Bill Belichick told the assembled media after last Sunday’s blowout home loss to the Saints that there would be changes. The anticipation was that we would see changes with the Patriots. In the end, we barely saw any. Aside from Malik Cunningham being brought up from the practice squad and used on three snaps, it was business as usual for the Patriots.

The reason you did not see any changes is because it is really hard to make big changes in football during the season. Outside of scheme changes, there is not much else you can do. You have to roll with what you have, especially when it comes to players and personnel.

If the most you did this week is put in a wrinkle for your quarterback/wide receiver, then those are not changes. A notable change would have been benching Mac Jones and starting one of the other quarterbacks but Belichick cannot do that because he knows that Jones is the best quarterback on the roster and he has no other option.

The Patriots made some subtle scheme changes but overall, they remained the same team they have been through five weeks of the season. The bottom line is, the players who are in the building are the players you are going to run with. This isn’t baseball, basketball or hockey. You do not have a minor league system. You cannot call up some young stud that could turnaround your season.

The Patriots are what they are. A bad football team that is not going to be fixed simply by making in-season changes. Do you really think a quarterback change is going to change this team’s fortunes? No. If you do, I have a nice piece of land that I could sell you in the Florida Everglades. None of the other quarterbacks on the roster are better than Jones.

The only changes I would expect at this point are trades. The Patriots have a handful of players that will be appealing to other teams and they would be willing to trade for them at the right asking price. Otherwise, it will be the status quo. Do not expect anything on the field to change.

The 2023 season is over. It ended yesterday. The Patriots are left playing out the string and looking forward to an off-season that could potentially lead to the end of the Belichick era and changes to the roster.