It was an ugly night for the Patriots Sunday as they fell to 1-2 on the season with a 26-10 loss to Matt Patricia and the Detroit Lions.
Some will call this the beginning of the end for the Patriots dynasty, but Bill Belichick obviously didn't feed in to any of that in his interview with WEEI Monday.
"It’s the execution that really concerns me. We’re trying hard, just not getting enough done," he said. "It’s been across the board. I think it’s as much a question of trying and effort as it is execution and basic fundamentals. We’re coming up short and just have to do a better job of playing."
If the issue with the Patriots to this point is execution and not effort, there's hope they can turn things around. Poor execution usually comes from poor coaching or poor personnel, and we know coaching isn't the issue.
Another hot topic coming out of the game last night is the usage of rookie running back Sony Michel compared to veteran James White.
“I think your team evolves every year,” he said. “The more you know about it, the better you can coach it. But look, every team is going through the same thing. We’re doing the best we can with it, and hopefully we can better. We’re not anywhere near where we want to be. But nobody is going to solve that but us. We’ve got to work and figure it out.”
The receiving core has been an issue since training camp, and with Julian Edelman out for another week serving a suspension, Belichick did not give a clear idea to when we would see Josh Gordon on the field.
New England Patriots
“I think it’s a little too early to put out any big evaluations at this point,” he said. “As you know, a lot of performance is based on confidence, knowing what you’re doing, and being familiar, and not thinking too much and trying to play at confident game speed."