Getty Trent Brown, New England Patriots
After the New England Patriots disappointing 20-7 loss in Week 1 vs. their AFC East rivals, the Miami Dolphins, veteran offensive tackle Trent Brown wasn’t in the mood to talk to the media.
Brown initially refused to speak to the media following the game. On Monday, when he was scheduled for a presser, he didn’t have much to offer reporters questioning his performance against Miami.
To be specific, Brown said less than 100 words as he fielded a slew of questions from the media. Brown’s words were so few during the presser, WBZ’s Michael Hurley was able to capture the communication in its entirety in the tweet below:
Here’s the entirety of Trent Brown’s press conference over Zoom today. Not feeling very happy, didn’t have a ton to say, but did state, “I love the Patriots.”
Brown was blamed for the strip sack and score that put the Patriots in a hole during the first half, and according to a chart posted by Greg Bedard of the Boston Sports Journal, Brown gave up 4.5 QB pressures which included 2 sacks and 2 QB hits.
Needless to say, Brown has to get better if the Patriots offense is going to improve, but there is no shortage of criticism floating about New England’s massive O-lineman.
Trent Brown’s Buy-In Is Being Questioned
Bedard didn’t just mention the modest statistics and analytic breakdown associated with Brown’s performance. He also questioned Brown’s commitment to the Patriots’ current offensive approach.
Brown landed in Bedard’s “Five Down” section, and the latter wrote this about the veteran tackle:
“Gave up nearly half the pressure in this game. His buy-in has to be in question.”
Bedard wasn’t alone in questioning Brown’s performance. After all, it comes with the territory if you’re the lowest-rated offensive lineman on the team, according to Pro Football Focus.
Brown does have a supporter in former offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia. The Patriots legend still acknowledged the need for the team and Brown to improve in the area of O-line play.
“Look, we were all in the same room, we’re all trying to get the same things done,” Scarnecchia said of coaching an offensive line during a recent appearance on WEEI. “And so, between the teammates that are all around him and the coaches that are in the room, you’ve just got to be demanding of a guy and say, ‘Hey look, this is unacceptable,’ and train them to do things the way they need to get done.”
While pointing out the areas of opportunity, Scarnecchia also voiced confidence and belief in Brown, the player, and the teammate.
“He’ll do it, he’s a compliant guy,” Scarnecchia explained. “This is not a guy that’s gonna push back and fight back and all the rest of it. He wants to do well, and he will work at it, and I think they’ve got him in the right place.”
How Long Before the Patriots’ Offense Sees Some Massive Changes?
No matter how many small tweaks the Patriots make on offense, the fact is, if things don’t turn around relatively soon, there will be larger changes made. Bill Belichick isn’t going to ride this thing into the ground without attempting to adjust his offense’s approach.
For now, it appears he’s allowing Matt Patricia and Joe Judge to guide the way on that side of the ball, but it won’t surprise most people if Belichick takes the reins on offense at some point.
Belichick seemingly has capable people on defense who can pick up the slack if he shifts more of his attention to the offense. Even if that change is made, Belichick is not guaranteed to find more success calling plays than Patricia had in Week 1.
At the end of the day, the Patriots’ biggest problem might be that they simply don’t have a coach on their staff capable of creating and calling winning plays on an NFL level.
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Embattled Patriots Veteran Gives Abrupt Presser