The New England Patriots’ Tragic Week Just Got Worse
It has been a rough last several days for the New England Patriots off the field. It all deals with personal losses in head coach Bill Belichick’s life. Things have now taken a tragic turn for another member of the Patriots.
Bill Belichick suffers two emotional losses
Following the 2020 season opener win, the Patriots took a significant blow off the field after head coach Bill Belichick had two close family members pass away this week.
It began with Belichick‘s mother, Jeannette Belichick, who passed away at age 98 on Monday night due to natural causes. His mother played a huge part in his life that helped form his love for football. Things took another harsh turn as his longtime girlfriend, Linda Holiday, lost her dad at 79 just four days after Belichick’s mom’s passing.
Many have reached out to the future Hall of Fame coach during this rough personal week. Things have once again taken another tragic turn for the Patriots.
James White’s father passes away in a car accident
If the week leading up to Sunday’s game wasn’t already challenging for the Patriots, things took another devastating turn.
Shortly after veteran running back James White was announced as inactive for Week 2 action against the Seattle Seahawks, it was reported by Andy Slater of Fox Sports 640 that his father died in a car accident on Sunday. His mother was also involved in the situation and is in critical condition.
It’s a tough sudden loss for White and his family to lose his father tragically. The Patriots made the right move to allow him to grieve with his family and not focus on football for the time being. White recently spoke highly of his father, who was a police officer in Miami, in light of the death of George Floyd earlier this year. (H/T Masslive.com)
“My dad taught always me, even though he is a cop, things of that nature, in his uniform job, a Black man in society, those things that happened to George Floyd can happen to me, can happen to my dad, can happen to any person of color in this world. It doesn’t matter how much money you make or what job you have, if somebody feels the need, that they are more important or that they have more power than you and try to make a statement or whatever they’re doing, they can take somebody’s life.
White continued: “My dad always made me aware of what I should do when I get pulled over and things of that nature and how to treat cops. I see both sides and I’ve heard a lot of stories from my dad from that perspective, so it helped shape me growing up.”
Patriots’ game plan without James White in Week 2
James White plays in various roles in the Patriots offense due to his versatility in the backfield.
His absence will place a more significant onus on Sony Michel to handle the running game duties. Meanwhile, Cam Newton will likely continue to garner a substantial part in the game plan by utilizing his legs in more run-designed plays. He proved to be a big factor in Week 1 as he recorded 75 rushing yards on 15 catches with a pair of touchdowns.
A mixture of J.J. Taylor and Rex Burkhead may offset Michel for carries in the backfield. The Patriots have tailored their offensive game plan to Newton, which could see them add a few more wrinkles to the game plan for him in his second game in a Patriots uniform.
