Peter King has "antennae up" regarding Robert Kraft and Bill Belichick for Patriots next season
BOSTON -- National football reporter Peter King doesn't anticipate any changes to the Patriots' coaching staff this season. Bill Belichick said as much on Monday morning.
But when it comes to next year, King seems to believe that some significant changes will need to be made in New England.
In his Football Morning In America column, King wrote about how badly the Patriots were outclassed by the Bills this week, noting that "the talent gap between the depth of the Brandon Beane Bills and the Bill Belichick Patriots is big."
King listed Patriots offensive play-caller Matt Patricia as the "goat of the week" for New England's lack of offensive firepower and creativity.
"The Patriots have developed zero downfield passing game, with nobody remotely threatening the secondary. Against the Bills, just seven of Mac Jones' 36 passes went 10 yards beyond the line of scrimmage or farther," King wrote. "You could argue that Jones -- who completed just one of those seven throws -- didn't play well enough to deserve the trust of Patricia to throw to intermediate and deep areas. What I would say is Jones, the previous week against Minnesota, had completions of 26, 34, 16, 14, 37 and 40 yards on throws 10 yards or more past the line of scrimmage. The Buffalo game was a regression of major proportions. Patricia needed to build on the Minnesota game and did not."
While such information is not new to anyone in New England, King did offer this bit of speculation that is sure to raise an eyebrow or two in the region.
"I think Robert Kraft, who is 81 and will enter his 30th year of Patriots ownership in 2023, is not in this to rebuild deliberately," King wrote. "He has to be looking at the dung-show on the Patriots' offensive staff and wondering why Belichick left the offense so wanting this year. Anyway, I can't see anything weird happening this year. But I have my antennae up about the Patriots for 2023."
King also wrote this: "I think I've started to wonder -- and I emphasize started -- whether Bill Belichick, who needs 21 wins to break Don Shula's all-time record for coaching victories, will get them in New England."
While the indication from Patriots ownership has seemingly been that Belichick will remain in charge of the football operation for as long as he wants, King seems to believe that the on-field results this year from Belichick's hand-picked coaching staff might work to alter that presumed arrangement.
Clearly, King was not reporting any imminent change in 2022. He was, however, sharing his view of what could be the fallout if the offense continues to flounder or get worse over the final five weeks of the season for New England.
