Tony Dungy’s comments on Bill Belichick are quite damning
By Jerry Trotta
NBC analyst Tony Dungy made some damning quotes about Patriots head coach Bill Belichick on Sunday.
For the second consecutive week, the Patriots looked as if they didn’t belong on the field with their competition. Only this time, it was worse, as they got their doors blown off by San Francisco at Gillette Stadium to the tune of a 33-6 drubbing.
Fingers will point to quarterback Cam Newton and the ineptitude of the offense, and understandably so, but fans are just going to have to accept the fact that this is a group with glaring flaws. The 31-year-old has never really been known for his precision, and he’s simply finding it impossible to complete passes to his wide receivers, who are still struggling to create a semblance of separation.
On the other side of the spectrum, the defense also had a forgettable day at the office, allowing former undrafted running back Jeff Wilson to total 112 yards and three touchdowns on a whopping 6.6 yards per carry.
At this point, head coach Bill Belichick has to look himself in the mirror and ask if his brilliance is capable of overcoming this mess. Well, NBC analyst Tony Dungy was asked that question during the NBC halftime show on Sunday night, and he was adamant in declaring that it isn’t conceivable.
Tony Dungy on NBC halftime program: “Bill Belichick is the best fixer of problems I’ve ever seen. But I’m not sure if this is salvageable. It just looks like this is getting worse. There is no continuity on offense or defense.”
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) October 26, 2020
We hate admitting it, but it’s difficult to disagree with Dungy’s take on the Patriots’ current situation. In no way is that implying that Belichick has lost a step — seriously, that isn’t the problem here — but not many coaches (if any) would be capable of leading this team to the playoffs.
New England was outplayed in all three facets (offense, defense, and special teams) for the third consecutive game in Week 6, and that just speaks to the lack of talent, experience and cohesiveness on this roster. How bad is it? Well, the walloping by the 49ers marked their worst home loss of the Belichick era and third straight defeat for the first time since 2002.
The fact that former Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who was famously traded to San Francisco back in 2017, was under center for the opposing team just made the loss all the more difficult to stomach.
The New England Patriots have won only four of their last 12 games. Bill Belichick, the coach, blamed “offense, defense, special teams, running, passing, defending the run, defending the pass, ball security, tackling, blocking.” https://t.co/CSnSYipMWP
— The New York Times (@nytimes) October 26, 2020
As things stand, the Patriots are 2.5 games behind Buffalo in the AFC East, and a pivotal clash with them awaits in Week 8. We normally hate jumping to conclusions with more than half of the schedule remaining and assert that NE’s season hangs in the balance next Sunday, but it absolutely does.
The Patriots are currently broken, and only time will tell if Belichick is capable of fixing them.
