Bill Belichick is rightfully considered one of the best coaches to ever be in the NFL. With six Super Bowl rings as a head coach and two more rings as a defensive coordinator, it’s hard to argue against his greatness as a coach. With such a strong repetition we all expect that Belichick is making the right moves and that his draft picks are always going to hit but that’s not the case. His job recently as the general manager of the Patriots has not been as successful. When you look at how the Patriots roster is constructed now and pieces added in the past, it makes you question what the strategy of Belichick is.
One of the main ways to see the success of an NFL general manager is to look at the success they have had drafting players. Some of the recent draft selections from the Patriots have been questionable especially with the way the league is going. The NFL has become an offensive league the last few years, and getting skilled players has never been more important. When looking at how the Patriots draft, it looks like they haven’t understood that concept. This most recent draft with their first five picks, three were on the defensive side, one offensive lineman, and a kicker. For a team that has very little offensive talent and playmakers it makes no sense what Belichick is doing. When you look at their drafts over the last few years, the vast majority of their picks are all on defense and when they do make an offensive selection, it’s usually a lineman.
Bill Belichick has a lot of control within the Patriots organization with being the head coach and general manager. He is the main person constructing the roster and with the addition of drafting players, he’s also responsible for bringing in free agents. The way Belichick has put this offense together makes you guess that Belichick still thinks you can still win at a high level by only having a good defense and limiting the mistakes by the offense. The wide receiver position is becoming one of the most important positions in the sport and the Patriots are going to be lining up next year with no clear-cut number-one receiver.
The only way to win games in a situation like that in today’s NFL is to have an elite quarterback and we all know Mac Jones is not in that category. With no high-level playmakers on the offense for the Patriots, it’s going to be hard for them to score with the loaded offenses in the AFC and putting together winning efforts each week.
The staff management is another decision by Belichick that you have to question. Last year having Matt Patricia and Joe Judge running the offense can be seen as laughable. Also, with bringing Bill O’Brian back as the offensive coordinator for this year it looks like Belichick doesn’t want to bring in new faces or ideas to the team. It’s almost like there is an arrogance with Belichick from all the winning that he has had that makes him think he doesn’t need to adjust the way he does things. Bill Belichick will always be considered one of the best coaches ever, but his job as the general manager needs to come to an end. With the way things are going; don’t expect much success from the Patriots in the future until changes are made.
