We can’t boil down a season of issues into two personnel moves, but Belichick is also ignoring the most important avenue of team building when he chalks up the Patriots losses to cap space.
The Patriots have gotten past these tight cap years in the past by relying heavily upon the draft, where they can identify young talent on rent-controlled contracts. That has been another problem. Belichick’s inability to get talent from the first two rounds of the NFL draft is a big reason why the Patriots seem devoid of talent.
He was asked what factor the draft played in the Patriots’ lack of success.
“I don’t know,” he told WEEI.
Another copout.
N’Keal Harry, Sony Michel and Isaiah Wynn should have helped Brady in his final years — while also helping “The Next Guy” (Newton, for now) with the transition. Wynn is a solid starter. The other two aren’t. Harry and Michel are among the many busts from the Patriots’ picks within the top 64 picks: Domonique Easley, Malcom Brown, Jordan Richards, Cyrus Jones and Joejuan Williams.
The Patriots may have sold out in free agency, but they also struck out in the draft. And Belichick’s comments that “it’s no one’s fault” is not really true.
So during that WEEI interview, one radio host pressed. Belichick never talks about the big picture like this. Now that he’s 2-5, it seems convenient for him to open up and explain what’s going wrong while pushing away blame. So is this explanation an excuse?
“I mean, it’s pretty obvious,” he said. “It was an honest answer to an honest question. No more, no less than that. I’m sure you can read a lot into it if you want to. That wasn’t the intent.”
Whatever the intent, Belichick has provided an oversimplified and, in turn, an incorrect account of why the Patriots are struggling. The good news is that they’re positioned to move past their financial woes in 2021, when they have major cap space. But they will also need to develop their recent draft classes while hitting on their high picks in 2021. And, most important, they need a quarterback, the NFL’s most important position where New England looks surprisingly ill-equipped and without a future plan.
