Unreliable skilled players led to disaster

Bill Belichick, the general manager, failed Brady this season.

He wasn’t able to find a replacement for Rob Gronkowski and he couldn’t find a reliable receiver outside of Julian Edelman. Of course, this doesn’t mean that Belichick is a bad general manager. It just means that he wasn’t capable of finding the guys that a 42 year old needs to succeed.

Keep in mind, he did an incredible job of constructing this defensive unit. There was a sense of desperation though, and that’s how guys like Josh Gordon, Antonio Brown and N’Keal Harry ended up on the roster.

Gordon was a great locker room guy that everyone loved, but he had his own issues to face. Belichick understood the risks that came with him and eventually lost one of the best receivers in Brady’s arsenal. Brown was a gamble, one that Belichick ordinarily wouldn’t take. But, the Patriots needed explosive guys to compete for a Super Bowl, and Brown found his way on the roster. We all know how that finished.

Belichick didn’t strike out horribly with Harry, but he made a gamble he’s never made before. Harry was the only receiver to get drafted in the first round by Belichick, and he ended up missing a majority of the season. The Patriots had many other needs in the draft, and there were excellent receivers that were drafted in later round. In hindsight, it’s easier to make this statement. But, Belichick went against his instinctual process and it bit him in the end.

The running back corps was solid, but it was hurt by the absence of James Develin and a struggling offensive line. Belichick tried, but struggled to replace Gronkowski with a viable tight end. Ben Watson, Matt LaCosse and Ryan Izzo combined for 36 catches, 418 yards and two receiving touchdowns.

Brady had a hurt Edelman and James White to rely on offensively — which clearly wasn’t enough to make a deep playoff run.