Albert Breer thinks there is ‘internal questioning’ of Patriots’ approach
"We’ve been trained to think that Bill is going to pull rabbits out of his hat, right? Is he? Or was that Brady?"
As the Patriots prepare for the start of the 2022 season, the team faces question marks in all phases of the game. According to one NFL reporter, some of the question marks are also emanating from “inside the locker room.”
In an interview with 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Toucher & Rich” on Friday, Sports Illustrated senior NFL reporter Albert Breer offered his analysis of the current state of the Patriots, given the team’s free agent (and coaching) departures in the offseason.
After discussing the recent fights during joint practices with the Panthers, Breer continued with a higher-level view of the current atmosphere surrounding Bill Belichick’s team.
“It’s interesting because I do think that there is some internal questioning of what’s going on in Foxborough that maybe hasn’t existed in the past,” said Breer. “And I’m saying it from inside the locker room.”
Asked to clarify if he was referencing the offensive coaching situation — with Matt Patricia and Joe Judge working with the offense despite having never coached it before — Breer replied, “I think that, and there are serious questions about where all that’s going and some of the things they did in the offseason.”
Breer pointed to former offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels leaving to become head coach of the Raiders, as well as the free agent departure of cornerback J.C. Jackson.
“I mean, there were these losses that they suffered in the offseason,” said Breer. “I think it’s fair to question what they look like.”
Having covered the Patriots under Belichick for years, Breer acknowledged that the automatic assumption of success might be tested in 2022.
“We’ve been trained to think that Bill is going to pull rabbits out of his hat, right?” asked Breer. “Is he? Or was that [Tom] Brady?”
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