The New England Patriots offense hasn't yet forced Shannon Sharpe's finger near the panic button.
He nevertheless should be close to pushing, it though.
The Cam Newton-led offense looked horrible Sunday afternoon in an 18-12 loss at Gillette Stadium. Yes, the lack of practices and general craziness of the past few weeks clearly contributed to the poor performance, but there is no excusing what the Patriots put on the field against a bad Denver Broncos team.
When the offense so closely resembles the offense we've seen in New England for much of the last year, it's hard to call it a one-off. The reality is the Patriots lack explosive talent on the offensive side of the ball and don't enough players capable of beating man coverage -- opposing defenses don't fear them.
However, Sharpe doesn't believe Bill Belichick should be too worried about New England's struggling offense.
"I don't think he should be too concerned," Sharpe said during Monday's "Undisputed" episode. "They looked like a team that's had sporadic practices over the last two weeks. And they're quarterback, he's practiced even less because he's had to be isolated away from the team.
"So, for me, that has a lot to do with it."
Agree to disagree, Shannon.
The Patriots will look to get back on track next Sunday when they host Jimmy Garoppolo and the San Francisco 49ers. New England is seeking to avoid its first three-game losing streak since 2002.
