Yes, at certain points this offseason, the Patriots have looked like a dysfunctional mess.
And, no, I'm not here to tell you this is all part of some Bill Belichick masterplan ... even if it kind of is. Belichick no longer gets the benefit of the doubt, not without Tom Brady as his quarterback. Just like the way he views his players, Belichick can't live off the past. If he had a Hall of Fame player that was average the last four seasons, he'd cut his salary, move on or both. The coach should be no different.
Some would say this Patriots' offseason has been dysfunctional. I think it's been as expected.
I mean, what else did you expect after a second losing season in three years where the only playoff team they beat was the Sklyar Thompson-led Dolphins? In their eight wins, the only victory over a starting quarterback was Jared Goff when the Lions were in the middle of a five-game losing streak during a 1-6 start to the season. And at the heart of it, Belichick was made to look like a fool for entrusting his offense to Matt Patricia and Joe Judge, and his special teams were a joke.
So, hell yes, Belichick is grumpy and irritable. Good. He should be. And that he has to answer more to Robert Kraft, and his Gen Z quarterback likes to express his feelings about everything related to his position and feel a little power ... none of that is helping the mood.
But pretty soon, none of that is going to matter.
There's an easy way through all this, and it will start once they hit the practice field in early May.
I think Mac Jones showed his intelligence, common sense and leadership when he recognized early on what the Patriots were doing on offense was bordering on stupid. It's the fault of Belichick and his handpicked coaching staff that they didn't want to listen. The program that was always about putting the players in the best position to succeed had sunk to making the players fit what the limited coaches could do. It was doomed to fail from the start, no matter what Belichick thinks (and if they were fooled by the Lions and Browns games ... they've lost touch with reality more than I thought).
Did Jones take it too far against the Cardinals and Raiders? Absolutely, and we said as much at the time. But what gets lost in the whole "The QB is a Big Baby" unintelligent discourse, is that Jones checked himself — or was checked by someone — and was back in control for the final three games of the season. That gets totally ignored, but it's important and should be said every time his antics are mentioned. He's a young player and was in his second season. Unless your name is Brady, you're going to make mistakes and do dumb stuff. If a young player showed on-field improvement to close the season, we'd center on that in the offseason. How a QB comports himself is a skill, the same as completion percentage.
Look, Jones harbors ill feelings about what happened last season, especially the Bailey Zappe/Bears game. He should. And it doesn't mean anything. The QB should be uncomfortable. Brady was never on solid ground his entire career — college and pros. Jones should be no different.
Is Belichick still bothered what happened last season with the offense and Jones? Yes. Is he projecting his embarrassment and making excuses for himself by taking it out on Jones? Yes. But part of it also is just Belichick being Belichick — learned by watching Bill Parcells and Phil Simms — where he's trying to break in his colt by pissing him off. Belichick probably wants Jones to come into this season with a hair across his rear and a Screw Bill attitude. Belichick could use that on defense and special teams too, but that's not going to happen — it's a Comfort Inn on those sides of the ball.
This is all just posturing. Jones isn't going anywhere thanks to Kraft, and Belichick is still here. As soon as the footballs start flying on the practice field, Bill O'Brien will be in charge of Jones and the offense — in a system the players actually want to play in — and Belichick will retreat to defense and special teams, while chiming in on offense. And I'm sure Jones will regain his stranglehold on the QB position in short order, and things will move in a position direction.
But this is a time for different motivation tactics, and Belichick definitely knows he's 25-26 and will need to push every single button.
Doesn't mean Jones and Belichick can't push each other in the right direction, even if their methods and delivery look self-destruction.
As Kraft once told NFL Network: “I think a certain amount of tension helps make great things happen."
Patriots have plenty, and they should after the last three seasons. Then we'll see if the results are great or not.