Bill Belichick pushed back on the notion that Matt Patricia was the offensive play-caller for the New England Patriots earlier in the season. In the latest MMQB piece, NFL insider Albert Breer’s latest report might have explained why the legendary coach made those comments.
According to Breer, Belichick “moonlighted” as the offensive play-caller for the Patriots during the season, which explains the typical confused state of the offense at times.
Breer wrote:
“I’d add that Belichick himself is on the hook for all this, too. My understanding is Belichick was active on the headsets on game day, having the sort of oversight over the offense that he’d traditionally had over the defense, and moonlighting as play-caller at points (which is why, at times, calls were late going in, and the offense could look messy from an operational standpoint).”
In many ways, Patricia has turned into the fall guy for the Patriots’ offensive struggles. Granted, he might have been given the brunt of the duties, but this report suggests he wasn’t making the calls alone.
Throw in the fact that Belichick is the one that put him in that position in the first place and it’s hard not to feel some sympathy for Patricia, particularly if it ends with him being ousted from New England.
Belichick made Patricia’s bed for him, and Patricia still has to lie in it.
