Jeff Fisher Can't Name the Patriots Running Backs

Jeff Fisher doesn’t know who the Patriots’ running backs are. His team plays the Patriots in four days. https://t.co/6k9RlfhSJ6 pic.twitter.com/LKLJKQwqfA

— Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) November 30, 2016

.

Jeff Fisher in his conference call, with the Boston media answering a question about the Patriots’ running backs:

“I’ve been impressed with Brandon and what he’s done out of the backfield. You’ve got to deal with him, in addition to Danny. You’ve got playmakers all around, so we have to play sound defense.”

You have to feel for Fisher, you really do. He’s having a tough stretch of days here. And proving the old coaching adage that says “When you spend the week picking fights with the best running back in the history of your franchise, it’s tough to prepare for the game.” Especially when you’ve lost the last two times you’ve faced that team by a combined score of 104-7.

I mean, so much of coaching is about focus. If I’ve said it once I’ve said it a thousand times, Bill Belichick is a man of many geniuses, but none is greater than his ability to eliminate distractions. Which is why you don’t see him getting into dick measuring contests with his city’s most beloved former player. Once a year or so, The Hooded One will get all misty talking about how much Kevin Faulk or Willie McGinest meant to him, whereas Fisher is the kind of guy that picks the week of the Pats game to alienate Eric Dickerson and his entire fan base. That’s the difference between the two. That, and the fact that Belichick doesn’t give his hair a terrible dye job but leave his beard white. And he knows the Ram’s players names. But the fighting thing is the major difference.

I’m not saying only one style of coaching works. Different strokes, and all that. Maybe Fisher’s just really focusing on Brandon Bolden more than the rest of us. Or he’s worried about Danny Amendola in the run game. Whatever works for him, is all I’m saying.

Of course, a loss this week will put Fisher one behind Dan Reeves for the most losses by a coach in NFL history, with 18 fewer wins. (Note: He just passed Tom Landry on the all-time loss list, with 77 fewer wins.) So he’s got too much on his plate right now to worry about a little thing like who’s going to run the ball down his throat this Sunday.