When somebody asks me whether Bill Belichick should be fired as coach of the New England Patriots if his team were to go 2-15 or 3-14, I just laugh out loud. One of those right-in-your-face type of laughs.
The notion of firing him is absurd. Bill Belichick, the coach, is arguably the best to ever do it, one of the all-time greats if he isn't the top guy. So forget about any talk of firing Belichick, the coach.
But let's talk about firing Belichick, the GM. That guy should be in trouble. That guy should be fired.
I won't laugh one bit if anybody makes that suggestion.
Bill Belichick, head coach, is being ruined by Bill Belichick, general manager.
Look at his roster.
The Patriots are 1-4 and have been blown out the past two weeks in games they didn't even compete on either side of the ball. First it was a horrible loss to the Cowboys on the road, but then they followed that up with a 34-0 shutout home loss to the New Orleans Saints. In the past two weeks, the Patriots have been outscored 72-3. They have lost three games at home. The offense is averaging 11 points per game. Quarterback Mac Jones, Belichick's hand-picked successor to Tom Brady and a first-round pick, has been benched each of the past two games.
The offensive line can't block. The skill people don't scare anybody. The defense has some talent, but the two top players — rookie corner Christian Gonzalez and pass rusher Matt Judon — didn't play Sunday.
It used to be Belichick, the genius coach, could scheme around limited talent and missing players. That isn't the case anymore.
The talent void is deep.
The GM ruined it for the coach.
The Patriots are down to 29th in my Power Rankings this week, but you could also easily make a claim they are the league's worst team. I just happen to think Carolina, which hasn't won yet, has earned the bottom spot, with Denver and the Giants down there as well.
New England stinks. Badly. But it isn't because of the coach. He can still get it done.
That general manager? He has to go. The coach has to know that, even if he probably wouldn't admit it.
Tom Brady isn't coming to the rescue. Then again, they did wait until the sixth round to pick him. Maybe the GM was lucky once to truly make it all possible. If so, the luck has run out and the coach is paying the price, but it's absurd to say it could cost the coach his job.
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | There is no doubt they are the league's best team. Brock Purdy is for real as they come off a dominating showing against Dallas. | -- | 12-5-0 |
| 2 |  | They won a tough road game against the Rams to remain undefeated. The defense came up big in that one as they remain the class of the NFC East. | -- | 11-6-0 |
| 3 |  | The offense is starting to show glimpses of what it will be when the young receivers get truly comfortable with Patrick Mahomes. The injury to Travis Kelce bears watching. | -- | 11-6-0 |
| 4 |  | The Giants were the perfect tonic to get back on track after the Bills blowout a week before. The defense came up big against a bad Giants offense, but that was needed. | 3 | 11-6-0 |
| 5 |  | They face a tough road game in Tampa against the Buccaneers this week. This team is for real at 4-1 under Dan Campbell. | 4 | 12-5-0 |
| 6 |  | At 3-1, they are one of the surprise teams so far. Now, coming off their bye, they can prove they are truly a contender by beating the Lions. | 4 | 9-8-0 |
| 7 |  | So much for the idea they could make a statement against the 49ers. That was a dud all the way around. The offense and Dak Prescott has to be better. | 2 | 12-5-0 |
| 8 |  | They come off their bye with a tough road game against the Bengals, who looked good at Arizona last week. The Seattle defense will be tested. | -- | 9-8-0 |
| 9 |  | Their London trip ended up with them going 2-0, which included that impressive victory over the Bills on Sunday. Now they have fix their turnover issues at times. | 4 | 9-8-0 |
| 10 |  | The injuries are killing their defense. They lost Matt Milano for the year against the Jaguars, and he is the heart of their defense. They might have lost too much. | 6 | 11-6-0 |
| 11 |  | What happened to the offense against the Steelers? Lamar Jackson and the passing game kept missing big chances with drops and poor throws. | 5 | 13-4-0 |
| 12 |  | They dominated the Patriots with an impressive defensive shutout. That side of the ball has been good all season long. | 7 | 9-8-0 |
| 13 |  | They beat the Titans with Gardner Minshew coming off the bench for the injured Anthony Richardson. Now he will face his former team in the Jaguars for first place in the division, but they do have a running game with Zack Moss and Jonathan Taylor to help. | 7 | 9-8-0 |
| 14 |  | Desmond Ridder showed a lot in leading the Falcons to a game-wining field goal against the Texans. They bounced back nicely after a bad showing in London. | 8 | 7-10-0 |
| 15 |  | C.J. Stroud still has not thrown a pick, which is amazing. At 2-3, with a tough loss Sunday to the Falcons, they are one of the most improved teams in the league. | 3 | 10-7-0 |
| 16 |  | They come off their bye with a big game against the 49ers. They should have Deshaun Watson back, unless he declines to play again. | 2 | 11-6-0 |
| 17 |  | The defense had a rough day against the Colts. That was surprising. At 2-3, it's not been a great start to the season. Now they face a tough game against the Ravens in London. | 2 | 6-11-0 |
| 18 |  | They come off their bye with a big home game against the Cowboys. That will be a challenge for Justin Herbert and gang. | 2 | 5-12-0 |
| 19 |  | Joe Burrow was back in form against the Cardinals. Winning that game saved their season, but the best news is Burrow looked like himself again. | 4 | 9-8-0 |
| 20 |  | They head to their bye after an impressive victory over the Ravens, led by the defense. The offense still needs to pick it up. | 2 | 10-7-0 |
| 21 |  | They competed against the Eagles, which they've done all season. They have a winnable home division game this week against the Cardinals to get to 3-3. | 4 | 10-7-0 |
| 22 |  | They needed that victory over the Packers in the worst way. The defense came up big. Maxx Crosby is a beast. | 6 | 8-9-0 |
| 23 |  | They just can't get anything going on offense, which has them at 2-3 and looking up at the Lions in the division. Jordan Love needs to pick it up. | 12 | 9-8-0 |
| 24 |  | Two good weeks in a row for Justin Fields is a great indicator going forward. The Bears looked good in blowing out the Commanders. | 8 | 7-10-0 |
| 25 |  | Winning on the road at Denver is a good look for Zach Wilson. He wasn't great, but Breece Hall was with a big rushing game. | 2 | 7-10-0 |
| 26 |  | That was a terrible showing against the Bears. What is wrong with that defense? It's hard to believe that unit is that bad. | 5 | 4-13-0 |
| 27 |  | They compete every week, but they are just undermanned. Will Kyler Murray play at all this season? If not, is he done with the team? | 1 | 4-13-0 |
| 28 |  | They competed against the Chiefs, but it doesn't matter. At 1-4, they now start playing division games, which gives them a chance to get back in the race. Or does it? | 1 | 7-10-0 |
| 29 |  | This team is toast. It's hard to believe they are this low with Bill Belichick as the coach. Maybe it was Tom Brady for all those years. | 5 | 4-13-0 |
| 30 |  | It gets worse by the week. The offense is bad and the defense has issues. Aside from that, things are good as they head to Buffalo to play the Bills. | 5 | 6-11-0 |
| 31 |  | Losing to the Jets isn't a good look for Sean Payton after his comments about Nathaniel Hackett. The defense is terrible. | 1 | 8-9-0 |
| 32 |  | So much for the idea that Bryce Young would make this team a contender. They are far from it at 0-5 after five weeks. | 1 | 2-15-0 |
