4 Patriots most to blame for the team's disastrous 1-4 start

Bill Belichick isn't the type of head coach to publicly identify scapegoats to the media but there are plenty of players who deserve blame for the Patriots' 1-4 start. The trick for New England is to identify the players most responsible for the team's struggles and craft strategies to put them in better positions to succeed.

That process might involve benching a few current starters but the roster doesn't have enough depth to accommodate wholesale changes. As such, Belichick and his staff will need to get creative to improve the team's performance at their weakest spots.

The following four players deserve the most criticism from Belichick and Patriots fans. No one on this list has done nearly enough to justify their place in the team's starting lineup.

4. Rhamondre Stevenson

Getting the ground game up and moving would do a lot to cure the issues plaguing the New England offense. The reality that Stevenson is only averaging 2.8 yards per rush on a team-high 68 carries shows just how listless the team's rushing attack is at the moment.

In fairness to Stevenson, he's not getting enough help from his offensive line. That doesn't change the fact that Ezekiel Elliott is averaging a full yard per carry more than he is behind the same group. If Stevenson doesn't find a way to improve his efficiency soon he may lose carries to his big-name backup.

Look for Belichick and his offensive staff to double down on the run game over the new few weeks. Stevenson will get plenty of touches to improve his production and he needs to take advantage of those opportunities.