Patriots: Felger & Mazz destroying Bill Belichick for Broncos game is embarrassing

98.5 The Sports Hub’s afternoon show “Felger & Mazz” blasting Patriots head coach Bill Belichick following Sunday’s loss to Denver is laughable.

Anybody else just want to forget that the Patriots’ loss to Denver on Sunday ever happened?

To say that the Patriots looked like a team that only practiced a handful of times over the last two weeks due to their COVID-19 outbreak would be an understatement. As much as we hate making excuses for head coach Bill Belichick’s side, that’s about as legitimate of one that you can identify this season.

Throw in the fact that Cam Newton only practiced once before Sunday and how decimated the offense line was — the Patriots played with five different players in five different positions compared to the Week 1 lineup — and it’s totally understandable why the offense looked as inept as it did.

Despite all of those difference-making factors working against the Patriots, local pundits still had the nerve to come for Belichick’s jugular on Monday. The most egregious of the bunch came from 98.5 The Sports Hub afternoon show “Felger & Mazz.” Prepare yourselves, Patriots Nation, because this is as embarrassing as it gets.

There’s a lot to unpack here. For starters, New England, whether it be players or the coaching staff, have EVERY right to be enraged at how woefully the NFL has managed its coronavirus outbreak. Having the team play two games despite not getting in nearly as much practice as their opponents is insanity, and that doesn’t even take the risk factors in terms of health and safety of teams into consideration.

And the one player that did call them out on social media, cornerback Jonathan Jones, was arguably the best player on the field on Sunday. The fifth-year pro conceded just one reception for 16 yards on eight targets while managing to record an interception and two pass breakups, so this take was boneheaded, to say the least.

We’re not going to devote much time to it, but what on earth was the “blaming the size of the locker room,” pointer? Did they think we wouldn’t notice that garbage? That pre-show prep clearly did not serve its purpose.

To close out this nauseating rant, the hosts mustered the gall to proclaim that Belichick is “losing his fastball” because he didn’t have the team ready for the game and to block out distractions and overcome adversity like Tennessee.

Need we remind you that the Patriots’ facilities were closed for three-day stints on two separate occasions over the last two weeks? That six days of valuable practice down the the tubes. Further, comparing New England and the Titans’ situations is nonsensical. Tennessee had a much more advantageous situation when it came to their scheduling adjustments and they didn’t lose any of their top players (and they’re also not dealing with a ton of injuries).

Given the Patriots’ free agency exile and string of player opt outs, they were never going to be able to overcome an outbreak, let alone being rushed into games with a lack of preparation. Because of that, Felger and Mazz are clowns for coming at Belichick the way they did, and we seriously hope the coaching legend makes them eat crow before long.

Patriots: So much went wrong on final play in loss to Broncos

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