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The Patriots Look Terrible, So Who's To Blame?

BOSTON (CBS) -- Here's what we know: The New England Patriots are not a very good football team right now. In fact, in the wake of the 41-14 thumping dished out by the Chiefs on Monday night, "not very good" is being kind. The Patriots are 2-2, with unimpressive wins against the Adrian Peterson-less Vikings and the 0-4 Raiders to go along with bad losses to Miami and Kansas City.

Once thought to be a 13-3 team, the Patriots now appear as though they'll be lucky to finish the year 10-6. Clearly, no win will be guaranteed from here on out for Bill Belichick's team.

But here's what we don't know: Why is the team so bad, and how did it get to this point so quickly?

Granted, the Patriots were outclassed by Denver in the AFC Championship Game last January, but they were still there, and they had also beaten Denver earlier in the season. So the Patriots fell 60 minutes short of making the Super Bowl last year, and now they find themselves on the losing end of lopsided contests against Alex Smith and Andy Reid.

Clearly, things are worse than anyone expected, and the problems run deep. To try to get a clearer picture of where things are going wrong, it's time to comb through the roster and the coaching staff and try to assess just how much blame to put on each member of the team.

Head Coach/GM Bill Belichick
Blame Scale:
8 out of 10
It all begins and ends with the man in charge, Bill Belichick. And it's clear when looking at the makeup of the roster and some of the decisions this year that the 62-year-old head honcho is having a rough go of it. The Logan Mankins trade might have made more sense if the Patriots intended to actually use the player received in return and/or opted to spend some of the saved Mankins money on another player. But the Patriots have done neither, and the ongoing shuffle on the interior of the offensive line reflects poorly on the man in charge of building the roster. Tom Brady's time remaining in this league is limited, and protecting him with high school tuba players like Jordan Devey is a suspect strategy of maximizing that time.

Defensively, the Patriots made no additions to account for the losses of Brandon Spikes to free agency and Tommy Kelly to a senseless late-summer release.

In terms of strategy, the Patriots continue to play it safe, and the result is a lot of three-and-outs on offense (fourth-most in the NFL, to be exact). If Belichick is putting all of his trust in Josh McDaniels (more on him momentarily), then that's a mistake. If Belichick is guiding the offensive philosophy, then it obviously falls on him as well. In either scenario, the head coach must be held accountable when his team ranks in the bottom five in most important offensive categories.

Certainly, Belichick can't be blamed for all of the problems this team is having right now, but it's his job to steer the ship so that so many things don't go wrong at the same time for the football team. He hasn't been able to do that this year.

Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels
Blame Scale:
7 out of 10
If someone were to ask you "What was the Patriots' offensive strategy on Monday night?" would you be able to give an answer? Probably not, because the team looked lost and unprepared on offense for the fourth game this season. Kenbrell Thompkins and Aaron Dobson were left off the active roster, while Tim Wright dressed and barely played.

The Patriots came out with three pass plays en route to a three-and-out on the opening drive. They moved the ball 30-something yards on the next two drives before running out of ideas and punting the ball back to KC. They picked up one first down on the next drive before running for seven yards and throwing two incompletions. Another punt, and the Patriots headed to halftime with no offense whatsoever to speak of. The team was cooked.

Frankly, Josh McDaniels hasn't done much since returning to the Patriots to inspire confidence that he's a man with many answers. Most of McDaniels' shortcomings -- just like with Bill O'Brien in his absence -- have been covered up by the talent on the field. But this year with a lack of skill on the line and on the outside, the offensive coordinator has yet to find even one solution for the struggling offense, which ranks 30th in passing, 24th in scoring and 29th overall. At some point, McDaniels is going to have to answer for the team's overall offensive ineptitude.

The Defense -- From Defensive Coordinator Matt Patricia To Darrelle Revis To Chandler Jones To Rob Ninkovich To Vince Wilfork And Right On Down The Line
Blame Scale:
2 out of 10
It's more difficult to pinpoint any of the defense's issues on Patricia, because it stands to reason that Belichick has a very persuasive voice in the defensive game-planning sessions. So for as much as it's puzzling why the Patriots insist on not using Chandler Jones and Darrelle Revis in the way they can best make an impact a game, it's hard to imagine they are being used in any capacity other than what Belichick wants.

Plus, the Patriots have the No. 1-ranked pass defense through four weeks, so that's a positive for a team that's been terrible in that area in recent years. They rank fourth in yards allowed, they're tied for fourth with eight takeaways, and they're tied for second with six interceptions. If it weren't for the defense, the team would have lost to Oakland and might have even slipped in Minnesota. Allowing 41 points in Kansas City looks bad, but seven of those points came on an interception return, another seven came after a fumble inside the New England 10-yard line, and the offense only controlled the ball for 23 minutes. The D has been fine, considering the offense hasn't been able to sustain long drives, thereby forcing the defense to work overtime.

Quarterback Tom Brady
Blame Scale:
4 out of 10
Tom Brady has not been excellent this season, but there's not a quarterback alive who would be able to thrive behind that offensive line and with those offensive "weapons." That being said, much like it's Belichick's job to keep things under control, it's Brady's job to try to figure out what he can do to get his teammates to raise their game and function at a more efficient level. Instead of using his 15 years of experience to coach his teammates, it appears Brady is spending his time sulking on the sidelines.

His frustration is certainly understandable, considering how poorly the offense has been built around him, but quarterbacks are supposed to be leaders. So long as Tom looks angry on the sideline, the team won't be getting any better.

Running backs Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen
Blame Scale:
2 out of 10
Steve has just been OK, but he hasn't fumbled, and much like Brady in a collapsing pocket, running behind that offensive line is not exactly an ideal situation to find success. Vereen hasn't been able to impact the game as a receiver out of the backfield the way he did last year, but most of his routes require Brady to have time to let the play develop. That hasn't been happening much this season ... which brings us to the offensive line.

Offensive Linemen Jordan Devey and Marcus Cannon
Blame Scale:
6 out of 10
It's more Belichick's fault for relying on the likes of Devey (the former Snow College player) and Cannon (a tackle being played on the inside) to start the season than it is the fault of these guys for struggling against NFL competition. Nevertheless, the inability of this duo to provide even a shred of protection for Brady led to a terrible offensive performance against Oakland and a major O-line shakeup the following week.

Offensive Tackles Nate Solder and Sebastian Vollmer
Blame Scale:
4 out of 10
It looks bad when these guys give up sacks, and the tackle who lets an edge rusher get to the quarterback is always going to get crushed for his performance. But still, those criticisms often go overboard, because these guys have a lose-lose type of job. If you do well at tackle, nobody notices. If you let up one sack in a game, you're all over the airwaves with people screaming that you're horrible.

With Solder and Vollmer this year, they've been somewhere in the middle. They've made some bad mistakes (Solder's whiff on Tamba Hali on Monday night chief among them), but they also have had to deal with the mess on the interior. The line operates as a unit, so when the tackles are thinking about covering for the guards, things tend to break down. Ultimately, Solder and Vollmer should be OK.

Offensive Linemen Dan Connolly, Bryan Stork, Ryan Wendell, Cameron Fleming
Blame Scale: 2 out of 10
Some of these guys (Connolly) have been OK. With Stork and Fleming, we haven't seen enough to definitively grade their performance. Wendell has missed time due to an injury. So as a group, they receive some blame, because everyone on this team can be better, but they look more like part of the solution than they do the problem.

Wide Receiver Danny Amendola
Blame Scale:
6 out of 10
To be clear, the Patriots are not in their position because of one wide receiver failing to contribute. However, Amendola's performance this year has been completely unacceptable for a player making big bucks, and the bad performances are starting to pile up. Seemingly the only time Amendola can make a big reception is when a fellow receiver illegally picks the corner in charge of covering No. 80. That offensive pass interference has been called three times on Amendola receptions, and Amendola himself was issued a 15-yard penalty on Monday night. So if you're keeping track, that's 15 penalty yards to counteract his whopping 16 receiving yards.

And despite what some may say, this isn't a matter of Brady not trusting him. Amendola simply isn't doing enough to consistently get open on his routes. McDaniels was touted as someone who had great experience getting the most out of Amendola in St. Louis, so the receiver's disappearing act this year remains mystifying and frustrating for the Patriots.

Wide Receiver Julian Edelman
Blame Scale:
0 out of 10
Tom Brady has one person to throw to on a consistent basis, and that's the 5-foot-10 Edelman. Can you imagine where the Patriots would be without him?

Wide Receiver Brandon LaFell
Blame Scale:
2 out of 10
Some people may want to jump on the newcomer for his lack of impact on the offense, but for one, he's hardly the first free agent receiver to come in and struggle to hit the ground running. And secondly, with Dobson and Thompkins inactive on Monday night, LaFell was actually a useful part of the offense. It was a positive step, at least, amid a receiving corps that hasn't made many this year.

Wide Receivers Aaron Dobson and Kenbrell Thompkins
Blame Scale:
5 out of 10
Much like with Amendola, it's not a Brady trust issue with these two receivers. They're simply not doing enough and they need to be better. That's hard to do, obviously, when they're inactive like they were vs. Kansas City, but a combined seven receptions for 66 yards and no touchdowns for the duo that combined to catch 69 balls for 985 yards and eight touchdowns last season is not cutting it. Again, there is the offensive line problem, which hurts everyone's production, but these receivers aren't making any jump at all in year two. That's especially damning for Dobson, a second-round pick.

Tight End Rob Gronkowski
Blame Scale:
0 out of 10
He hasn't been "Gronk" on the full scale, but he's been pretty darn good. He was given an increased workload on Monday night and handled it well, and he also single-handedly accounts for 60 percent of the team's receiving touchdowns.

Tight Ends Michael Hoomanawanui and Tim Wright
Blame Scale:
0 out of 10
You can't be blamed if you don't play all that much. Perhaps Wright deserves some demerit, because theoretically if he could pick up the offense faster he could provide Brady with another receiving option, but the second-year player was traded to a completely new offense about 15 minutes before the season started. A negative mark on him wouldn't make much sense.

Fullback James Develin/Special Teamer Matthew Slater
Blame Scale:
0 out of 10
It's never the fullback's fault. Likewise, Slater has been outstanding in punt coverage, so he's doing all he can.

Overall
As stated earlier, this is Bill Belichick's team, and it's apparent that the ship has holes all over the place. The head coach doesn't appear to have enough plugs to slow down the flooding, and it's up to him to make the right moves in the coming weeks to get this team in order.

On the field, it all needs to start with the offensive line. That's no easy fix, but it really can only get better. If the Patriots can take one silver lining from the blowout in Kansas City, it's that the interior of the line held up OK with rookies at center and guard in a stadium that set the world record for loudest crowd.

As far as receivers go, there's no quick fix at that position. There are no rookie fourth-rounders waiting in the wings to swoop in and save the day. Amendola needs to dig deep to find some pride in order to become a contributor. Thompkins needs to keep his focus on remaining consistent. Dobson needs to get on the field. If they don't, Edelman and Gronkowski will not survive as the only options for Brady.

And when it comes to Brady, he has a lot of work to do. Again, no quarterback in the history of football could have succeeded in the Patriots' offense in the past four weeks, but Brady still didn't do much to absolve himself from blame. If McDaniels isn't capable of reworking the offense to adjust to the strengths and weaknesses (mostly the weaknesses) of the players on offense, then Brady needs to speak up and do his part. Though he likely feels as though he's proven himself rather convincingly at this point of his career, he simply needs to do it once again. If the quarterback receives MVP awards and endless praise when things are going well, he's going to receive criticism and harsh judgment when things go south. It's up to Brady to figure out if he can, for the umpteenth time in his Hall of Fame career, prove the critics wrong. It's a tall task, but the idea of Brady struggling this badly all season long is nearly impossible to fathom.

Read more from Michael Hurley by clicking here, or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.

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