You didn't think Rex Ryan was going to miss his first opportunity of the season to criticize the Patriots, did you?
Ryan specifically zeroed in on his former nemesis, Bill Belichick, after New England suffered a two-touchdown loss at the hands of the Miami Dolphins. Belichick went the extra mile to prepare his team for its season-opening showdown in South Beach, but the Patriots still never looked like a team that deserved to win in Week 1.
As many could have expected, New England's offense did not look good at all in its season debut. Ryan, however, doesn't believe those struggles were primarily due to first-time play caller Matt Patricia or second-year quarterback Mac Jones. The NFL head coach-turned-analyst believes Belichick deserves the lion's share of the blame for the unit's woes.
"It's his decision. Every factor in that organization is Bill Belichick's decision," Ryan said Monday on ESPN's "Get Up!" as transcribed by NBC Sports Boston. "He earned that right, but going back to last year, bringing in Nelson Agholor, how's that working for you? Don't complain about the weapons. You chose those weapons.
"Nobody can get open. ... All these moves that you made, you have no weapons, one of the reasons is because you can't evaluate them. You've done a poor job evaluating the weapons."
The fact of the matter is, New England's 2022 offense probably features the same talent level as last season's unit, which performed well enough for the Patriots to reach the playoffs. The Patriots don't have the horses to be an offensive juggernaut, but they can be a respectable group if they clean things up and limit the foolish mistakes.
Jones and company will try to put forth a more encouraging showing Sunday when New England visits the 1-0 Pittsburgh Steelers for a Week 2 matchup.
