Why Bill Belichick Isn’t Concerned With Patriots’ Questions At Right Tackle
New England Patriots right tackle Trent Brown has been on the field for just seven snaps this season. His replacements have been inconsistent at best.
But head coach Bill Belichick does not believe the right tackle spot is a major issue for the Patriots’ offense.
Speaking one day after the Patriots’ 25-6 win over the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium, expressed confidence in the injured Brown and his two fill-ins, Yasir Durant and Justin Herron.
“We still need to spend a little more time here going through the film and talking about things, but I think we’re all right here,” Belichick said Monday in a video conference. “We’ve got three players that have played (right tackle), and I think they’ve all done some good things. Trent, not very much in the last two games, but we know Trent can do a good job over there, and Yasir and Justin have both done a solid job there.”
Herron, a solid third tackle as a rookie last season, replaced Brown after one series in Week 1 but later was benched for Durant. The opposite transpired Sunday, with Durant starting but getting the hook after he surrendered sacks on three of quarterback Mac Jones’ first 16 dropbacks.
Herron entered late in the first half and played the rest of the game. The Patriots did not allow a sack or quarterback hit after halftime.
“We planned to play Justin and Yasir both (against the Jets), and we did,” Belichick said. “They both got some good experience, and they both had a lot of good plays. So we’ll see where we are this week and go from there.”
Brown, who’s dealing with a calf injury, was healthy enough to practice in a limited capacity Friday, suggesting his return could be imminent. Belichick has been reluctant to move Mike Onwenu — a standout right tackle last season — out of his starting left guard spot in Brown’s absence.
Belichick said New England’s offensive issues can’t be attributed to any one position. Through two games, the Patriots have scored three touchdowns and 42 total points and converted on just two of their seven red-zone trips.
“We’ve had some breakdowns at really all spots on the line, all spots offensively,” Belichick said. “It’s just we’ve lacked some consistency, even though we have a lot of good plays and we move the ball and we’ve put ourselves into positive field position a lot of times this year, we just don’t have enough results points-wise that we feel like we should have.
“But I think that’s really a whole team thing, not any one individual or one guy.”
The 1-1 Patriots will host the 1-1 New Orleans Saints this Sunday at Gillette Stadium.
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