Answering the tough questions Bill Belichick wouldn’t answer.
Bill Belichick didn’t mind discussing Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill and the Kansas City Chiefs’ explosive offense. Though he failed to address the fact that they’re not that explosive in recent weeks.
The New England Patriots coach is preparing for an AFC Championship Game rematch with Kansas City. And as usual, he was ready to praise his opponent. He also discussed the strong work from his receivers Julian Edelman and Mohamed Sanu.
But just like every week, there were topics Belichick avoided as best he could. He dodged topics like the Patriots’ decision to go without a kicker this week. And he didn’t field a question about the Tom Brady drama or the Antonio Brown apology.
Here’s what Bill Belichick wouldn’t say in Week 14.
1. What’s going on with your kicker situation? Can you announce that you’re re-signing Nick Folk?
What he said Friday: “Nope.”
What we think he’s thinking: The Patriots have clearly expected all week that Nick Folk would be returning to the team. He was dealing with appendicitis and missed last week’s game. Perhaps the timeline for his return hit a snag, because they won’t be adding Folk on Saturday. But they will add Folk despite spending the week without a kicker, according to NFL Network. It would have been a truly Belichickian oddity for the Patriots head into one of the biggest matchups of the season without a kicker. He probably would’ve enjoyed the challenge.
But week after week, game after game, Julian Edelman plays. And delivers.
New England Patriots fans are well aware receiver Julian Edelman is quarterback Tom Brady’s No. 1 receiver.
But he’s much more than that. Patriots coach Bill Belichick told the media on Friday at Gillette Stadium that Edelman is a crucial part in the offense’s ability to attack an opposing defense’s weaknesses.
“I think there are things that come up from game to game, that if you want to do something with an experienced player that can handle a particular situation you’re trying to attack in that game, he’s a good guy to do it with,” Belichick said of Edelman.
There is no shortage of things Edelman can do for the offense, whether that be where he lines up in multi-receiver sets or the routes he runs from each position.
“I mean we’ve been able to do different things with him over the course of his career, and certainly over the last few years,” Belichick said.
Edelman is on pace to set career highs in every major category. He has 82 receptions for 915 yards and five touchdowns in 12 games this season. Current career highs stand at 1,106 yards (2016), 105 receptions (2013) and seven touchdowns (2015) in his 10 NFL seasons.
His production is perhaps even more impressive due to the fact it’s been an injury-filled season for the 33-year-old receiver.
Edelman was limited in practice on Thursday (shoulder). He’s also been dealing with a chest/rib injury first suffered in a Week 3 win over the New York Jets. He left that game in the second quarter and has frequently been holding his chest after taking big hits or making big catches since.
But week after week, game after game, Edelman plays. And delivers.
“Julian’s a tough kid,” Belichick said. “He can work through quite a bit. So, he’s done a good job this year.”
Edelman leads the team in receptions, receiving yards and is tied for the lead in receiving touchdowns (along with Phillip Dorsett). He has played 89 percent of snaps or more in 11 of 12 games this year, including 100 percent of the snaps against Baltimore.
Tom Brady is drawing unflattering comparisons to a struggling NFL QB.
Tom Brady’s season hasn’t come together like he’s hoped. The New England Patriots quarterback helped the team get off to a strong start in 2019, but they have regressed, particularly on offense, past Week 4.
In fact, Brady has drawn statistical comparisons to Chicago Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky from Week 5 through Week 13. Trubisky is getting blasted for his tough play this season, and some believe he could out of a job by the end of the season. (He’s making a rally in recent weeks with strong performances in Weeks 13 and 14.)
During that nine-week span, Brady’s statistical comparisons to Trubisky are not flattering. Brady completed 59.2% of his passes for 6.2 yards per attempt, a 80.3 quarterback rating, 11 touchdowns and six interceptions. Trubisky, meanwhile, threw 10 touchdowns and five interceptions with a 63.2 completion % and an 85.7 quarterback rating at 6.3 yards per attempt.
The biggest difference?
During that same span, Brady was 6-2. Trubisky was 3-4.
Since Week 4 Tom Brady's game has looked a lot like… Mitch Trubisky?!
BRADY TRUBISKY 11 PASS TD 10 6 INT 5 59.2%. COMP PCT 63.2% 80.3 RATING 85.7 6.2 YDS PER ATT 6.3 pic.twitter.com/BFBi5DqN4t
It’s a small sample size, and there’s plenty of time for Brady and the Patriots to make things right. But its does provide a look at how New England has struggled offensively in recent weeks.
Stephen A. Smith defends the Patriots from Kellerman’s criticism.
“I don’t think you know what the hell you’re talking about when it comes to Tom Brady. Either that or you are so fixated on holding onto your ‘cliff’ theory,” Smith said. “Ever since you made the prediction, he’s gone to three straight Super Bowls, won two and the one he lost he passed for 500 yards. I ain’t trying to hear that from you. What I’m saying to you is this, here’s my problem when I say you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about or you’re just holding onto the ‘cliff’ theory, because I think you’re engaging in cruelty. I think you’re engaging in cruelty.
“When you see these receivers and their inability to get open, to gain any kind of separation whatsoever. I have never seen Tom Brady hold onto the football more in my life praying that somebody is getting open. Is he what he used to be? No. He’s 42. We get that part. What I’m saying is this: Where is the sympathy and the empathy? And I don’t expect anybody in the football world to have it because New England has been so dominant for so long. But I’m just talking about as human beings, recognizing the fact that damn it, we ain’t what we used to be as the birth certificate collects a little bit more dust.”
Rex Ryan: This is the worst Patriots team I’ve seen.
“New England doesn’t scare anybody anymore, and it’s because of that. There is no talent out there,” Ryan said. “I mean, (Julian) Edelman’s your best player. He’s a slot receiver, and then James White is your second-best player? There’s nobody else.”
He added: “Whatever Tom Brady has left, because here’s the thing: We talk about their weapons and everything else, but they can’t run the football, and that’s it. And they don’t protect the quarterback. So, to me, it’s you’re out there because you have the greatest of all time, you’ve got the smartest quarterback that’s ever played and the best coach, and so that gives them a chance. They have to get a bye and they have to play at home.”
Dan Orlovsky: Tom Brady’s trust with receivers is dissipating quickly.
“The film validates my thoughts,” Orlovsky wrote. “Trust is like a forest — takes a long time to grow, but can burn quickly.”
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is accustomed to offensive competency, particularly at this time of year. The Patriots have made a habit of playing dead in the beginning of the year. They started 2-2 in 2014, 2017 and 2018 before appearing in the Super Bowl. During those seasons, Brady and the offense looked pretty bad at the outset — until they looked like one of the most efficient and unstoppable forces in the league.
But this year has been starkly different. The Patriots haven’t flipped the switch. If anything, they’ve looked worse over the last few weeks — and it’s the time of year which Brady and Bill Belichick say is most important. Maybe the running game is improving, but New England’s passing game has been predictable. They want to feed Julian Edelman and James White. Brady is far less comfortable with his other options. That’s why the Houston Texans’ game plan on Sunday night looked so impressive (even if it was an obvious one). Texans defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel doubled Edelman and put a cornerback on White. That made life difficult for Brady.
He was doing his best to elevate the play of his supporting cast. And it wasn’t working. He tried sideline motivation. He tried adjustments at the line of scrimmage. He tried trusting them in contested situations. But it wasn’t working for the first time in a long time. All of Brady’s deep targets to Phillip Dorsett fell incomplete on Sunday, and the quarterback’s lone target to N’Keal Harry resulted in an interception. So Brady is, in essence, testing them. But they’re failing those tests.
“Guys are trying. I have no problem — I love playing with Phillip Dorsett. I love playing with N’Keal,” Brady told WEEI sports radio on Monday morning. “N’Keal is working his tail off. He hasn’t had a lot of opportunities out there and he’s learning as he’s going. To expect someone to go out in their third game of the year and be perfect, I think that is unrealistic for anyone. I love what N’Keal is bringing. We’re gaining confidence every week.”
It’s not showing. In fact, Harry didn’t sound sure of anything after Sunday’s game. He said he didn’t notice his playtime decrease or his targets disappear after the interception. And he wasn’t totally sure what went wrong on that turnover.
“I mean, I guess I could have just used my body more a little bit,” Harry told reporters after the game. “I haven’t watched it on film yet. I’ve got to see it first.”
This is the time of year when the Patriots offense should begin to click. But it hasn’t. Brady is 42 years old with limitations, and beyond Edelman and White, Brady’s pass-catchers are a group of average veterans (WRs Dorsett, Mohamed Sanu and TEs Matt LaCosse and Ben Watson) mixed with underdeveloped youngsters (WRs N’Keal Harry and Jakobi Meyers and TE Ryan Izzo).
Brady certainly hasn’t made his career upon developing young receivers — that has long been a weak point for New England, which hasn’t made much of its draft selections at the position (See: Aaron Dobson, Josh Boyce, Taylor Price and Chad Jackson). But Brady has done a nice job getting the most out of veterans like Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Donte Stallworth, Danny Amendola and Chris Hogan. That hasn’t quite been the case for Dorsett, Sanu, LaCosse or Watson — or even Josh Gordon, who the Patriots cut earlier this offseason.
This season, Brady’s work in elevating the play of those around him has been unsatisfactory. Part of that comes with the offense’s identity. New England wants to defer to their defense and special teams, which Brady has admitted are the strengths of the team. The problem is that when the Patriots must turn to the offense — as they did when they fell into a hole against Houston — they look as unprepared as they did on Sunday.
There’s definitely reason to believe the Patriots can get more out of their offense and that Brady can still find ways to elevate their play. It’s just that they’re running out of time. They have just four games remaining in the regular season, including matchups against the Kansas City Chiefs (8-4) and the Buffalo Bills (9-3). Brady can get Sanu back into the fold as he recovers from an ankle issue. The 42-year-old can build a rapport with LaCosse as he gets healthy from his long list of injuries. And the quarterback can continue to bring along Meyers and Harry (but Meyers, in particular) to make them a bigger part of the offense. That’s what we’ve come to expect over the last 15 years of watching Brady and Belichick. Somehow, they get better, because they have been the most resourceful tandem in the NFL for two decades.
But after watching this Patriots team for 13 weeks, there’s room to wonder whether New England has the requisite offensive talent to hang with the AFC’s best teams. The cast of pass-catchers needs Brady to make them look better than they are. And he has so far looked incapable of doing that.
The Patriots aren’t in playoff peril, but their path to the top of the AFC is complicated.
The New England Patriots aren’t in playoff peril, but their loss to the Houston Texans has absolutely complicated their path to home-field advantage and a first-round bye.
With the Ravens getting a win over the San Francisco 49ers and the Patriots falling in Houston, Baltimore has overtaken the Patriots as the top seed in the AFC for Week 14. The Ravens have the same record as the Patriots, but have a head-to-head win over the Patriots. And not only did the Baltimore win put it past New England in the standings, but that win further reinforces what was becoming clear in Week 9: the Ravens are the best team in the NFL. No one knows how to stop quarterback Lamar Jackson. And the Patriots will probably need home-field advantage to beat the Ravens, if they match up in the playoffs.
Here’s a look at the standings in the AFC after Week 13.
1. Baltimore Ravens (10-2) 2. New England Patriots (10-2)
3. Houston Texans (8-4)
4. Kansas City Chiefs (8-4)
5. Buffalo Bills (9-3) 6. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-5)
The Patriots have more to worry about than the No. 1 seed. They have an appointment against the Kansas City Chiefs at Gillette Stadium in Week 14. Kansas City seemed to get its mojo back in Week 13 against the Oakland Raiders. Patrick Mahomes wasn’t brilliant, but the Chiefs won, 40-6. They didn’t even need Mahomes to be exceptional.
If the Patriots lose against the Chiefs and the Bills win in Week 14, that could would give the AFC East rivals the same record. New England has a tie-breaker with a head-to-head win over Buffalo, which would allow the Patriots to retain their spot as the No. 2 seed. But it would also set up a significant matchup between the Patriots and the Bills in Week 16.
The Patriots looked vulnerable on the road in Week 13. The will need to preserve home-field advantage for as long as possible. And a win over the Chiefs could go a long way in maintaining their lead in the playoff hunt in the AFC.
Here are five takeaways from the Patriots’ ugly loss to the Texans.
The New England Patriots didn’t look like one of the league’s top teams after losing 28-22 to the Houston Texans on Sunday night.
In all three facets of the game, the Patriots couldn’t figure out how to gain any momentum. Aside from the exciting six minutes to end the game, the Patriots offense was hard to watch. Bill O’Brien and the Texans were prepared for this matchup and they knew how to counter Josh McDaniels’ game plan.
The Patriots will host the Kansas City Chiefs next week and they’ll see the Buffalo Bills again in Week 16. Although this game doesn’t rule the Patriots out of Super Bowl contention, it definitely exposed some weaknesses.
Here are five takeaways from the game.
James White, Julian Edelman only offensive weapons
The Texans came into the game with a plan to double cover Julian Edelman and to put a cornerback on James White. This plan worked for the first three quarters of the game, and it left the Patriots with only nine points halfway through the fourth quarter.
Despite this intense coverage, both of Tom Brady’s top receivers walked out of the game with solid numbers. Edelman left the game with six catches for 106 yards and a touchdown. White finished the game with 14 carries for 79 rushing yards – along with eight catches for 98 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns. Two of these touchdowns came in the final six minutes of the fourth quarter.
It’s apparent going forward that Brady will only have these two as reliable receivers, with Mohamed Sanu and Jakobi Meyers as the only decent options. Philip Dorsett and N’Keal Harry haven’t proved reliable, and it’s put a huge question mark on this offense.
Bill O’Brien finally got his win over Bill Belichick.
The Houston Texans had five straight losses against Belichick under O’Brien, who served as the Patriots offensive coordinator in 2011. Finally, the mentee surpassed the mentor — at least for the night. The Texans beat the Patriots, 28-22. New England’s offense sputtered until late in the game when the Texans started to get complacent — and the Patriots nearly made Houston pay. While the Patriots’ playoff picture isn’t grim, it is certainly growing more complicated with the Baltimore Ravens (10-2) and even the Buffalo Bills (9-3) looking impressive.
Here are the winners and losers from Belichick’s embarrassing loss to the Texans in Week 13 at NRG Stadium on Sunday night.
Winner: James White, RB
He proved to be the Patriots’ most trustworthy option when they fell into a deep hole. He began to gash the defense as a runner and as a pass-catcher. He faced a cornerback in coverage, which at first proved a smart game planning move by Houston. But that meant that, for the most part, the Texans were forced to take a linebacker off the field when White was in the game. That surely helped on White’s 14 carries for 79 yards. With less weight on defense, White seemed to find space in the middle of the defense.
But he also did what he does best. He had eight catches for 98 yards and two touchdown. White was the best and most reliable pass catcher for New England on Sunday in an otherwise rough performance.
Loser: Tom Brady, QB
While trailing 11 points at halftime, Brady had a quarterback rating of 28.8.
The quarterback told his receivers in the first quarter on the sideline that he needed them to be faster, quicker and more explosive. It was clear they weren’t separating well downfield. In the second half, the story was similar until late in the game when Brady padded his stats in a big way (24/47, 326 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT). Only Julian Edelman began to find space (6 catches, 106 yards, 1 TD). The rest of the receivers — Mohamed Sanu, Phillip Dorsett, Jakobi Meyers and N’Keal Harry — proved fairly unreliable at the most important moments.
Texans defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel was clearly one step ahead of Brady while doing what no one has had the sense to do so far this season. Crennel treated White like a receiver by putting a cornerback on him for the first three quarters. Crennel also put a double team on Edelman in the first half.
Even with White and Edelman stepping up in the second half against slackened coverage, Brady looked fairly helpless. He hasn’t been able to elevate the game of his supporting cast in 2019 — and that’s an alarming sentiment considering Brady’s age.
An epic dual between shutdown corner Stephon Gilmore and No. 1 receiver DeAndre Hopkins takes center stage on Sunday night when the New England Patriots visit the Houston Texans.
A week of turkey eating and Black Friday shopping will crescendo when the New England Patriots go on the road for a much-anticipated Sunday Night Football game against the Houston Texans.
Tom Brady and Deshaun Watson, Bill Belichick and Bill O’Brien, Stephon Gilmore and DeAndre Hopkins—are there any better reasons for a football fan to be thankful?
The Patriots swiftly bounced back from an ugly loss to the running freight train that is the Baltimore Ravens with back-to-back wins over the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys. Brady didn’t have much to work with against the Cowboys while basically playing in a monsoon.
Yet, that faithful Patriots defense shut down the star-studded Cowboys offense in a game where Gilmore held three-time Pro Bowl receiver Amari Cooper to zero catches.
Meanwhile, the Texans barely survived an AFC South divisional run-in with the Indianapolis Colts after getting ramrodded by the Ravens. Despite being on the road, the Patriots will enter Sunday’s game as -3.5 favorites with the over/under being 44.5 points.
Why you should pick the Patriots
These match-ups haven’t typically worked out in the Texans’ favor, but it has been even worse with O’Brien as head coach. The former Patriots offensive coordinator is 0-5 when going head-to-head with Belichick. That sort of record can lead to a big brother syndrome that’s hard to overcome.
Quite frankly, Belichick has owned O’Brien.
Watson is a special quarterback that brings a legitimate champion’s mentality to the Texans, but he’ll also be going toe-to-toe with arguably the best defense in football. Hopkins will have to fight for his life to make plays against the soul-sucking cornerback nightmare that is Gilmore, and Will Fuller won’t have any easier of a time dealing with another physical corner in J.C. Jackson.
The Patriots defense rarely gives up big plays, and they’re going to take away Watson’s vaunted deep ball and make him methodically move down the field. Houston lacks depth at running back, and their offensive line has let Watson down more often than not this season.
Brady might also have all of his receiving weapons on the field at the same time this week against a Texans secondary that ranks 25th in the league against the pass. Mohamed Sanu and Phillip Dorsett both made the trip with the hope to suit up and give the frustrated Patriots quarterback a better shot at competing.
Positive news for Patriots on injury front: Mohamed Sanu (ankle) and Phillip Dorsett (concussion) are making the trip to Houston after missing last Sunday’s win. This means there is a chance for a fully active WR depth chart Sunday night.
The Patriots are trying to stay ahead of the Ravens for the No. 1 seed in the AFC, while the Texans are vying with the Colts and Tennessee Titans to win their division. A loss at home on Sunday would be a major step in the wrong direction towards those efforts.
The Texas need this game.
There is also the revenge factor for Watson in finally exorcising his Belichick and Brady demons ahead of a potential Super Bowl run. Hopkins and Fuller on the field together are arguably the most dynamic pair of receivers in football. There hasn’t been a better combination since thunder and lightning. Throw Watson into the mix and you have a Category 5 storm brewing for the Patriots defense.
Texans running back Carlos Hyde isn’t Ezekiel Elliott, Mark Ingram or Nick Chubb, but he is a player to take seriously against a Patriots defense that has shown some cracks up front in stopping the run. He is actually on pace to having a career-season with the Texans in a year where he’s run for 836 yards and four touchdowns.
Beating the Patriots could be more about feeding Hyde than leaning on Watson’s arm.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Texans have experienced a noticeable dip in production without J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney, but they’ll be facing a Patriots offense that has looked anemic for most of the season. If there was ever a chance for a statement defensive performance from the Texans, this would be the game.
Patriots are 35-16 ATS in their last 51 games after a straight up win.
Patriots are 20-8 ATS in their last 28 games after giving up less than 15 points in their previous game.
Texans are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games played at home.
Prediction
The smart pick is the Patriots and the over on Sunday.
A wave of sickness somehow made its way into the Patriots locker room, but the team has averted a near catastrophe with multiple star players originally listed as questionable for this game. The potential return of Sanu and Dorsett, along with another week with Isaiah Wynn back at left tackle, tips the scales in the Patriots’ favor on a night where the defense will have Watson’s number.
Let’s not pretend like Brady and the Patriots offense have been struggling against cupcake opponents in the last few weeks. The Ravens, Eagles and Cowboys defenses are top-12 units in the league. So this will be an opportunity for Brady and company to get some confidence going against the No. 20-ranked defense in the NFL.
On the other side of the ball, Belichick will take away the deep pass from Watson and force him to throw in a phone booth against tight coverage. That has been a recipe for disaster for opposing quarterbacks all season against the Patriots’ defense, and the same will continue to be the case for the Texans on Sunday.
Give me the Patriots and the over.
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Three keys for the New England Patriots to defeat the Houston Texans in Week 13.
The New England Patriots (10-1) will look to win 11 games in a season for the tenth consecutive year when they take on the Houston Texans (7-4) in this week’s Sunday Night Football matchup in Texas. Here are the Patriots’ three keys to victory.
1. Win game’s marquee player matchup
All eyes will be on the battle between Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore this Sunday.
Unless Gilmore faces off against Saints receiver Michael Thomas in Super Bowl 54 this February, this will be the undisputed best receiver-cornerback matchup of the season.
Gilmore has had his way with several of the league’s marquee receivers this year, which is why he’s one of the favorites to take home the league’s Defensive Player of the Year award.
Will he take Hopkins — six catches, 85 yards combined in last two games versus Gilmore — out of the game as he did the likes of Amari Cooper and Odell Beckham Jr. earlier this year?
2. Pressure/contain Deshaun Watson
Watson — 301 rushing yards (4th among QBs), five touchdowns — isn’t exactly Lamar Jackson when on the run, but he’s a mobile quarterback capable of extending plays and scrambling for back-breaking third down conversion runs.
The Texans already have trouble protecting Watson (sacked 32 times) with their lackluster offensive line. This should encourage Bill Belichick to include a variety of pressure stunts and blitzes to the gameplan, that would send the likes of Jamie Collins and others after the Texans franchise passer.
Additionally, Kyle Van Noy, John Simon and Chase Winovich should be asked to contain Watson, keeping him in the pocket.
3. Gauge offensive approach along the way
Behind the return of left tackle Isaiah Wynn, Sony Michel and the Patriots found some success on the ground last Sunday versus the Dallas Cowboys.
They’d be wise to attempt to run on the Texans’ 17th-ranked run defense which allows 108 yards per game on the ground.
Although not an overly-porous unit, success can be had there with a good day of blocking a la last winter. The Patriots are capable of that again this season, even with their current unit up front.
But if the Patriots are stymied at the line, then a spread-it-out approach against the NFL’s 25th-ranked pass defense (in terms of yardage) may be the way to go.
Not that they need to be told, but the Patriots offense should be extra-flexible (and versatile) this week.