If Patriots’ offense continues to struggle, what will Belichick do?

Because the Patriots are reworking their offensive play-calling, the team has struggled to catch on. If that continues, will Belichick change it?

A lot has been made of the Patriots’ performance since training camp began, more specifically regarding the lack of good practices by the offense.

Usually, not much should be taken from these practices, as it is still very early in the preseason with several weeks left before the regular season begins. But the struggles the offense has displayed are uncharacteristic of a Belichick-led team, leading many to wonder if the coach will possibly make even more changes before week one.

The debate seemingly began on Sunday night between Greg Bedard and former Patriots linebacker, Ted Johnson on NBC Sports Boston. The conversation then continued on Monday as the Patriots’ offense continued to look virtually invisible on the field.

Before camp began this week, Belichick was (somewhat) asked if he would be willing to make drastic changes to the new play-calling if things didn’t improve.

"“In camp, in preseason, during the season, mid-season. You see things that are going well, you try to figure out a way to exploit that more or do more of it. You see things that aren’t going well, you either figure out a way to improve it or get rid of it and move on to something else that’s more productive. You have a couple different options there. You just have to decide which one you feel is the right one. If you’re spending time on something that’s not productive, then maybe you need to change it or find something else. It’s just not efficient.”"

It appeared that he would be open to making changes, but still answering in his usual non-specific/lack of detail way.

Belichick would go on to talk about how every season there are new things that players need to adapt to, including learning about new players on the team and what they’re good at, new plays, etc. He also recognized that anything new takes time, and occasionally that allows you to see changes that need to be made.

"“Sometimes it takes a while, but ultimately you have to make that judgment, and sometimes you make it sooner rather than later.”"

There is a lot of speculation as to whether or not the Patriots’ coach would be willing to make those changes given how much time has been spent creating their new scheme. But former offensive line coach, Dante Scarnecchia, spoke to the Boston Herald on Monday, saying he wouldn’t be surprised if Belichick did scrap the new playbook.

"“Bill’s never been one to say, ‘we’re going to run this no matter how it looks.’ He won’t do that. I can remember him saying numerous times, ‘we’re going on to something else’.”"

Coming from someone who worked with Belichick for 18 years, it seems his response is more credible than others currently debating the topic. But, time will tell.

It’s unclear why the offense is struggling so much with the new scheme, especially because they aren’t lacking talent on the offensive roster. It’s been reported that the playbook was made “to be “streamlined” and simpler for players to learn.” So why so much difficulty?

Because it is still early August and New England is yet to play a preseason game, all is not lost with so much time left to get things going. Once they play a preseason game or two, a true evaluation would be more appropriate and likely accurate, making concerns considerably more understandable.