Former Patriots DE Chris Long expresses concerns over Bill Belichick's Patriots' performances post-Tom Brady era
The New England Patriots, led by head coach Bill Belichick, have had a hard time finding success post-Tom Brady.
In their first season without Brady, they missed the playoffs by a slim margin, led by Cam Newton. The next season, they drafted Mac Jones in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft and made the playoffs as a Wild Card team with a 7-10 record. Last season, the Patriots finished 8-9 and missed the playoffs for a third straight year.
To begin the 2023 season, the Patriots are 1-3 through their first four games and benched Jones in their loss against the Cowboys.
Former New England and Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Chris Long spoke with Rich Eisen on "The Rich Eisen Show" and expressed his concerns about the post-Brady Patriots.
He thinks it's tough for the Pats to win come-from-behind games by being a one-dimensional offense:
"Here's the problem. If you play Dallas, and you find yourself down a couple scores, you turn the ball over, you're not going to win. If you play Dallas, you become one dimensional, you have to go away from the run game, you're not gonna win.
"These are things that the Patriots especially are not immune to. I mean, they're not built to play from behind. This is the furthest away that I felt like the Pats have been. Even post-Brady. And I'm surprised by it."
Bill Belichick says the Patriots are 'still fighting' but 'need to do a better job' after falling to 1-3
Following the New England Patriots' embarrassing 38-3 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 4, Bill Belichick spoke to the media and hasn't lost any hope on his team.
Following his most lopsided loss as a head coach, Belichick said that his team is still fighting:
“We’re still fighting. We just weren’t able to play well enough. We’re a lot better team than we showed out there tonight. Need to do a better job playing, coaching. Not much to say.”
Belichick has found himself in unfamiliar territory. He's never started his career 1-3 as a head coach, and the Patriots have a good chance of missing the playoffs in 2023.
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit Chris Long, "The Rich Eisen Show", Bill Belichick, ESPN, and H/T Sportskeeda