EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Things have gotten so bad for Bill Belchick that he's now ending his own post-game press conferences, which he did Sunday after the Patriots fell 10-7 to the Tommy Devito-led Giants.
Sort of reminiscent of Tom Brady in his final season with the Patriots.
Brady knew this team was going nowhere.
Now, maybe Belichick believes it.
The Patriots are 2-9 and assured of their third losing season in four years under Belichick.
They are 4-13 in their last 17 games, and 27-35 since Brady walked out the door.
That's bad enough. But this season is even more painful because the decisions made by Belichick seemingly have gone against him. And Sunday's loss seemed to be a perfect microcosm of that. The Patriots might well have been better off if they employed the Bizarro Belichick method — take every decision Belichick made, starting with the quarterback handling, and just do the opposite.
They probably would have won on Sunday. What if we employed that over the course of the 2023 Season From Hell? What would the record be?
It wasn't all that long ago — of course, when Brady was here — when even the tiniest decisions came out in favor of Belichick. Blue chip, all the way.
Now, every move made by Belichick seems to yield a cow chip. And besides a mess under the shoes, those decisions have left most of the locker room frustrated and resigned to their fate.
Where do we even begin? Oh yes, Belichick's handling of the quarterback position. No reason to rehash how we got here, where Mac Jones looks completely different from his rookie season where he went toe to toe with Brady — all but the most diehard Bilbos concede that Belichick should be brought up on charges for murdering the Patriots career of Jones.
Let's just deal with this week.
- You knew Mac Jones was done at the end of the Colts game. I knew Jones was toast. His teammates knew he was a shell of his former self. Even Jones himself, near tears, knew that he was at a point where he couldn't function as an NFL quarterback.
Yet Belichick still went on the charade that he was going to get everybody ready to play, and then started Jones again.
Not only that, but he failed to set a course for the team — even at the end of the week. Hunter Henry, a captain, said he didn't know the starting QB until today. One team source said he didn't know leading up to kickoff. Yet Belichick said the decision was made before they traveled.
And you wonder why the Patriots are impotent as an offense? You wonder why both quarterbacks were terrible and lost to Tommy Devito? You wonder why the Patriots can only run the ball and use quick games to move the ball?
You would think a decision as big as this, where you need to know which way the team is going, that Belichick would chat a little with his two other offensive captains — Henry and David Andrews. Why not see what they thought? Hey, where do you think the guys are? You're the leaders of the offense, and putting yourself on the line every week, what do you think I should do?
Of course that didn't happen. I'm not sure Belichick could look more out of touch if he tried in his handling of any of it.
Bizarro Belichick Decision: Jones was cooked, at least for now. Zappe should have started and been given full prep time, at least to change the vibe for the players.
- Offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien serves at the pleasure of the head coach. On what planet was Jones dropping back 22 times in the first half (for a grand total of 89 yards) and only running it 13 times (at 4.5 per clip) Giants star DT Dexter Lawrence out, a bright idea?
Bizarro Belichick Decision: The Zappe offense of running the ball and only quick games in passing should have been used for the entire game. Rhamondre Stevenson and Ezekiel Elliott should have had 50 touches to 18 dropbacks. Probably would have won the game.
- Second drive of the game, Patriots punted (after a delay of game penalty) from the Giants 37 on 4th and 7.
Bizarro Belichick Decision: In a game where points were obviously going to be at a premium, you kick the field goal with the place kicker you TRADED UP FOR in the fourth round and kept over Nick Folk.
- Jones throws his second interception with 4:39 left in the first half. The Patriots get the ball back with 1:48 left with two timeouts, but you don't put Zappe in when you just put him in a worse position at the end of the Colts game? How does that make any sense?
Bizarro Belichick Decision: Jones, who shouldn't have started, should have been benched after the first pick. At the very least, Zappe should have ended with 1:48 remaining.
- Tied at 7-7 late in the third quarter, the Patriots have fourth and inches on their own 39-yard line. Do they go for it? No. Do they simply punt? No. They try to draw the Giants offsides with a dizzying array of fakes, including Henry and Elliott at QB. Do they take the delay of game penalty? Of course now. The Patriots burn their first timeout, which could have factored into the latter stages of the game.
Not taking the delay wound up netting the Patriots a whole 5 yards when all was said and done.
Bizarro Belichick Decision: Go for it! You're 2-8. Who the hell really cares at this point. Are you afraid of Devito or the Giants' god-awful line?
- With 1:11 left and two timeouts to play with, the Patriots have the ball inside the New York 25-yard line. Do they ever look at the end zone and threaten to win a walk off? Of course not. 2-yard run. Incomplete in the flat. End around to noted ball security expert Tyquan Thornton. Field goal attempt.
Bizarro Belichick Decision: Tell O'Brien to take a shot on the first play. Be aggressive. Tell O'Brien you're not playing for a field goal and over time.
_____________________
Some will talk themselves into believing that this wasn't just the latest sign that Belichick has lost his once Midas touch. They'll spin some yarns about Belichick wanting to tank, that this was just another one of his masterful plans. It all went down perfectly.
Thankfully most of us realize this entire week and game was just the latest sign Belichick is incapable, at this point, of leading a modern professional franchise when he is charged with making every single decision.
If he just managed the team as far as game prep and in-game strategy, free from personnel and ever touching the offense and QB? Sure, maybe. If he wasn't spread so thin, we could see it.
But like Mac being cooked, you and I can see Belichick can't do it all any longer. The problem is, Belichick doesn't and won't.
And everyone else is suffering, especially his players.