The criticism is warranted
The Patriots’ offense was atrocious in New England’s Week 6 loss to the mediocre Denver Broncos.
The unit somehow was even worse in the Patriots’ latest outing.
New England mustered up just 241 yards of total offense in its embarrassing 33-6 loss to the San Francisco 49ers at Gillette Stadium. Cam Newton was particularly lousy Sunday, throwing for only 98 yards with three interceptions before he was benched ahead of the fourth quarter.
Rex Ryan was all over the Patriots’ offense after New England’s 18-12 loss to the Broncos. The former NFL head coach unsurprisingly was singing a similar tone following the Patriots’ third consecutive defeat.
” … I love Cam Newton, but this is not Cam Newton. I mean, not the guy we remember,” Ryan said Monday on ESPN’s “Get Up.” “It was fool’s gold Week 2. We all saw it. Man, he looked great. No, Seattle gives up 500 yards a game. What we’re seeing now is a guy that has poor mechanics. I know, I don’t know anything about quarterbacks, right? Well I know one thing. You better bend your knees and your hips to get anything on the football. He’s short hopping balls. I mean, he’s not accurate. It’s just awful.
“For three years now I think I’ve been saying how awful the talent is there. I don’t need Next Gen. stats even though they exist. There’s no separation. So guys can’t get open, he can’t hit them even if they are open. So this is a disaster right now in New England.”
Despite Newton trending downward since his Week 2 outburst against the Seahawks, the 2-4 Patriots currently aren’t considering a quarterback change. Head coach Bill Belichick made his commitment to Newton clear after Sunday’s game, and the signal-caller himself sounds as though he knows what needs to be done to turn things around.
Newton and Co. will be hard-pressed to bounce back in their next game, however. The Patriots on Sunday will be in Buffalo for a divisional tilt with the AFC East-leading Bills.