Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I saw Priscilla at the theater yesterday evening instead of watching the Giants and I’m very happy with my decision.
In today’s SI:AM:
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That should be that
One of the greatest coaching careers in NFL history is all but over.
Yesterday’s dismal 10–6 loss to the Colts in Germany dropped the Patriots to 2–8 on the season and placed new emphasis on Bill Belichick’s future.
Things have gotten progressively worse for the Pats this season. They followed up their first win of the season (in Week 3 against the Jets) with losses of 38–3 and 34–0. They had a nice comeback win over the Bills in Week 7 but have failed to build on it in their last three games. Yesterday’s listless performance was a new low that confirmed the Patriots will be in the running for the No. 1 pick. (If the draft were today, New England would be picking fourth.)
What do teams usually do when they’re 2–8 with an offense that ranks second to last in the league in scoring? They fire their coach. It’s usually an easy decision, but the calculus is obviously a lot more complicated for the Patriots.
After everything Belichick has accomplished, you can’t just issue a press release and send him packing in the middle of the season. Belichick deserves a hearty sendoff, but Albert Breer also made a point I hadn’t thought about:
That leaves [owner Robert] Kraft in a tricky spot. I believe he wants to respect the wild success Belichick brought his franchise. I also think, with his Hall of Fame case being considered, he’s sensitive to being seen as the guy who let both Belichick and Tom Brady go. So my guess would be he’d seek an elegant sort of escape hatch from the Belichick era.
The best solution would be for the Patriots to announce before their final home game of the season on Jan. 7 that Belichick will not be returning. The team could have a ceremony honoring him during its game that day against the Jets and send him on his way with the cheers of the home crowd ringing in his ears. But would Belichick go for it? Maybe not, Breer adds:
It’s possible, deep down, the coach wants the chance to say goodbye to the fan base, something that an announcement before the end of the season would facilitate. It’s also possible Belichick would just force Kraft to fire him, so he could take his money and go elsewhere. Or maybe the solution is somewhere in between.
Regardless of how it plays out, a change is needed. But Conor Orr argues that Belichick could stay. Orr says that stripping Belichick of his general manager duties would be enough to right the ship:
He needs someone to look him in the eye and explain that Jones should have been replaced a year ago. He needs someone in his ear during the first few weeks of training camp forcing the message down his throat: “We are one of the worst quarterbacked teams in the NFL. We must do something to resolve this talent discrepancy. We must stop flinging draft picks into the hydraulic press.”
But would Belichick play along? He’s had control over the roster ever since the Patriots hired him way back in 2000. Heck, he had the same responsibility during his time with the Browns in the ’90s. Would he accept the demotion or would answering to someone else prompt him to quit and look for another job?
It’s clear that something needs to change with the Patriots. The question now is how the team will navigate this messy situation.
The best of Sports Illustrated
Maria Lysaker/USA TODAY Sports
- Here are the rest of Albert Breer’s takeaways from Week 10 in the NFL.
- Conor Orr argues that Texans rookie C.J. Stroud is making a case to win the MVP.
- Matt Verderame analyzes what the NFL playoff picture looks like now that we’re past the midpoint of the season.
- Pat Forde breaks down Texas A&M’s decision to fire Jimbo Fisher (and pay his enormous buyout), as well as who could replace him.
- Forde also wrote about Michigan’s embarrassing reaction to Jim Harbaugh’s suspension.
- Gilberto Manzano writes that even if Aaron Rodgers is able to complete his unbelievable comeback from a torn Achilles, Zach Wilson’s play during his absence may have taken the Jets out of playoff contention by the time Rodgers hopes to return.
- Here are Mike McDaniel’s projected College Football Playoff rankings for this week.
- The No. 2 UConn women suffered a stunning upset against an unranked opponent.
The top five...
… things I saw yesterday:
5. Another poster dunk that Anthony Edwards is making look routine.
4. Jameis Winston’s extremely ill-advised throw that luckily resulted in a touchdown.
3. Justin Herbert’s pinpoint accuracy on a touchdown to Keenan Allen.
2. Joe Burrow’s perfectly placed touchdown throw to Trenton Irwin. (I also loved how Burrow showed up to the stadium wearing his dad’s CFL jersey.)
1. Connor Bedard stealing the puck from a defender and then burying a goal from a tight angle.
SIQ
On this day in 1982, which team handed Alabama its first loss in Tuscaloosa in nearly 20 years?
- Penn State
- Mississippi State
- UAB
- Southern Miss
Friday’s SIQ: On Nov. 10, 1990, the Suns set an NBA record for points scored in a half. How many did they score in the first half of their win over the Nuggets?
- 81
- 90
- 107
- 114
Answer: 107. Phoenix went on to win, 173–143.
The previous record for points scored by a team in any half was 97 by the Hawks in the second half of a game against the Rockets in 1970. The previous record for points in a first half was 90, set just three days before the Suns’ record-setting night by their opponent, the Nuggets, who put up 90 in the first half of a 161–153 loss to the Spurs.
The most outrageous part about that Suns-Nuggets game is that they combined for 316 points and hit only two three-pointers. Phoenix scored 173 points without making a three (it took only two shots from behind the arc). The Suns did take 104 shots, though, and made 67 of them.
Since 1990, only three teams have scored 90 points in the first half of a game: the Rockets (90 on Nov. 16, 2017), the Warriors (92 on Oct. 29, 2018) and the Nets (91 on Dec. 21, 2022).
