Damien Harris speaks out about the dysfunction on the Patriots offense in 2022

[PatsFanInVa]

The organization made a huge show that draft of highlighting the collaborative process, after Kraft fired shots across BB's bow in the press. For better or worse, this was the draft they said up-front, "we have a collaborative process and 'we' draft everybody" (subtext, because BB has been screwing the proverbial pooch.)

I mean, I don't think that's controversial, is it?

Truthfully, I hope Mac Jones does great out there. Maybe he can't, and that's on him, maybe he gets out there in another system without dysfunction (even those most in BB's camp have to admit it was there on the offensive side). More power to him. Sad, but with where it stands now, he was not going to be the answer in NE. Let Mayo have his shot at turning the page - that's the usual playbook.

I hung w BB's decisions on the principle of "he better know what he's doing..." Well, by the time period we're talking about, he was out of tricks.

There was one last spending spree where Bill (or whoever, but I think Bill) made the call that cap inflation would make those amounts look trivial. That didn't produce enough firepower to compensate for what we lacked and what we sacrificed in the "3 dimensional chess" move of running the offense by guys who didn't know how to do it. Now *that* might be somewhat controversial to say in this conversation, because it is in agreement with what the "disgruntled employee" and Omen Damien Harris says.

My main take is that, whatever was happening when you factor in everybody and everything... (and that exercise remains above my paygrade...) after last season, I was not shocked to be exactly where we are today, moving on from BB. I would not have been shocked if we held on to him for onnnnne morrrrrre year either. But RK clearly thought he could do it in the past, but he could not do it now, let's just say, "for whatever reason." (So it doesn't become another "who created the dynasty?" thread.)

We're all in the same boat -- we're moving on from a run nobody has the right to even wish for. Everything else is gravy. Maybe it's a gravy boat. There you go. I'm not so old I can't have gravy yet. Well, make it low fat.

Let the Drake era begin. Somebody make me a Flying Elvis - Ovo owl logo. And if it's a coach-him-up year, so be it... we have a guy we can cross our fingers and put our hopes in right out of the gate. Feels very Drew Bledsoe but hey that's usually how good things happen, not skinny pizza-carrying guys backing up "the bloodline" in Michigan.

 

[TheRazorsEdge]

Not sure if mentioned but Harris and Jones are really good friends and have been since Bama.

I'm not shocked he's defending his boy.

Bill totally screwed over the Patriots with bad decision making in the end ..but..

It's not Bills fault Mac has average QB athleticism, throws ducks and struggles throwing to the sidelines.

It's also not Bills fault that Mac is a basket case and doesn't handle media/trash talk/ adversity well.

I'm not as convinced as others that a legitimate OC would have propelled Mac any higher than what we saw year 1, I truly believe that was near his ceiling. Many folks had described him as exactly what he was Infront of our eyes - pre draft.

Anyway ... He's backing up the guy who was able to survive Urban Meyers debacle now. Hopefully Lawrence can give him some tips on how to handle internal and external adversity, and continue to progress.

Not sad he's gone.

Onto the Drake Maye era now.

 

[sb1]

Not sure if mentioned but Harris and Jones are really good friends and have been since Bama.

I'm not shocked he's defending his boy.

Bill totally screwed over the Patriots with bad decision making in the end ..but..

It's not Bills fault Mac has average QB athleticism, throws ducks and struggles throwing to the sidelines.

It's also not Bills fault that Mac is a basket case and doesn't handle media/trash talk/ adversity well.

But I’d say it is though. He drafted him anyway.

 

[sb1]

“It was a debacle,” he concluded of Belichick’s staffing decisions, adding that players quickly lost confidence in the play-calling and basic structure of the offense.
——-
Yeah “players”…it isn’t just Harris that noticed. Bill was losing the team. That farce of a QB “controversy” with Jones and Zappe egged on by BB didn’t help matters either.

 

[TheRazorsEdge]

But I’d say it is though. He drafted him anyway.

Drafting Mac is one of those bad decisions I mentioned that ultimately screwed the pats. Bill certainly has to own that.

Bill did not make Mac a mid-tier QB, he always was that. That is also part of the reason why we sucked badly.

 

[sb1]

Drafting Mac is one of those bad decisions I mentioned that ultimately screwed the pats. Bill certainly has to own that.

Bill did not make Mac a mid-tier QB, he always was that. That is also part of the reason why we sucked badly.

Jones was never going to be a QB that could elevate his team like Brady can. I’m sure Bill knew that when he drafted him but to me that’s a reason not to experiment with coaching or settle for overpaying for mid tier receivers.

 

[TheRazorsEdge]

Jones was never going to be a QB that could elevate his team like Brady can. I’m sure Bill knew that when he drafted him but to me that’s a reason not to experiment with coaching or settle for overpaying for mid tier receivers.

We are in agreement.

Upward and onward.

 

[BennyBledsoe]

But MOST QBs are not Brady. You can still win with guys like that. Poor coaching and poor personnel can create many of these situations you ascribe solely to Jones. QBs floating passes, looking flustered, struggling are not isolated from what's around them. Guys not getting open, collapsing pockets, feeling the pressure to DO SOMETHING, ANYTHING to get the ball moving can result in what we saw out of Mac. It's the exact same sorta things we laugh at the Jets about. Because they never put their young QBs in positions to succeed.

 

[Free_Pacman]

Truly the only memory I have of this dumbass’s career is him fumbling at the 1-yard line against the Dolphins costing us the game in Mac Jones’s first career start.

 

[1960Pats]

But MOST QBs are not Brady. You can still win with guys like that. Poor coaching and poor personnel can create many of these situations you ascribe solely to Jones. QBs floating passes, looking flustered, struggling are not isolated from what's around them. Guys not getting open, collapsing pockets, feeling the pressure to DO SOMETHING, ANYTHING to get the ball moving can result in what we saw out of Mac. It's the exact same sorta things we laugh at the Jets about. Because they never put their young QBs in positions to succeed.

I feel like Jones got gun shy in his first season, even though it was a pretty good one. Later in the season he seemed to be turtling after taking some brutal hits.
Then along comes Patricia, Judge and Bill's arrogance, which led to the crap that Harris is talking about. Speaking of Patricia/Judge, is it possible that Bill used them because they didn't cost anything?

 

[archstanton543]

Speaking of Patricia/Judge, is it possible that Bill used them because they didn't cost anything?

I doubt that was a factor. If BB wanted to hire them straight up, Kraft would have paid them. That they were being paid by other teams was just a bonus for the Pats overall.

 

[TheRazorsEdge]

I feel like Jones got gun shy in his first season, even though it was a pretty good one. Later in the season he seemed to be turtling after taking some brutal hits.
Then along comes Patricia, Judge and Bill's arrogance, which led to the crap that Harris is talking about. Speaking of Patricia/Judge, is it possible that Bill used them because they didn't cost anything?

Jones started regressing at the half way point of his first year. That's with McDaniels in his ear and having heavy training wheels on. Alot of folks overlook and ignore that.

Ill stand by what I said in - I don't believe if Patricia/Judge didn't happen and BOB came 1 year sooner - that it would have mattered much, if at all.

To your last question, YES! It was cheap and he knows those guys wouldn't question his decision making / authority. I'm sure he thought he would be looked at as someone who rehabbed 2 failed coaches while developing Mac and setting up the Patriots for another run. He was dead wrong and it cost him his job.

 

[1960Pats]

Jones started regressing at the half way point of his first year. That's with McDaniels in his ear and having heavy training wheels on. Alot of folks overlook and ignore that.

Ill stand by what I said in - I don't believe if Patricia/Judge didn't happen and BOB came 1 year sooner - that it would have mattered much, if at all.

To your last question, YES! It was cheap and he knows those guys wouldn't question his decision making / authority. I'm sure he thought he would be looked at as someone who rehabbed 2 failed coaches while developing Mac and setting up the Patriots for another run. He was dead wrong and it cost him his job.

Jones took some brutal hits that had me cringing in my seat. He just isn't that good and there's no excuse but I wonder if the coaching dysfunction set him back. I guess we'll see if he develops with the Jags.

The reason I mentioned the salaries of the coaches is because there was some talk that Kraft gave Bill a total budget to work with and maybe the less he spent the more he earned. From what I understand Bill didn't have many coaches.

 

[TheRazorsEdge]

Jones took some brutal hits that had me cringing in my seat. He just isn't that good and there's no excuse but I wonder if the coaching dysfunction set him back. I guess we'll see if he develops with the Jags.

The reason I mentioned the salaries of the coaches is because there was some talk that Kraft gave Bill a total budget to work with and maybe the less he spent the more he earned. From what I understand Bill didn't have many coaches.

The environment Bill created only exacerbated Mac's short comings, which is why he lost his job.

My point is directly aimed at Damien Harris almost totally absolving Mac from any involvement of his own demise. To me anyway, that's lazy and not true. Pre-draft his biggest concerns came to life Infront of our eyes. He's not the first , first round QB who ended up sucking - and he won't be the last. Just have to hope Maye doesn't follow the trend.

 

[signbabybrady]

Love how Team Bill assumes they know exactly what Bill was thinking and the men that played for his team who have a little more credibility when talking about their HC in fact don’t know what they’re talking about. Lol

‘Greatest to ever do it': Current, former Patriots react to Bill Belichick's departure

Following the news that the New England Patriots are expected to part ways with head coach Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and many other current and former players took to social media to share their thoughts.

www.nbcboston.com

 

[captain stone]

I doubt that was a factor. If BB wanted to hire them straight up, Kraft would have paid them. That they were being paid by other teams was just a bonus for the Pats overall.

I don't doubt that it was; how much it was is the only question. Didn't Bill get to pocket the difference if his coaching staff was under budget?
What a terrible, terrible incentive if true.

 

[signbabybrady]

I don't doubt that it was; how much it was is the only question. Didn't Bill get to pocket the difference if his coaching staff was under budget?
What a terrible, terrible incentive if true.

I'm confused wouldn't Kraft pocket the difference?

 

[PancakeBlockPaul]

This always struck me as the out of touch "pay your dues" boomer nonsense. I am all for paying your dues but you need to pay people enough to survive.

Maybe it’s just me but I find it really hard to believe an nfl team pays this little. I can believe that these underlings are being paid a fraction of what BB made sure but it wasn’t peanuts. You could not survive on that in the region. Couple that with being unable to work a second job due to long hours. Only way someone could survive with such **** wages is if they had a better half or came from $ to begin with which is probably the case for these guys.

Maybe the guys saying they aren’t getting paid **** just THINK they should be getting a lot more which does happen a lot, been there done that. Just spitballing here, don’t lynch me…

 

[PancakeBlockPaul]

You’re right about that last part but I doubt that Bill intentionally tanked his team to prove a point to Kraft or anyone else. That’s not his MO.

Not saying he tanked it on purpose but is it possible since he knew how things were going and that his time was coming to an end, again maybe not sabotaging, maybe he was saying FU on the way out. The kind of “don’t care let the next guy clean this **** up….im not training the outsourced guy either” we sometimes see when people know they’re times limited…more than likely not the case but weirder ****s happened.

 

[lancerman]

The reality is everybody but Bill Belichick and the biggest Bill Belichick homers knew the Patricia hire made no sense. It was a comical disaster and blew up in his face and lost Bill a lot of credibility.

Bill homers like Wozzy are desperately clinging to the idea that Mac was the issue instead of one of many. If people in the NFL thought that, Bill would be coaching right now. Bill's own players have been speaking out.

At this point, if you can't admit that Bill was a big ass part of the problem and wasn't producing, you just were never going to accept that answer no matter how much evidence.

Bill didn't intentionally sabotage the team. He won a power struggle with Brady and proved that when he was allowed to make any decision he wanted without any pushback that he would go full Caligula and make some of the dumbest decisions imaginable.