Patriots Captain: ‘No One Is Exempt’ From Criticism — Including Coaches

FOXBORO, Mass. — The New England Patriots don’t have many people in their organization worthy of praise these days.

Have the concessions people at Gillette Stadium done a good job? Maybe, but the entire football operation has been bad enough to make everyone look bad.

The Patriots are entering a critical point in their season, sitting at 1-4 as they gear up for a Week 6 matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders. New England lost its last two games by a combined score of 69-3 and hasn’t scored an offensive touchdown in over 160 minutes of game time.

That’s likely why, when asked about offensive line coach Adrian Klemm’s performance, David Andrews chose to give a team-focused response.

“I think AK has done a good job, but we can always do better,” Andrews told reporters Wednesday. “I think we’re all looking at ourselves. This is a team game and no one is exempt (from criticism). I don’t think there’s one person who can say, ‘Man, I’ve done a really good job over the last five weeks or whatever it’s been.’ “

Andrews’ assessment came with a change in tone from the offseason, where he said it was “fun” working with Klemm. Calvin Anderson echoed similar sentiments soon after the 46-year-old was hired by New England, but the unit’s production so far has left a lot to be desired.

The Patriots have only allowed Mac Jones to be sacked 10 times, but they’ve been directly involved in some disastrous turnovers across recent weeks. There have been eight different offensive linemen to start a game for New England this season, with its only concurrent starting five being the unit the Patriots rolled out against the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints — you know, the two worst losses in Bill Belichick’s tenure as head coach.

Despite that, Andrews believes there aren’t any excuses for the Patriots.

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” … Injuries are a part of it. That’s how it goes,” Andrews said. “It’s an unfortunate reality of our game, but that’s just something you deal with. We have to control what we can control.”

That belief will continue to be put to the test, as starting guard Michael Onwenu was absent during Tuesday’s practice with an ankle injury. That could bump Sidy Sow or Jake Andrews into the starting lineup — which would line New England up to start its fifth different combination this season.

Just another week for the 2023 Patriots.