For the last couple of seasons, Patriot fans have handed their team to Bill Belichick in the same way a father gives the “okay” for a man to marry their daughters. We have had complete trust in Bill and never even worry that he could be making a mistake.  He turned the Patriots into a dynasty after a lifetime of mediocrity. When he would make a questionable call or signing, the usual phrase would be: “in Bill we trust.” If he ran for President of the United States, he would have every vote in Massachusetts, except for the scattering of uneducated Jets’ fans and that one annoying Steelers fan we all know so well. The point is, Belichick has earned immortality in Boston sports. But does that mean he is incapable of making poor decisions? Since David Tyree made that catch in February of 2008, Belichick has lost his way.

     Evidence of this, and there is a great deal of it, is in part, the cutting and trading of above average players since 2008, like Brandon Meriweather, Leigh Bodden, Ty Warren, and Richard Seymour. Notice how all of these player are from the defense? The Patriots rank dead last in total defense as of November 12. I am sure Belichick would be delighted to have these players back on the field.

     Another issue I have is with his drafts. He is supposed to be the ultimate talent evaluator, but since Jerod Mayo, what has he come up with from the draft? He has been stockpiling his draft picks for the last couple of years, which was an interesting idea, but he wasted most of them in the 2011 draft, as he only used one of their top seven picks on a defensive player. It was no secret for anyone who watched the Patriots last season that our defense was not good. Yes, they had a good secondary by the numbers, but those numbers were inflated by the unbelievable play of Devin McCourty. If he did not put up those mind-blowing numbers a year ago, their defense would have been as bad, well, as it is now. The secondary is undersized and lacks skill.  The Pats had nine picks in the draft and only two were used on defensive backs. They used their second round pick and their seventh round pick. Now, the injury of their second round pick, Ras I Dowling, is not helping their cause, but one cornerback is not going to solve this mess anyways.  The fact that Belichick picked two running backs and a quarterback back to back to back is beyond me. It was obvious that they needed help in the secondary or anywhere on the defense really, but I guess Belichick did not see it that way.

     Even with all this evidence, I am not done. The Pats recently cut offseason acquisition, Albert Haynesworth and his buddy Chad Ochocinco is not far behind.Both were aquired with little risk, but the fact he wasted money and time on these two lowlifes instead of people who could actually help the team upsets me.  Belichick did hit the signings of Corey Dillon and Randy Moss on the nail, but like we gave him praise then, we have to criticize him now. 

     With all that said, Belichick is still a top ten coach of all time. I am not saying that he is a terrible coach and will not ever find success again. He has just made some poor decisions over the last couple of years and if we are able to give a coach praise when he succeeds, we should also express our disapproval when he does not. Personally, I believe coach needs to listen to one of his pupils, Eric Cartmanez, and remember where he came from. Remember children: if you’re not cheating, you’re not trying.