in Denver in that title game really was difference maker.

Regardless, watching the Patriots this year was like watching the Patriots vs other opponents for most of the BB-TB era. Everything they did so well was now so bad.

Can't imagine the Patriots will be down for long. Now with a great OC, and the personnel changes Bill will make. If Mac isn't the guy, Bill will find the guy. Great organizations do not just turn bad overnight. This was maybe a fluke.

Thank you for bringing up 2015. It doesn't get talked about enough.

 

[Steve102]

Shocking article. Very eye opening. Thanks to the OP for posting it. I am blown away. I'd love to know who the sources were.

 

[Hyped]

I still don't get the "cheap" angle. Josh was said to be the highest paid OC in the league after he blew off the Dolts, and quite high even before then. Krafty Bob was one of the first owners to go for a stand-alone practice facility. I've never heard the Pats being referred to as being "cheap" until the last year or so. I don't see why cheapness keeps being brought into it. It feels like an anti-Semetic dog whistle to me. MP and JG were being paid by their former teams, but NESN said they were being paid "commensurate" salaries by the Pats with the Giants/Lions paying the rest of the money the coaches were contractually entitled to. It seems in the absence of other evidence we should just say it was circumstantial, but it seems some feel it sexes up the story so they won't let it drop. The Herald isn't saying anything about the cheapness angle AFAIK.

In regards to the "cheap" angle, Kraft paid for some stadium upgrades this year.....

That might have been a trickle down factor.

 

[Hyped]

Shocking article. Very eye opening. Thanks to the OP for posting it. I am blown away. I'd love to know who the sources were.

That's why we need to take it with a gain of salt.... the sources aren't high level for sure...maybe a disgruntled player/assistant or two...

 

[archstanton543]

Shocking article. Very eye opening. Thanks to the OP for posting it. I am blown away. I'd love to know who the sources were.

So would BB.

 

[sb1]

Shocking article. Very eye opening. Thanks to the OP for posting it. I am blown away. I'd love to know who the sources were.

Zo thinks one of them is a player who was here for both the "good" times when Brady was here and the rougher times since.

 

[crawhammer]

I sincerely doubt that BB is going to change the scheme again.

The Pats will stay with the SF type offense.

This is an interesting point? Has it been confirmed or mentioned anywhere how the team stands on this? I was kind of thinking BOB would resort back to the Patriots offense that he's most familiar with, or possibly go with a hybrid scheme. I mean are they really going to roll out that same trash from last season and just hope that BOB gets the play-calling right (unlike fatso)?

 

[Boomer B]

Zo thinks it's a player who was here for both the "good" times when Brady was here and the rougher times since.

They said multiple sources. Probably a number of players and some staff

 

[TheRainMaker]

While I called the dysfunction long ago, I don't like these articles with "anonymous sources" hanging Mac out to dry saying "he didn't like him (Judge)" and other players saying "it's bullsheet". Now Mac is going to be put in a bad position and asked this which of course he will deny.

But bringing back a retread in O'Brien isn't exactly stopping the dysfunction. Media seems to love this hire and completely ignoring who he worked with in NE and the weird sh*t he did in Houston to implode.

It's also ridiculous when some on here think you can run another coach's scheme just by watching film on it. That's like saying other coach's could run the same scheme's as Bill if they just watch it on film. Doesn't work like that.

 

[SammyBlueCat]

Yup. Guess they didn’t learn a thing from being shown the door by the Giants/Lions.

Their performance with other franchises was breath taking

 

[venecol]

Reading this article makes me think 8-9 was a pretty decent record. It should have been a lot worse.

I agree. During training camp Bedard predicted a 7 win team after witnessing and hearing stuff. Of course, he got blasted here because BB, the genius, knew what he was doing. I've been saying this over and over, Bill will be 71 in 2.5 months (closer to 72 by Thanksgiving). This teams record in Dec-Jan since 2019 is:

2019: 2-4 (Brady - McDaniels)
2020: 2-3 (Cam - McDaniels)
2021: 2-4 (Mac - McDaniels)
2022: 2-4 (Mac - Patricia)
That's 8-15 (.348)

It's just too consistent. IMO, Bill hasn't done anything since Dec 2019 to inspire confidence in his ability to turn this franchise around. We can hope that BoB can make a difference, but from the above, it didn't matter who the QB or OC was.

I know I'll be accussed of being anti-Belichick. The record speaks for itself. This past season is just more proof. He's lost it.

 

[archstanton543]

While I called the dysfunction long ago, I don't like these articles with "anonymous sources" hanging Mac out to dry saying "he didn't like him (Judge)" and other players saying "it's bullsheet". Now Mac is going to be put in a bad position and asked this which of course he will deny..

What are you talking about? Are you saying there's a contingent of Pats players that are Joe Judge guys and would take offense that Mac didn't get along with him? Did you read the other quote where they said players were tuning him out in meetings because he was acting like an ass and also had to be corrected multiple times by other coaches?

I think it's your anti-Mac bias. There's no way you can read the quotes in that article and see it as a slam on Mac. If anything, they're supportive of Mac's frustration.

 

[TheRainMaker]

What are you talking about? Are you saying there's a contingent of Pats players that are Joe Judge guys and would take offense that Mac didn't get along with him? Did you read the other quote where they said players were tuning him out in meetings because he was acting like an ass and also had to be corrected multiple times by other coaches?

I think it's your anti-Mac bias. There's no way you can read the quotes in that article and see it as a slam on Mac. If anything, they're supportive of Mac's frustration.

You clearly misread what I posted.

 

[All3Phases]

I agree with you. There’s a reason BB wanted it implemented to begin with. That Patricia and Judge didn’t know how to do it doesn’t mean he’s given up on it; maybe he’ll ask BOB to be part of it. I could be wrong here if course, wouldn’t be the first time snd won’t be the last.

I think part of his rationale is that you don’t need an elite QB to win with that style, just a good one will do. SF’s seamless transition from Jimmy G to Purdy just emphasizes that point. And it’s a great ball control offense (even with the deep shots) which helps keep opponents’ explosive offenses off the field. Whether Mac is that good QB remains to be seen, but it’s clear that after 2021 BB thought he could be.

Time to stop teaching an offense they aren’t a master of. They won’t be running the Shanahan offense any time soon, unless Kyle or his understudies coach in New England

 

[archstanton543]

You clearly misread what I posted.

You said that the players quoted in the article were hanging Mac out to dry. How did I misread that?