Belichick doesn’t hold back on Patriots after ugly loss to 49ers

Belichick doesn’t hold back on Patriots after ugly loss to 49ers originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Bill Belichick’s gloves are starting to come off.

Belichick mostly refrained from discussing the New England Patriots on his various media platforms through the first three weeks of the season, aside from a brief swipe at his former team’s clock management in Week 2.

That changed Monday after the Patriots’ lopsided loss to the San Francisco 49ers, when Belichick was asked on The Pat McAfee Show what he thought of head coach Jerod Mayo’s “plan” to keep Jacoby Brissett as the starting quarterback ahead of rookie Drake Maye.

“I’ll be honest with you, I have no idea what the plan is,” Belichick replied. “So, I can’t comment on that. If Mayo says he’s got a plan, then I guess he’s got one, and we’ll have to wait to see what it is. I don’t know.”

We understand Belichick not wanting to speculate on Mayo’s plans for his rookie quarterback — but this isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement of the man who took Belichick’s job in January.

Belichick continued his criticism of his former employer by highlighting the Patriots’ shortcomings in several areas against the 49ers.

“I would say there’s a number of issues there,” Belichick said. “One is, can’t move the ball and can’t score. Got a 63-yard field goal and then got a touchdown off the fumbled kickoff, but otherwise had a hard time moving the ball.

“And I don’t know exactly what the numbers were, but the amount of time that (49ers quarterback Brock) Purdy had to throw was pretty high. I’ve got to think that in terms of the amount of time before the ball was released, had to be the highest in the league or close to it. So, I think there’s some pass rush issues there, there are some scoring issues.”

It’s hard to quibble with Belichick’s critiques; the Patriots mustered just 216 yards of total offense Sunday, and their lone touchdown came on a drive they started at San Francisco’s 27-yard line after the 49ers fumbled a kickoff. And Purdy did in fact have the longest average time to throw (3.47 seconds) of any QB in Week 4.

Still, Belichick’s blunt criticism of his former team may not sit well with Patriots fans or members of the organization, especially since New England’s personnel moves while he was in charge over the last few seasons are part of the reason this team is in such dire straits.

Although if you’re looking for an admission of guilt, Belichick did point out that Patriots kicker Joey Slye is performing a bit better than the guy he drafted in Chad Ryland.

“Joey Slye, that’s a great addition for them,” Belichick said. “They’ve got a great kicker; that’s a big upgrade from where we were last year.”

Whether Mayo’s Patriots can improve on their 4-13 record under Belichick last season remains to be seen.