Phil Perry was less than impressed with the Patriots secondary as the went up against Josh Allen and the Bills offense
Bill Belichick may want a word with Brian Griese.
During ESPN's "Monday Night Football" broadcast of the Patriots' matchup with the Buffalo Bills, Griese shared an observation from a production meeting with Belichick earlier in the week, noting that the New England head coach "didn’t buy into the Josh Allen craze."
"(Belichick) said, ‘You know what, we actually played pretty good defense against Josh Allen when we played in November,' " Griese recalled.
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Monday night was a very different story: Allen torched the Patriots for 320 passing yards and four touchdowns in Buffalo's 38-9 rout.
Perry's Report Card: Overmatched Pats have no answers for Bills
Belichick was asked after the game about his supposed assessment of Allen and didn't seem thrilled that it was made public.
"Yeah, I don't know what they said," Belichick told reporters in his postgame press conference. "I'm on the record on that."
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Belichick then was asked if it was a "fair interpretation" that he doesn't buy into the NFL MVP craze for the young quarterback.
"I said multiple times that Josh Allen is a good football player," Belichick responded. "He's played well, and he's having a good year."
Both things can be true: that Belichick believes Allen is very talented but also might have been overhyped prior to Monday night. That viewpoint is understandable considering the Patriots limited Allen to just 154 passing yards with no touchdowns and one interception in Week 8.
The 24-year-old has been on an absolute tear since that game, however, averaging 306.6 passing yards per contest with 22 total touchdowns over a seven-game span.
Allen's dismantling of the Patriots on Monday night was some of his finest work yet and likely earned the QB a bit more respect from Belichick -- even if the head coach preferred his views on Allen remain a bit more private.