Bill Belichick has come under fire for obvious reasons. This season has been a colossal disappointment, but it goes beyond that. Three losing seasons in the last four, poor drafts, unproductive free-agent forays, and an aversion or inability to embrace modern offensive football
The noise surrounding his future has only grown - sorry to the national pundits who can't seem to grasp that - but for one night, Belichick's supporters could come to his defense after a win.
"I don't really like all the flak he's been getting because it's on us as players to go out and execute," said a passionate Jabril Peppers postgame. "I personally feel like the game plan has been phenomenal week in and week out, and when we had opportunities to make plays, we didn't make them. But we made enough tonight."
Failure to make enough plays has only been a part of the Pats' problems in this 3-10 season, which we've detailed in this space. But to Peppers' point, they did make just enough Thursday, especially in the first half, to make this an enjoyable long weekend for all involved in this season-long slog.
When apprised of Peppers' defense on him, Belichick was more expansive than what we've been hearing from him for the better part of 2023.
"Yeah, well, that's great. But, I would say the big thing for me is what I appreciate is what the players do every day," he said. "Whatever happens on Thursday night or Sunday is certainly in part a big reflection on what happens during the other days of the week. The preparation, the training, the resilience, and the determination to improve, to get things right, to make things better. That's what I appreciate about our team, our players, our coaching staff. That's the attitude, that's the way they approach things. So, obviously, a level of frustration with the overall season.
"But, on a week-to-week basis, you kind of put that aside and focus on the week that you have. Other than two games (Cowboys and Saints), really, it's been so competitive every week. It's certainly nice to be on the higher end of the score last night. But, what I appreciate is the players and their effort and their commitment to doing what I and the coaching staff, we have asked them to do, and working hard on it and sacrificing. It's obviously great to see them have that positive result."
That part of this season has been, for the most part, undeniable. The effort hasn't been lacking, and if there's a case to be made for Belichick's return, that certainly is one of the primary reasons. Ultimately, Robert Kraft will have to decide if he wants to continue with a soon-to-be 72-year-old coach and his way of doing business because, let's face it, it's unlikely Bill's will fundamentally change who he is and how he operates.
SAME OLD JETS?
What a bleep show with the Jets this week. Their quarterback situation has mainly been a pile of poo since Aaron Rodgers blew out his Achilles four snaps into the 2023-24 regular season. Zach Wilson had a brief minute of competency before getting benched for the immortal Tim Boyle, who was so bad in his two starts that the team released him. Back comes Wilson, although not without some controversy. It started with former WFAN radio host Joe Benigno sharing a text from Robert Saleh that he read as the Jet head coach not liking Wilson. "Are you kidding me?" was Saleh's response to Benigno telling him they needed to return to Zach. Benigno then backtracked a day later, but the fire had already been started.
Then came a report from The Athletic that indicated Wilson was reluctant to take over again, concerned about his health in a season that no longer has any playoff meaning. That led to a cavalcade of criticism that may or may not have been justified (The Athletic stands by its reporting. Wilson and the Jets say that never happened).
It also led to Rodgers doing what he does, throwing grenades on "The Pat McAfee Show.' He ripped the organization for "chicken s---" leaks, saying it has "no place at a winning organization."
Rodgers took particular issue with the report citing a player as one of the sources of the Wilson intel.
"Some conversations are only meant for certain people and shouldn't leave the building," he said. "There's a trust that goes along with being in the locker room, where you say something to your homie, and that s--- doesn't go anywhere. Or you say something in the team meeting room [and it] doesn't go anywhere. There's been too many instances this season where stuff is happening. It's not OK, and we need to weed it out in whatever way necessary."
I am usually not in lockstep with Rodgers and his public proclamations. I also think he's been guilty of running his mouth far too much - check out his track record in Green Bay over the last couple of seasons - but he is dead on. This is what loser organizations do, and it's why Pats fans should be concerned about how much has come out of that building over the last few years. It rarely happened during the Super Bowl success. Oh sure, a bit here or there, but nothing that drove news cycles for weeks on end. That is, until now.
BIG TROUBLE IN BUFFALO
The Bills likely need to win at least four of their final five if they genuinely hope to make the playoffs and deliver on their preseason promise.
Their schedule is brutal. They're in Kansas City this weekend and host Dallas the next. Then it's at the Chargers, the Pats at home and at Miami to finish the regular season. Not an easy task. In addition, they'll have to deal with the headlines created during the bye week by their high-paid edge rusher, Von Miller, and a speech given by Sean McDermott that came to light this week.
Miller was arrested for allegedly assaulting his pregnant girlfriend. He hasn't been available for public comment but is with the team, practicing, and seems likely to play Sunday.
"We weren't there. We're not the investigators," said GM Brandon Beane. "We don't, obviously, you know, we had our conversations with Von and understood what he believes happened, and so, from that standpoint, we can't get into it. It's an open investigation, and so we'll just, we'll let the legal process play out, and he'll participate like normal..."
Beane told reporters the team has constantly communicated with the league office. They don't expect Miller to be on the Commissioner's Exempt List unless something new is uncovered.
Miller is not only dealing with this off-the-field issue but also struggling to return to form on the field. The 34-year-old tore his ACL midway through last season. He returned after week four this year and has appeared in all eight games for the Bills since, yet hasn't recorded a sack, has just two tackles, and his pass rush win rate (23.2) is far below his career average. In fact, Beane appeared to put Miller on notice for both the allegations and his lack of production.
"If we feel that Von is not one of the best 48 (players) for a given week or all the weeks," the team would sit him. Miller signed a six-year contract two offseasons ago, but the reality is, that the deal was for three years and 53 million guaranteed. When asked if the team would release Miller if found guilty, McDermott said, "Let's just wait and see what happens there from that standpoint, but I think you know us, we're going to try to do things right."
As for McDermott, he gave a speech to the team during training camp in 2019, using 9/11 as an example. The Bills coach spoke of the terrorists and their plan and getting on the same page. His intent/message, McDermott said, was to highlight communication and being on the same page. However, referencing the terrorists as an example of this didn't go over well in the locker room then, and McDermott said he apologized to the team an hour later.
"I brought everybody together and said this was the goal, this was the intent, and I apologize if anyone whatsoever felt a certain type of way coming out of that meeting," he said. "If anyone misinterpreted or didn't understand my message, I apologize. I didn't do a good enough job of communicating clearly the intent of my message. That was about the importance of communication and that everyone needs to be on the same page, ironically enough. So that was important to me then and still is now."
McDermott signed a contract extension this summer that takes him through 2027.
THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
You probably haven't paid much attention to the Rams, but you should. They are currently 6-6, on a three-game win streak, and on the playoff bubble despite a roster that features 22 rookies. You read that right. 22. Not all of them are impacting this season, but they have seven either starting or playing significant roles. Puka Nacua, Steve Avila, Byron Young, and Kobie Turner are among those who have heavily influenced a team that pushed the financial limits in previous years (remember "Eff the draft picks" motto?), then did a hard reset. Fielding a competitive team was supposed to take longer, but this proves that a quick turnaround is possible with good talent identification (GM Les Snead) and development, a bright and creative head coach (Sean McVay), and a stable quarterback (Matthew Stafford).
"There's been a grit established from this team through some of the setbacks and challenges that we've had to navigate through," said McVay this week, referencing his team's sluggish start to the year.
These Rams have earned their reputation as a dangerous team, proving they are more than just Stafford, Cooper Kupp, and Aaron Donald. They've become a balanced offense (Kyren Williams has been a revelation) and a middle-of-the-road defense that has improved since their bye week 10.
"The way the guys have done it, it's been earned. We're establishing a toughness both physically and mentally that I think is going to serve us well as we keep navigating through December the way we want to do it."
McVay was an easy target in these parts based on his deferential pregame interaction with Belichick back in the 2018-19 Super Bowl, and his high-flying offense got ground into a pulp by the Pats' defense. It became easy to dismiss him as a kid sitting at the adult's table. Well, if you look at what McVay's accomplished since - including his own Super Bowl title - it would be hard to deny that he's a top-5 coach, and there are twenty or so teams that would kick their current coach to the curb to hire this guy.
And so we're clear, my top 5 are as follows: McVay, Andy Reid, Mike McDaniel, Kyle Shanahan, and Nick Sirianni. Knocking on the door: DeMeco Ryans, Sean Payton, and Mike Vrabel (who has dropped out of my top 5 for the first time in eons).
NERD NUMBERS
- In his career, Jared Goff has a 76.7 passer rating in outdoor games under 40 degrees in December & January. That's the 4th-worst since 2016 (minimum five such starts). The only QBs worse are Andy Dalton (69.4), Derek Carr (70.9), and Mac Jones (75.1).
- C.J. Stroud is on pace to throw for an NFL rookie record of 5,015 pass yards in 2023. Andrew Luck holds the current rookie record with 4,374 pass yards in 2012. Only nine QBs (15 instances) have thrown for 5,000+ pass yards in a season all-time.
- Justin Jefferson needs 117 receiving yards to set a record for the most receiving yards in a player's first four seasons in NFL history. Jefferson is tied with Hall of Fame Randy Moss for the 2nd-most receiving yards in a player's first four seasons, behind only Michael Thomas of the Saints. Jefferson is expected to return this weekend from a hamstring injury.
- Justin Herbert needs one more game with 300+ pass yards to tie HOF Kurt Warner and Patrick Mahomes for the most in a player's first four seasons (26 games) in NFL history.