The New England Patriots have the look of a mediocre football team, and that's not due to one, singular issue.
There is a variety of factors at play in Foxboro that suggest Bill Belichick's team won't reach the NFL playoffs this season. These concerns were harped on throughout the summer and some of them reared their head in the Patriots' ugly Week 1 loss to the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium.
But what shortcoming is most troubling for New England? Rex Ryan offered his take on the latest episode of ESPN's "Sunday NFL Countdown."
"That's the biggest problem for this team: They don't have the weapons," Ryan said. "Now, you got a poor scheme and you don't have the weapons outside. So, to me, you still got the greatest coach that ever did it in Bill Belichick. But you've got to go back, use your tight ends and run game and get back and steal a game."
While Ryan did give Belichick somewhat of a salute there, he took aim at his former nemesis following the Patriots' lousy season-opening showing. Ryan believes New England's longtime head coach and de-facto general manager deserves criticism for the construction of New England's roster, which arguably is in the lower tier of the league purely in terms of talent.
Of course, teams can make up for a lack of talent with precise execution and a commitment to playing smart football. The Patriots will try to check those boxes Sunday when they visit the 1-0 Pittsburgh Steelers.
