Wide receiver Aaron Dobson was publicly exonerated of accusations that he was benched by the New England Patriots because of a verbal disagreement with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
However, head coach Bill Belichick didn’t let Dobson off the hook entirely, stating that his performance is the only reason he isn’t seeing much time in the Patriots’ poorly performing offense.
“In my year and a half with Aaron Dobson, he has always been respectful to me and to the rest of the coaching staff,” Belichick said in a statement released by the team Friday. “He has never once been argumentative or confrontational. The suggestion and reporting that his playing time was in any way the result of a ‘loud disagreement’ with a coach is completely false.”
Dobson was inactive Monday for the Patriots’ second loss of the season at Kansas City. Only three wide receivers were active for the game. Dobson was also in active Week 1 and Week 3.
Asked directly if there was an incident between McDaniels and Dobson, Belichick said “You know, no, and I’ll have a comment on that later.” The team statement followed one hour later.
Belichick did not commit to activating Dobson Sunday night against the Bengals.
“We’ll do what we think is best for the game, just like we always do,” he said.
Dobson was third among Patriots wide receivers in 2013, when he caught 37 passes for 519 yards and four touchdowns as a rookie.
He has one reception for 13 yards, and Danny Amendola has only three receptions for 16 yards. Four of Amendola’s receptions have been called back due to penalty.
Coming off one of the most embarrassing defeats during the Belichick regime, Tom Brady and the Patriots hope to get back on track when they host the undefeated Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday night (8:30, NBC). It’s the second prime-time matchup in seven days for the Patriots, who appeared ill-equipped to deal with the bright lights in a 41-14 drubbing at Kansas City. New England has lost back-to-back games only four times since 2003, the most recent coming in September 2012.
Brady is averaging under 200 yards passing and was picked off twice in the debacle against the Chiefs, leading to whispers that age may have caught up to the 37-year-old quarterback, who acknowledged: “I don’t think we’ve played well for a long time.” Meanwhile, the Bengals are well rested following their bye week and have surrendered only three touchdowns while permitting a league-best 11.0 points per game. Cincinnati beat the visiting Patriots 13-6 last season, snapping Brady’s streak of throwing a touchdown pass in 52 consecutive games.
ABOUT THE BENGALS (3-0): Quarterback Andy Dalton has been criticized for failing to win a playoff game, but his 33 victories since 2011 rank second in the league — behind only Brady — and he has a pair of dangerous weapons in wideout A.J. Green and dual-threat running back Giovani Bernard. Green missed nearly all of Week 2 due to a turf-toe injury but has two 100-yard games and is coming off a pair of 11-touchdown seasons in which he hauled in 98 and 97 passes. Bernard is tied with Green for the team lead with 12 receptions while rushing for three scores and has a capable backup in powerful rookie Jeremy Hill, who is averaging 5.1 yards per carry. Carlos Dunlap has three of seven sacks for Cincinnati, which has six interceptions in the first three games.
ABOUT THE PATRIOTS (2-2): Brady, who has already been sacked nine times behind a struggling offensive line and is completing a career-worst 59.1 percent of his passes, was yanked during the dismal effort in Kansas City. “I don’t think in any phase of the game we’re playing the way we need to play in order to compete at a high level week in and week out,” Brady said. The running game lacks consistency while Julian Edelman has 26 catches to lead a receiving corps that lacks a playmaker with tight end Rob Gronkowski still not in top form less than a full year from undergoing ACL surgery. New England made major moves to revamp its defense in the offseason, including the signing of cornerback Darrelle Revis, but was gashed for 207 yards rushing by the Chiefs.