Four games in, there still is no true clarity regarding whether Matt Patricia serves as the de facto offensive coordinator for the Patriots. With the team that fired Patricia as its coach coming to town on Sunday, questions about Patricia’s role become more relevant.
And so coach Bill Belichick was asked questions about Patricia’s role on Friday. And Belichick answered those questions in the usual Belichick way.
Here’s the question, as it was asked during Belichick’s end-of-week press conference: “Through four games here, how do you feel Matt has done with the responsibilities that he has offensively, calling plays especially? Looks like that’s what he’s doing on the sidelines. How have you noticed him grow in that role?”
“Yeah, again we’ve talked about the entire offensive staff,” Belichick said. “So that’s really what -- I wouldn’t characterize it quite the way that you did. But that’s fine. So I would say that, like a lot of things offensively, we made some improvements. Didn’t turn the ball over as much last week. That was a step in the right direction. Still obviously have a long way to go. Need to play better in situational football. There’s a lot of things we need to do better. I think we made some progress. So we’ll see where we’re at this week.”
The next question was obvious. “Should we not be calling[Matt Patricia] the play caller?”
And then came the mini-Abbott and Costello routine.
Belichick: “Call him whatever you want.”
Reporter: “How would you characterize it?”
Belichick: “I’ve already characterized it.”
Reporter: “Who is calling the offensive plays?”
Belichick: “We’ve talked about this ad nauseum. Maybe we can take notes this time to say that I’m responsible for all of it. Which is what I’ve said from day one. That’s what I continue to say. There hasn’t been any change in that. I’m responsible for what is called and what’s done on the field.”
But the head coach is always responsible for all of it. That doesn’t mean he’s selecting the plays for the game plan. Or that he’s making the play-in-play-out initial selections during the game. Or that he’s working directly and extensively with the quarterbacks and other offensive players to teach them what to do and how to do it. Despite Belichick’s Herculean work ethic, there are only so many hours in the day. One man can only do so much. Every minute devoted to defense is one fewer minute that can be devoted to offense, and vice versa.
When Belichick isn’t working with the offense, Patricia and Joe Judge apparently are. They’re the ones grinding on the game plan, picking plays to be used in various situations. Deciding which plays will be the focal point in practice. Incorporating the product of film study aimed at figuring out what the opposing defense is doing, and taking advantage of it.
It’s a lot of stuff to do. Belichick may be responsible for it, but he can’t be doing all of the work. Josh McDaniels, the guy who did it for years, is gone. It’s now Patricia and Judge, apparently. They have limited experience when it comes to the many things that must be done to get the most out of an offense.
So, no, it’s not enough for Belichick to say he’s responsible. That goes without saying, frankly. His six Super Bowl wins insulate him, presumably, from the same kind of accountability that other coaches with other teams might experience.
Regardless, the Patriots are 1-3. They need to beat the Lions at home on Sunday. Desperately. If they fall to 1-4, who knows where this season will end up for a team whose owner already has said publicly that he’s not happy that the Patriots have gone three years without a playoff win?
