The New England Patriots are starting 2022 with a loss on their record.
With their loss to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, the Patriots have now dropped four straight games to them.
However, some are blaming the Patriots’ lack of a true offensive coordinator for the team’s current problems.
Is head coach Bill Belichick trying to be too smart by not having an OC this season?
Belichick Oddly Has Matt Patricia Calling Some Offensive Plays
With no offensive coordinator, the play calling has to fall on someone.
While Belichick is known by some as a defensive guru, some think he needs an OC.
However, he’s looking to Matt Patricia to help with play calling.
BTW, how's that Matt Patricia play calling going so far?
— Justin A. Cohn (@SportsiCohn) September 11, 2022
But that play calling by him isn’t going over well for New England.
With Sunday’s loss at Miami, it was the fewest points scored by New England against them since 2006.
The Dolphins gave up just 7 points to the Patriots today. That is the lowest score NE has put up against Miami since 2006.
Miami shut them out 21-0 then.
The Dolphins and Mike McDaniel start 1-0.
— Jason Sarney (@Jason_Sarney) September 11, 2022
This makes the offensive play calling look horrible for New England to start the season.
The offensive woes come after Mac Jones had an impressive rookie season for the team.
However, the magic from his rookie season is wearing off with a new offensive leader calling plays.
Jones And Offensive Line Look Bad In Week One
While the play calling by Patricia was bad, the Patriots’ offensive unit wasn’t any better.
Jones was clueless during some plays, and his offensive line wasn’t helping him.
Patriots offensive line lost nine yards in two plays last drive. Then you have Mac Jones strip sacked for a touchdown this series.
This group looked bad in the summer. They don't look much better to start the season.
— Mark Daniels (@MarkDanielsPJ) September 11, 2022
However, as Mark Daniels notes, the offensive woes have been a thing all preseason.
With the disaster spilling over to the regular season, Belichick has a major problem on his hands.
While some problems can come from a lack of OC in New England, others stem from poor decision making from Jones.
His failure to protect the ball lead to two turnovers, one resulting in a defensive touchdown on a sack fumble.
But are the Patriots doing too much with Belichick and Patricia making offensive play calls?
Could Belichick And Patricia Lose Their Locker Room After Poor Start?
One cautionary tale of the NFL is how coaches that lose get canned.
With the horrible start New England has in 2022, could their locker room lose faith in their coaches?
It’s something former Patriot Julian Edelman believes could happen.
Julian Edelman on Matt Patricia/offense needing to start fast: "This is the NFL — "Not for long." … It's a production business, we all know that. … If they go out there and start off very slow, you don't wanna lose that locker room."
— Dakota Randall (@DakRandallNESN) September 9, 2022
The slow start in Sunday’s game is the right recipe for Edelman’s “not for long” comment about Patricia.
However, the problem with Patricia making offensive play calls comes from him being better as a defensive play caller in New England.
In fact, his leadership as Patriots defensive coordinator for five years in New England landed him a head coaching job in 2018.
But that job in Detroit was short-lived, which helped him return to New England as an offensive line coach.
While he’s coached the offensive line before in New England, it’s his defense people remember.
His one year as an offensive line assistant coach in 2005 gave him little experience with the offense.
However, Belichick is being too smart with things by handing Patricia the keys to the play calling duties.
It’s that mistake by him which might hurt the Patriots in 2022, causing the locker room to turn on him.
NEXT: The Patriots Face A Must Win Game Against The Steelers In Week 2