Bill Belichick earlier this week caught some flak for attributing the Patriots’ current struggles to the franchise “selling out” to win their most recent Super Bowls.
Many viewed Belichick’s remarks as a weak excuse for his team trending downward. Former NFL running back-turned-analyst Brian Westbrook, however, doesn’t see it that way.
Westbrook on Tuesday implored football fans and media members alike to understand just how abnormal New England’s run over the past two decades has been. The ex-Philadelphia Eagle believes Belichick simply was trying to explain that the Patriots now are going through a process nearly every franchise undertakes.
“I don’t think he’s making an excuse at all,” Westbrook said on FS1’s “First Things First. “Bill Belichick is trying to explain what normally happens to teams other than the Patriots. We’ve been spoiled by the Patriots. We’ve been trained to think that the Patriot Way is the way that happens to every team. That every year they have a chance of winning the Super Bowl, every single year they’re going to be in contention. Normally, you never see that.
“…Look at all the other teams. Look at the Eagles, for example. They win the Super Bowl in 2017 and now they’re down. There are ebbs and flows to the NFL season and to franchises for everyone except the Patriots. When you look at the last six years, the Patriots have been in the Super Bowl four times. That’s unusual. They won three of them. Bill Belichick is trying his best to explain why this is one of the years they’re down.”
The Patriots will enter the upcoming offseason with a favorable salary cap situation and also will be fairly well set up in the draft. With the resources available for a turnaround, Belichick certainly will face steep criticism in 2021 if New England fails to be competitive.
