Where was JuJu Smith-Schuster in crunch time? Phil Perry explains

Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston joins Zolak and Bertrand to look back on the Patriots Week 1 loss to the Eagles. Among the most perplexing storylines was the decision not to have JuJu Smith Schuster on the field in crunch time. Phil weighs in on why the high-priced free agent receiver was nowhere to be found at an important time in the game.

This is still confounding for me. This guy's your highest paid receiver. He's your big name offseason acquisition. He is essentially your replacement for the guy who was Mr. Dependability in this offense for multiple years. And the explanation for why he's not on the field at the end of the game is he's just not part of the two-minute package. When you're going receiver and you're throwing the football?

And I understand, you know, maybe this is a roles thing. So Kayshon Boutte comes in because Devante Parker's out. Boutte is a better X-receiver I guess maybe than JuJu Smith-Schuster. That's that's a stunner to me. JuJu Smith-Schuster was a guy who played quite a bit on the outside in Kansas City last year. Yes, he's played the vast majority of his career in the slot. He played a lot in Kansas City on the outside and when they signed him they thought he'd be able to do the same thing here. They thought he would be versatile. So already he's not as good on the outside as the sixth-round rookie who had a good camp.

I asked receivers coach Ross Douglas about that play. Asked him if he ran the right route. Basically, what Ross said was he did the right thing, but it could have been much better. I do think it was an out route, but I think the way it was run where you try to sell it inside, maybe get the defensive back to bite inside and then go outside. The defensive back probably can tell that he's running an out-route because he doesn't sell the in-cut at all. And so I wonder if that kind of thing, even if it's the right route, but it's not run to your liking if you're Bill Belichick or your Bill O'Brien. Is that the kind of thing that could get you benched?

Bill Belichick versus Vic Fangio…well it’s not actually Bill Belichick versus Vic Fangio. It’s more like Charlie Weis, Josh McDaniels and Bill O’Brien versus Vic Fangio. It’s also Drew Bledsoe, Tom Brady, Cam Newton, Michael Bishop (yes...Michael, Bishop), Julian Edelman, David Patten, and even punter Lee Johnson versus Vic Fangio. The Belichick versus Fangio matchup has featured some of the most unique moments from the New England Patriots dynasty.

From pulling your franchise quarterback and putting in a backup to throw a Hail Mary, to having your punter throw a pass, to kicking off a dynasty with a new quarterback starting in his very first game, to a legendary four touchdown game from a little known wide receiver, to a game pushed back a week because of Covid.

Bill Belichick's Patriots teams have faced Vic Fangio's defensive units a total of eight times over the last 23 seasons with number nine coming up this Sunday at Gillette Stadium.

Belichick's squads are 5-3 against Fangio defenses racking up an average of 29.5 points per game (32 ppg if you eliminate Covid game) and 127 yards rushing per game in the eight contests.

Despite those numbers, Belichick spoke highly of Fangio during his weekly Wednesday press availability: "I have a ton of respect for Vic as a coach and what he’s done in the multiple times we’ve faced him and just watching his teams over the years, very disciplined, sound and extremely well-coached, well-prepared defense."

Belichick added, "I think Vic’s one of the best defensive coaches in the league. He has his style, his defensive philosophy and system, and he’s had a lot of success with it."

Patriots players that have had success against the Fangio defense aren't necessarily the players you might expect. It's been guys like Kenjon Barner, Josh Gordon, Brandon Lloyd, Bethel Johnson, JR Redmond and the aforementioned Michael Bishop.

Bill Belichick and Charlie Weis reached into their bag of tricks to yank franchise quarterback Drew Bledsoe from the field to have 3rd stringer Michael Bishop throw the Hail Mary attempt at the end of the first half against the Colts. Punter Lee Johnson also completed a pass in the game.

Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison, Edgerrin James and the high flying Colts pulled off a 30-23 win despite trailing by 9 entering the 4th quarter. The Pats took that lead on the back of Running Back J.R. Redmond, who finished with 132 yards and a touchdown on 27 touches.

Drew Bledsoe's injury pushed Brady into action for his first career NFL start against Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts. He remained on the field for the next 128 starts until his 2008 knee injury.

Offensive Coordinator Charlie Weis went into his bag of trick for Brady's first road game against Manning and the Colts. In the game David Patten became the first player since Walter Payton to rush, pass and catch for a touchdown in the same game.

The Patriots had ripped off 6 wins in a row and were on their way to 21 straight wins when they almost fell to a bad Houston team. Bethel Johnson had 65 yards and a touchdown and Tom Brady found Daniel Graham with only 40 seconds left to tie the game. Adam Vinatieri would win it in overtime.

The Patriots couldn't stop Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers offense as they came into Gillette Stadium and put up 41 points. Randy Moss caught 1 of 4 Kaepernick TD passes on the night. Tom Brady led the Pats on a ferocious comeback attempt putting up 24 points in the 4th quarter but it wasn't enough in a 41-34 defeat. Brandon Lloyd caught 10 passes for 190 yards in the loss.

Bears Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky played the game of his life against the Pats in 2018, but Tom Brady's 3 touchdowns were too much for Chicago. Josh Gordon had 100 yards receiving and little used Kenjon Barner contributed with 10 carries for 36 yards in the win.

A Covid outbreak with the Patriots moved the Week 5 game against the Broncos to Monday afternoon and eventually to Week 6 after a controversial schedule shuffle by the NFL. The Pats would eventually come out and play one of the worst games in the Belichick era in the 18-12 Week 6 loss. Brandon McManus kicked 6 Field Goals in the win for Denver.