New England Patriots' Offseason Begins Early: Why It's Bill Belichick's Fault

Here's something we can all agree on: in the history of NFL coaches, the New England Patriots' Bill Belichick will go down as one of the greats of all time.  He's got the records and the rings to prove it.

But after leading his team to a stellar 14-2 mark in the regular season, Belichick had to watch it all come crashing down yesterday afternoon, as the New York Jets pounded the Pats at home, 28-21, in the divisional round of the playoffs.

Not exactly the ending anyone, Belichick included, could have envisioned. Now he'll swap football cleats for flip-flops, Hawaii for Texas, as his coaching staff mans the AFC Pro Bowl squad later this month.

He has no one to blame for the turnaround but himself. 

Sure, it'll be fashionable for some people to go all Bart Scott on the situation and say the third consecutive playoff meltdown for the Pats is a direct result of Tom Brady not being MVP-worthy. But let's back up a second before we start blaming the Uggs man.

If receivers can't get open, a quarterback can't do his job. But if a team's best receiver—the one who can always, without fail, find a way to get open—isn't on the field, it's even more difficult for a quarterback, especially in the playoffs. For the first drive of yesterday's game, Brady's favourite target, all 5'9" of Wes Welker, stood on the sidelines looking irritated. 

Why, you ask?

Belichick made the decision to bench him. Whatever for? Well, after listening to the Jets call his teammates several words not fit for print, Welker decided to have a little fun at the expense of Rex Ryan and his much-publicized foot fetish.

He made references to feet and toes more than a dozen times in an otherwise mundane Thursday press conference leading up to the game. Fairly innocuous stuff when you consider the four-letter words Jets CB Antonio Cromartie was dropping.

But Belichick being Belichick (and not exactly known for his humour) he decided that such depravity would not be tolerated and he had Welker cool his heels to make a point. And that point being (in case you weren't sure) that should the Patriots deviate from the Master Plan, their dissension will not be tolerated.

Even in the biggest game of the year. Even against a hated divisional rival. Even when the guy is a four-time Pro Bowler and accepts well below market value to play for the team. Yeah. Even then.

So that was mistake No. 1. The young team is rattled by the distraction a veteran being benched creates and Welker appears so pissed off he plays almost as poorly as he did three weeks earlier in Buffalo.

Belichick miscue No. 2 came on a 4th-and-3—familiar territory for Belichick making bad calls (4th-and-2 in Indy, anyone?). The Pats are near midfield in their own territory and are preparing to punt. Then all hell breaks loose as safety Patrick Chung moves into position to take the snap and then fumbles it. 

He takes so long to find the wayward ball that he is tackled before he can reach the first down marker and the Jets take over. As fate would have it, Mark Sanchez channeled Joe Namath with the excellent field position and completed a decent ball to Braylon Edwards, who dragged two Patriots with him into the end zone.

In an exit interview this morning, Chung took full responsibility (multiple times) for the fake punt. He said he called it at the line and it was his fault. But Belichick rules his team like Stalin—they don't sneeze without asking coach's permission. There's no plausible scenario in which Chung makes that call without having heard directly from Belichick that it was the decision to make. 

Another reason for the fail? Fourth quarter clock management. But Belichick isn't the offensive coordinator, you say? Be realistic. The man has his fingers in everyone's pie, so to speak. He's on offense, he's on defense and I'm pretty sure he's the one squirting water into players' mouths during tv timeouts.

The Patriots were down by 10 with just under 10 minutes to go in the game. And they started running. It was the Danny Woodhead and BenJarvus Green-Ellis show out there.  Against a top-five run defense. The Pats were eating clock with Rex Ryan-like gusto. 

Brady tried to explain on his weekly WEEI appearance that the Patriots were really only down by 10, not 14 or 15, so it was cool to do the Jets a favor and kill the clock because if they scored a touchdown they could then kick and recover the onside kick and score another touchdown to win it. Just like in the movies.

And they say this guy hasn't gone Hollywood.

Regardless, Deion Branch dropped a fourth down pass and that plan was stalled. But then, the Pats defense came alive and forced the Jets to go three-and-out. A New England touchdown and two-point conversion ensued and they were three points from a tie. And then Belichick made mistake No. 4.

He allowed his special teams unit to try to be the hero.

Shayne Graham administered the onside kick. Suffice it to say, the same group that couldn't effectively deliver a fake punt weren't much better at fielding a fake kick and the Jets scored a touchdown with ease. Goodnight, New England. 

Of course, Belichick has done enough good things that he need not worried about being fired. He's like the fifth Kraft child at this point. But it does make you wonder what changes are coming to Foxboro. New coaches? Maybe even coordinators? Free-agent acquisitions? 

Whatever he decides to do, he needs to bear in mind that his audience is becoming restless. It's been six seasons since a Lombardi was hoisted by New England and three since they won a playoff game. When you have the best quarterback in football, that shouldn't be happening. 

Belichick needs to take a good long look in the mirror and decide if his philosophies and what he's preaching is still working when it counts the most. 

History doesn't lie.  And Belichick's recent history ain't pretty.