You may be frustrated that DeAndre Hopkins picked the Titans over the Patriots, and you have a right to be.
Hopkins got the market deal he should have received from the Patriots. He would have helped this offense and Mac Jones, and made the Patriots a better team in a tough division. I don't care if Hopkins breaks his leg in the first game or is terrible in that offense with Ryan Tannehill, it will say nothing about what he would have done here with an offensive coach (Bill O'Brien) and scheme that he knows well and helped him to three All-Pro seasons.
It was a layup for the Patriots and Bill Belichick, and they were stuffed by the underside of the backboard. Of course, it's not surprising. In a multitude of ways.
Belichick, especially at 71, will never, ever change.
Who he is now as a football coach and general manager is largely who he has always been. It's the same formula, same beliefs, same schemes, same everything. Didn't work great in Cleveland. Was tremendous in New England for 20 years. Hasn't worked well in the last three-plus seasons. We now know the reason why it was awesome for one of his three coaching "stints," but not the other: he had the greatest quarterback of all time.
This has become apparent to 90 percent of the viewing public. The only holdouts are Patriots fans who don't want to face a world in which the emperor they've worshipped for 20 years perhaps doesn't have any clothes, Belichick sycophants in the coaching and front office communities, and, obviously, Belichick himself.
(By the way, I love the delusional talk about how Belichick and his buddies had it going in Cleveland with their four-year program and would have won big if it were not for Art Modell and the move to Baltimore ... completely ignoring the fact that Vinny Testaverde at 32 was their quarterback, with Eric Zeier was the backup, and he would go 8-20-1 as Baltimore's starter the first two seasons. They were going to win big ... with an ancient Testaverde?! Speaking of delusion and never-changing views ...)
Despite the entire NFL changing around him in various ways and so much evidence to the contrary, Belichick still clings to the belief that his systems are the reason why the Patriots climbed to such great heights — and it had little to do with the quarterback — and continues to enact them.
The entire NFL has figured out how to manipulate the salary cap by taking advantage of the cap expanding in future years due to ever-growing TV deals, yet the Patriots never do it in a meaningful way, leaving a big team-building tool in the chest. They operate the cap like it's the first year of it in 1994. They do so little advanced math you'd think I was their cap expert. No, it's just Belichick set in his ways.
The rules have changed so much in favor of the offense, both in terms of secondary contact and hits on the quarterback that it's become almost like flag football. Space, speed and points have become the main focal point of the game, yet Belichick keeps his head in the sand, thinking that running the ball and taking care of the ball with a Testaverde-type at quarterback is going to deliver another championship.
The Patriots may have ignored the growing realities of a salary cap that has risen by $100 million in the 11 years since the 2010 uncapped season, but the players have not. They are much more willing to forgo the short-term security of a team-friendly deal and bet on the big payday in free agency. That would be news to Belichick. Either you give the Patriots a discount early or you're persona non-grata — and they're still delusional that the players will decide to stay in their system (without Brady as a draw) at the end of the day so they don't get another player ready to be the replacement, leaving the team shorthanded. The Patriots expect loyalty from their players, but they don't practice contract loyalty (except in certain circumstances ... more on that in a minute).
The rules have completely made special teams scrimmage plays an afterthought in the game — the two worst special team units played in the Super Bowl last year — yet Belichick continues to prioritize special teams players not only on his roster, but in, yes, free agency.
Again, the Belichick that stewards the Patriots today has the same beliefs as the Belichick from 20, 30 and 40 years ago.
He's not going to change. Will not change.
That brings us to the biggest frustration with Belichick. It was evident at the end of Brady's run, but the team still won in 2018 so it was hard to have a viable gripe. With four years of evidence, we now know it was just another case of Brady wallpapering over all of Belcihick's failings that would have gotten other coaches fired.
What's that frustration?
That Belichick has no issues shortchanging the offense in terms of high-end personnel in every way you can, but you can be damn sure he will never do that to the defense. Ever.
I mean, for goodness sake, the man who supposedly is three to five chess moves ahead of everyone had zero succession plan at the most important position in all of sport when Brady was over 40, was clearly miserable and wanted to leave. Belichick had Jimmy Garoppolo, but once Robert Kraft flexed on that, Belichick just quit at quarterback. How does Belichick, the head of all things football of the New England football club, just get a pass on that? If that doesn't tell you Belichick's view of offense, I don't know what to tell you.
But there's more.
Two of the team's top three picks in the draft this year (Keion White, Marte Mapu) were depth defensive picks (Christian Gonzalez was a need-based defensive pick) ... while the team has no good offensive tackles, are not good enough at receiver, and have no tight ends signed beyond this season.
Belichick has never signed a premium offensive player to a big-money contract from outside the organization. The biggest acquisition was Randy Moss (a trade), and he was dirt cheap - and so was his extension. You could say Nelson Agholor and Jonnu Smith (remember, the Patriots jumped on him first and only made room for a desperate Hunter Henry after his market didn't materialize) but those were middling players the Patriots overpaid out of desperation. Why? Because of poor drafts and, again, the failure to have succession plans at receiver and tight end. The Patriots had so botched their offensive skill personnel that they had to go out and overpay for TWO receivers and TWO tight ends. Again, something else that Belichick gets a pass on.
(Again, Smith and Henry were overpaid and not elite talent, the Patriots just happened to have cap space when the other teams had none. Antonio Brown was signed before the first game and not given a huge market contract because other teams were out of cap space. Brandon Lloyd was not an elite talent or given a huge contract. ... We're talking no-doubt, premium/elite talent that the Patriots acquired competing with all the other teams. You'll see the difference when I get to the defensive list.)
Belichick just continually lets the offensive talent wither and he tries to slap it together with mid-tier talent.
Tom Brady ... Cam Newton
Rob Gronkowski ... Ryan Izzo.
Julian Edelman ... undrafted Jakobi Meyers.
Nate Solder ... Trent Brown, unwanted by the 49ers.
Joe Thuney ... Ted Karras.
James White ... no one.
I'm not all that offended by the above list. Not everyone bats 1.000. Misses happen, even to the perceived best.
What has bothered me for years and continues to is the fact that Belichick continues to shop for offensive talent at the Dollar Store while he makes sure to get his defensive talent from Williams-Sonoma.
Adalius Thomas ... first day of free agency, premium signing.
Darrelle Revis ... Patriots needed a shutdown corner to get over their Super Bowl hump, they paid him what he was worth.
Stephon Gilmore ... Malcolm Butler didn't want to take their contract, so they signed the top guy on the first day.
Matthew Judon ... none of their edge draft picks panned out, so they signed the best guy on the first day.
That is Blue Label. That is the good stuff. Of course, it's for the defense and not the offense.
This also translates to how Belichick determines which core players to retain on his roster. Devin McCourty and Dont'a Hightower threatened to sign elsewhere, but Belichick stepped up at the last second and paid them top of the market.
Who was the last offensive player Belichick caved to and paid elite money to retain on a multi-year deal?
The hypocrisy of how Belichick constructs his roster is off the charts, yet it's another thing that he gets a pass on.
The Meyers contract situation was the exact same as Butler. The offense gets an aging, injured receiver, Juju Smith-Schuster, on a one-year deal. The defense gets an ascending player in Gilmore on a huge, multi-year deal.
The Revis situation should have been the exact same as Hopkins. Two players at the same point in their careers, looking for a payday with the ability to help a team into a contender. Belichick does it for the defense, but not for the offense.
Is anyone surprised?
Belichick is who he is, and who he has always been. A stubborn mountain of a man unchanged by the changing NFL climate over 40 years.
If this backfires on Belichick like so many other decisions have since Brady left Belichick in the spotlight by himself, enough is enough.
It appears that Robert Kraft at some point wisely wrestled at least some draft personnel power away from Belichick after a succession of horrible drafts put the team into rebuild mode (it wasn't just the quarterback leaving ... he saw the talent-less writing on the wall too). It's quite evident that Belichick still has full pro personnel and final roster control.
If this offense still isn't good enough — especially if Meyers and Hopkins hit while Juju Smith-Schuster and DeVante Parker middle their way on a middling offense — then it will be time for Kraft to take away those personnel duties from Belichick as well.
Or Kraft could just make the other final choice as well.
The first strike was letting Brady go, especially for no compensation. The utterly disastrous decision with the offensive coaching staff last year was strike two. What Belichick hasn't done with the offensive personnel this year should be the final pitch.
We'll have to wait for that call, and Kraft's.
