'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD/2wCEAAMDAwMDAwQEBAQFBQUFBQcHBgYHBwsICQgJCAsRCwwLCwwLEQ8SDw4PEg8bFRMTFRsfGhkaHyYiIiYwLTA+PlQBAwMDAwMDBAQEBAUFBQUFBwcGBgcHCwgJCAkICxELDAsLDAsRDxIPDg8SDxsVExMVGx8aGRofJiIiJjAtMD4+VP/AABEIAAYACgMBIgACEQEDEQH/xABhAAEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABwgQAAEDBQADAQAAAAAAAAAAAAECAwQABQYRIQgSE0EBAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMEEQACAwADAQAAAAAAAAAAAAABAgMEEQASIVH/2gAMAwEAAhEDEQA/AMySrtCx3JLjIMJBmsNExnwVEoVv0b0QUEaJO1D8NWJny/aYabaGDtaQgJ5cNDnOD40pVz0attYXmj7sYgdJP0jim1Ohfq2a53wc/9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
lLast season, the New England Patriots finished with a record of 8-9 while missing the playoffs under Bill Belichick.
Poor quarterback play, lack of playmakers, and poor coaching led to their rather disappointing season. Former defensive coordinator Matt Patricia was in charge of play calling even though he's never called plays in his career before.
Undisputed hosts Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless spoke about what led to the Patriots' down-season last year, with both of them placing the blame on head coach Bill Belichick.
Sharpe said:
"Well, I think a lot of this was their own doing. It was Coach Belichick being seduced by his own genius. He thought that a second year quarterback, he could have someone that never call plays as an offensive coordinator. And it would be fine.
"Only Coach Belichick would be foolish enough to believe it. And you see what he got. And you have a lot of people that work for Coach Belichick. No, Coach Belichick. Oh, Bill would do this...Bill's not going to do nothing, Bill looked foolish."
Bayless said:
"I never thought that I would put Bill Belichick and clown show in the same sentence, but that became a clown show last year because of him. I still believe that he had a hand in calling plays because he wanted to demonstrate that he could also do the offensive side of the ball with the genius that he has accomplished on the defensive side."
Former Patriots safety Devin McCourty revealed that locker room was split on Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe
Devin McCourty, who played 13 seasons for the New England Patriots as their safety, retired from the NFL this off-season.
He recently opened up to ESPN about the Patriots' locker room being split between Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe last season, saying that there was no hope.
McCourty said:
“I think there were some guys in the locker room that were like ‘Let’s go with Zappe.’ Or ‘No, Mac looked good today. It was just a back and forth which to me, spoke more about what we had on offense than the quarterback. We never were solidified as an offensive group that guys had full confidence in anything we were doing. There was never true hope.”
Heading into 2023, the Patriots will have Bill O'Brien as their offensive coordinator.
Mac Jones will be entering his third season with the team and made the playoffs two seasons ago. The team has added more offensive talent this off-season in JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Robinson, and Mike Gesicki.
Can the Patriots bounce back from a down season and make the playoffs in 2024?
