Bill Belichick is way too smart to do something this dumb. Right!?

What were you thinking, Bill?

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Bill Belichick is a legend. He has more Super Bowl rings than I can count and when he ever does call it quits he’ll long be remembered for the being the GOAT of NFL coaches.

All of which makes the dumb decision he has made this season all the more unbelievable. How in the world did he ever think giving the keys to the offense to Matt Patricia was a good idea?

How did Belichick think the former failed Lions coach and former Patriots defensive coordinator was the right guy to lead a second-year QB who is in a critical stage of his young NFL career?

How did Belichick look around the entire football world after the departure of Josh McDaniels and in the year 2022 pick a defensive guy with barely any real offensive experience and say, that’s my guy!?

It all makes no sense at all, unless you’re into stunting the growth of Mac Jones, then it makes complete sense, sadly.

What also makes no sense is that the Patriots are now 7-6 after last night’s win over the Cardinals and would be in the playoffs if they started today. That is all despite the fact that they have likely the worst offensive coordinator in football and their offense is mostly like watching cars trying to weave their way through rush hour traffic.

Belichick by now probably knows he made the wrong decision, but as he said last week when asked about the situation, a complete change in the middle of the season is not ideal. So he has to keep rolling with Patricia and his bogus offense.

The offense is so bad that Jones has been seen, or, rather, heard, being critical of it. Against Buffalo he screamed on the sidelines about throwing the “bleeping” ball and Monday night against the Cardinals he dropped a really loud F-bomb after the sputtering Patriots had to take a timeout in the third quarter.

Jones, a first-round pick, deserves better than this. He’s a young QB that the franchise invested heavily in by selecting him when they selected him and now they’ve basically given him your dad’s old Ford Taurus and have asked him to be cool with it, which is impossible.

This all comes back to Belichick, though, and it should be a big stain on his legendary resume. He’s still the GOAT, of course, but this move was an embarrassing one and it sure feels like it’s going to come to an ugly end at some point down the stretch.

And when it does, Belichick deserves the blame.

Quick hits: New NFL Power Rankings… Best remaining MLB free agents… Mannings wear huge hats… And more. 

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - DECEMBER 11: Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys reacts after a game against the Houston Texans at AT&T Stadium on December 11, 2022 in Arlington, Texas.
(Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 775825774 ORIG FILE ID: 1448420734

– Week 14 is in the books so it’s time for our latest NFL Power Rankings, which have the Cowboys slipping a little bit after Sunday’s ugly win over the Texans.

– Charles Curtis breaks down the 9 best free agents remaining in MLB, including Carlos Correa.

– Peyton and Eli Manning wore some huge hats during last night’s Manningcast.

– The latest NFL MVP odds have one QB pulling away from the rest of the group.

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