FOXBOROUGH – Questions continue to linger around the New England Patriots' offense nearly a week after their 24-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
The Patriots hit another low point offensively in their Week 13 loss, posting just 242 yards of offense as they went three-and-out four times in the first half. During the game, quarterback Mac Jones had a big blowup on the sideline in which the broadcast cameras caught him yelling about the offensive play-calling, using expletives to demonstrate his frustration.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick seemed to acknowledge the problems with his team's offense under first-year play-caller Matt Patricia during an interview on WEEI's The Greg Hill Show on Monday, but noted it's “too hard” to make changes this late in the season.
Belichick clarified Tuesday whether those major changes were about the play-calling or the team's offensive scheme.
“Look, we're not going to go to the wishbone offense here. We're not going to run the veer,” Belichick said. “Defensively, we're not going to change into a…run some other team's defense or whatever. That's, yeah, major changes like that… absolutely [we won't make]. We wouldn't be able to practice it.”
Belichick also gave a vote of confidence to the Patriots' offense despite ranking 24th in yards and 20th in scoring.
“The system we have in place I feel good about, which includes the offensive staff, and includes me, and whatever the whole process is,” Belichick said.
Even though Belichick said that he wouldn't make major changes to the Patriots' offense this late in the season, he didn't rule out any changes, saying the team does “that every year.”
“I say we have a pretty broad system in all three phases of the game. That's kind of what we do,” Belichick said. “… Some things you trim the fat here and move it a little over in this direction. Or maybe you add a little bit more of something that you feel like is going well or maybe a player is doing something or maybe some part of your offense or defense is doing something that's a little more productive, maybe you want to add to that. That would just be shifting the emphasis. We do that every year and why wouldn't you?”
Bill Belichick talks about making changes to the offense or playcalling following comments he made on Monday… pic.twitter.com/dvXCImyJV2
— NBC Sports Boston's Patriots Coverage (@NBCSPatriots) December 6, 2022
While the Patriots rank low enough as is in points and total yards, they rank even lower in a pair of key areas as well. They're 25th in third-down conversions and are tied for last in red zone efficiency.
Patriots wide receiver Kendrick Bourne voiced his displeasure with what he viewed as too conservative play-calling in their loss to the Bills. Belichick said that they determine how aggressive they should be in their play-calling on a week-to-week basis, citing multiple factors that go into that dynamic.
“Every week we're trying to win. Whatever that is, that's what it is,” Belichick said. “Whatever plays we call this week, we do it to try to win. Whatever plays we tried last week, it was to try to win. Whatever plays we called the week before, that's what that was — or last year, or two years ago, or five years ago, or 20 years ago.
“You can like them or not like them or whatever, I get that. But whatever we've done, it was to just try to be as productive as we can and beat whichever team we're playing. Whether that's conservative or not conservative, same or different, whatever it is, that's what the intent of all it is. That's what it always is. That's not going to change. What they'll be, I don't know. But it's a combination of what they do, what we do and what we think we can do. Any idea can be a bad idea if you can't execute it. If you can execute it, then it's a good idea. If you can't do, then it's not going to work.”
We won't see if the Patriots' offense looks any different until Monday, when they take on the Arizona Cardinals.
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