This could be the final week of the Bill Belchck-Robert Kraft partnership in Foxborough. (AP photo)

The Final Week has begun. Will it be one to remember?

There was only one indication in which Bill Belichick even acknowledged that there’d be a day when he wouldn’t be coaching the Patriots. That came as he began the New Year with a morning teleconference on Monday and when asked what the fans and his Patriots career has meant, he answered “I’ll deal with that some other time. Right now, it’s trying to get the team ready for the Jets, finish up the Buffalo game, continue to coach the team and try to help the players and the team play better.”

The HC of the NEP knows the barrage is coming. There are a couple of playoff spots open or in question going into Week 18, but it certainly seems like Patriots-Jets would draw its share of national media and attention with the possibility it could be Belichick’s last game.

Belichick has continued to coach and make decisions to go along with the script of one week to the next. That’s why finally he and his staff had had enough of offensive tackle Trent Brown, whose public comments and unavailability had reached the point of basically no return. The linemen needs the tough love that it seems only Dante Scarnecchia was able to provide the last time the Patriots were in the Super Bowl.

Belichick’s historic success means something to his players. Realizing their coach is in trouble, they have played hard for him over the second half of this tumultuous season. They’re not stupid; many of them know there will be changed on and off the field after Sunday. Captain/center David Andrews said he’s tried to let the young players on the team know that.

“We’ve got one more opportunity with this football team,” he said. “As a young guy it’s hard to realize that, you know, it’s not going to be the same. In college it’s you know seniors are leaving. But it’s not going to be the same football team for the most part.

“In the NFL, guys get cut, guys get traded, guys hit free agency, whatever it is there’s all different routs and avenues. So it’s the last opportunity for this football team to play together, and I think you get older guys, you value that, because you know. I’ve seen the turnover in my room, things like that, so just want to take advantage of every opportunity you get, because you never know when it’s going to be the last one. We have great opportunity to finish the year right, in front of our home fans.”

“Give it all you’ve got,” defensive end Deitrich Wise, Jr. said, “because we know next year we won’t have the same guys on our team.”

Players consistently gave the coaches credit for how they’ve maintained the drive to put the players in the best position to win. It’s again obvious the Patriots haven’t quit. “The coaches did a great job of game planning and everything,” QB Bailey Zappe said.

“We have tough, strong and durable players,” Wise said. “That’s kind of our motto here.”

Will that be enough to save the head coach? That being said, the players have let these coaches down, especially on offense. Four turnovers in the first 18 minutes is the sign of a bad team.

It’s not the coaching that is the issue; it’s the body of work over the last four years in terms of team building, roster decisions, etc. Belichick had no succession plan for when Brady left, but it’s unclear just what role the pandemic played in that because the 2020 season was a mess in terms of putting together a roster with the opt-outs, etc.

The problems began with the Buffalo playoff loss, as one-sided an affair as we’ve seen in the Belichick era, and it continued from there. Player evaluation may also come into question as the season started; despite similar numbers or even numbers that give Mac Jones the edge, there seems to be a better feel on offense with Zappe at the helm.

That being said, the starting QB position needs an immediate upgrade. It’s highly unlikely Patriots owner Robert Kraft wants that decision in Belichick’s hands.

Sunday will be interesting,indeed. One of the players that won’t be back is likely special teams captain Matthew Slater; he’ll certainly receive an ovation. So will Belichick, but will it be one with uncertainty or will we hear of some decisions? The post game press conference will be can’t miss.

The guess here is the Patriots will destroy the Jets, who have a worse QB situation than the Patriots after the Aaron Rodgers debacle. It should be different than this past Sunday.

“We showed a lot of mental toughness, but it just wasn’t enough,” Andrews said. “In the end it was just too much to overcome.”

In the end, all season was too much likely to prevent massive, massive change.

RANKINGS

AFC

1.Baltimore (13-3) 2. Cleveland (11-5). 3. Miami (11-5). 4. Kansas City (10-6). 5. Buffalo (10-6).

NFC

1.San Francisco (12-4). 2. Detroit (11-5). 3.Philadelphia (11-5). 4.Dallas (11-5). 5. L.A. Rams (9-7).

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