ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith has long been a supporter of New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
Even amid the offensive turmoil in New England right now, Smith called for patience in a recent episode of ESPN’s First Take. He believes Belichick’s hallowed legacy warrants him the benefit of the doubt from critics of the offense.
Whether it’s Matt Patricia, Joe Judge or even Belichick himself calling the offensive plays, there’s always a chance that things come together as intended and the Patriots put up a fight in the regular season.
But that’s as far as it goes, according to Smith.
When it came to making an actual playoff prediction, he would not leave a spot open for the Patriots this time around.
“I think, possibly, all four teams from the AFC West are going to the postseason,” said Smith. “…That means nobody else anywhere is going but division winners, and so it’s entirely possibly that both Miami and New England miss the playoffs.
“But I do believe that Miami has a shot to be better than New England this year because Bill Belichick the coach is not Bill Belichick the personnel guy that picks the talent to play for him. That’s a different animal.”
There’s no question that the Patriots will have an uphill climb with the AFC suddenly morphing into the murderer’s row conference in the league. The competition will be fierce this season.
And the Patriots are also dealing with former offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels leaving second-year quarterback Mac Jones for a head coaching job in Las Vegas.
Instead of bringing in an outside replacement, Belichick has kept everything in-house with the team looking into installing new offensive schemes with Patricia and Judge currently splitting the play-calling duties.
What could possibly go wrong?
