The New England Patriots don't really seem to have a clear sense of direction right now.
They've lost four straight games, dropping their record to 2-5 ahead of a Week 9 matchup with the New York Jets. And their trade deadline activity -- adding two low-profile players while choosing not to sell off pieces for future assets -- didn't do much to move the needle in either direction.
Weird, right?
Well, Colin Cowherd on Wednesday tried to make sense of Bill Belichick's plan for the organization he's overseen since 2000.
"Bill Belichick has spent the last seven months doing stuff he's never done. And the fans totally get it and the media doesn't," Cowherd said on FOX Sports 1. " ... Sometimes, the people are right. And the people know what Belichick's doing and the media has a blind spot. He's too smart to want to be 7-9, 8-8, 9-7 for five years.
"So Belichick, now the league is catching on -- this is why I predicted they would go 5-11. I said he's rebooting, and he's gonna be very coy and he doesn't want people to think he's doing this, right? So he's doing things that he's never done before."
The Patriots have a flawed roster, in part because of opt-outs but also because of poor drafting in recent years. And they don't have a long-term answer at quarterback in wake of Tom Brady's departure, as Cam Newton has struggled and Jarrett Stidham has done little to impress in his limited, garbage-time action.
On the surface, New England's problems look very real. But maybe Belichick, who's won six Super Bowl titles with the Patriots, has something up his sleeve while trying to navigate the post-Brady era.
If nothing else, we've reached a fascinating point in franchise history after two decades of dominance.
