{"id":58785,"date":"2020-11-03T13:08:48","date_gmt":"2020-11-03T18:08:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clnsmedia.com\/?p=58785"},"modified":"2021-08-30T05:05:12","modified_gmt":"2021-08-30T05:05:12","slug":"lazar-belichick-is-right-about-patriots-salary-cap-roster-situation-and-it-shows-on-the-field","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clnsmedia.com\/lazar-belichick-is-right-about-patriots-salary-cap-roster-situation-and-it-shows-on-the-field\/","title":{"rendered":"Lazar: Belichick is Right About Patriots’ Salary Cap, Roster Situation and it Shows on the Field"},"content":{"rendered":"

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was uncharacteristically candid over the last week about the state of his current roster after an unprecedented offseason.<\/span><\/p>\n

New England lost quarterback Tom Brady, linebackers Kyle Van Noy and Jamie Collins, and depth pieces Danny Shelton, Ted Karras, and Elandon Roberts in free agency.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Then, a league-high eight players opted-out due to the coronavirus, including star linebacker Dont\u2019a Hightower, starting strong safety Patrick Chung, and starting right tackle Marcus Cannon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe paid Cam Newton $1 million. I mean it\u2019s obvious we didn\u2019t have any money. It\u2019s nobody\u2019s fault. That\u2019s what we did the last five years. We sold out and won three Super Bowls, played in a fourth, and played in an AFC championship game. This year we had less to work with. It\u2019s not an excuse, it\u2019s just a fact,\u201d Belichick said on WEEI this week.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The question that led OMF to ask him about New England\u2019s salary cap situation was in response to Belichick\u2019s conversation with former Pats offensive coordinator Charlie Weiss.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Weiss pointed out that the Pats are playing more young players, to which Belichick responded, \u201cyou\u2019re right, Charlie. We\u2019re playing more young players than we\u2019ve played in the past.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Belichick then went on to explain that the Patriots\u2019 lack of cap flexibility and opt-outs led us here, ending his thoughts with, \u201cthis is kind of the year that we\u2019ve taken to, I would say, adjust our cap from the spending that we\u2019ve had in accumulation of prior years. We just haven\u2019t been able to have the kind of depth on our roster that we\u2019ve had in some other years.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

We all knew of the drastic roster turnover, but it was still unexpected to hear Belichick, even if he\u2019s stating a fact, speak about \u201cselling out\u201d for Super Bowls in the last five seasons.<\/span><\/p>\n

But instead of jumping on the Pats head coach for making excuses or drafting poorly to replace those departures, let\u2019s listen to what Belichick is saying and decode the evil genius.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bill Belichick admitting that his roster isn\u2019t as deep as past years speaks volumes; even the head coach believes their 2-5 record reflects a talent-depleted team.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Belichick and Weiss\u2019s evaluation that the Patriots are playing tons of young players seems like a stretch on the surface, but there are several key spots where it\u2019s the truth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s look at Belichick\u2019s comments through the lens of one of those young players, third-year linebacker Ja\u2019Whaun Bentley, who is playing 83.9 percent of the defensive snaps this season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The 2018 fifth-round pick is taking his fair share of criticism for the struggles on defense of late, posting a PFF grade that ranks 78th among 83 qualified linebackers (32.5) in seven games.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cJa\u2019Whaun\u2019s gotten a lot of playing time. He\u2019s gotten a lot of snaps in multiple personnel groups. He\u2019s had a good leadership role for us in terms of calling the defense and making adjustments and those kind of things. Yeah, he\u2019s a young player who needs more playing experience, he\u2019s getting a lot of it, and he\u2019s getting better,\u201d Belichick told CLNS Media.<\/span><\/p>\n

Belichick would never throw a player under the bus publicly for under-performing, but his answer was still telling; the Pats linebacker has way more on his plate than he should.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bentley was slated to take over for Roberts as an early-down run stuffer and a physical presence alongside Hightower. He\u2019s a nice complimentary piece to a stud like Hightower, but he isn\u2019t meant to be the rock of the defense or play so often in passing situations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Last season, Roberts was on the field for 32 percent of New England\u2019s snaps on defense, with only 70 in coverage a far cry from Bentley\u2019s usage this season.<\/span><\/p>\n

While the Patriots try to integrate rookies Josh Uche and Anfernee Jennings, Bentley is\u00a0<\/span>the<\/span><\/em>\u00a0early-down presence against the run and plays more in passing situations than expected.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Purdue product has played 132 snaps in coverage already, allowing 16 yards per catch into his coverage with a 50.9 grade as opposing play-callers search for no. 51 in those spots.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Pats linebacker\u2019s solid play against the run in his first two seasons is also suffering due to his expanded role, with a 29.9 run defense grade and five missed tackles in the last three games.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Typically, New England would have the flexibility to play Bentley as a run-stuffer, the role he should be in, and then take him off the field in passing situations, but now he\u2019s the guy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As a result, the Patriots are 27th in expected points added on early-downs this season. Again, they\u2019re asking too much out of Bentley and their defensive backs with a depleted roster.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The kicker for New England\u2019s defense is that they are still a very stingy unit when things go as planned, but they\u2019re struggling to get into favorable down and distances.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On third-and-four or longer, the Patriots defense has the fourth-best conversion rate in the league, allowing opposing offenses to convert only 23.1 percent of the time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Plus, the Pats have the second-best turnover rate in those spots with five interceptions, leading to the second-most points saved in third-and-medium or longer, per Sports Info Solutions.<\/span><\/p>\n