{"id":104618,"date":"2022-05-19T22:54:07","date_gmt":"2022-05-20T02:54:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clnsmedia.com\/?p=104618"},"modified":"2022-05-19T22:54:07","modified_gmt":"2022-05-20T02:54:07","slug":"patriots-mailbag-did-the-pats-assistant-coaches-actually-tip-hand-on-offensive-play-caller","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clnsmedia.com\/?p=104618","title":{"rendered":"Patriots Mailbag: Did the Pats Assistant Coaches Actually Tip Hand on Offensive Play-Caller?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Patriots playing certain coaching responsibilities close to the vest is nothing new for Bill Belichick\u2019s coaching staff.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After all, it took Belichick nearly two seasons to acknowledge that his son, Steve, was calling the defensive plays when he first publicly credited Steve in November of 2020. It was assumed that Steve started calling the defense following Brian Flores\u2019s departure in 2019, but Belichick and his staff dodged questions about the play callers\u2019 identity for a year and a half.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite Steve\u2019s role as the play-caller and a former Pro Bowler-turned-coach on staff, Steve nor hot head coaching candidate Jerod Mayo has earned the defensive coordinator title. Technically, neither did Flores, who was calling the defense as the linebackers coach until he was named the head coach of the Miami Dolphins.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

New England hasn\u2019t had an official defensive coordinator since Matt Patricia in 2017, and now Patricia, along with returning assistant Joe Judge, is set to lead the Patriots’ offense.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Given the fact that Belichick won\u2019t name Steve or Mayo the defensive coordinator, it\u2019s not a surprise that the Pats offense will go coordinator-less in the first year without Josh McDaniels.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, the perception that we gleaned nothing from Judge and Patricia\u2019s media availability this week is false, as the Pats top offensive assistants told us enough to crack the code.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Judge confirmed he’s working with quarterbacks and Patricia with the offensive line, where he started his career as a coach in New England, while both Pats coaches will have a hand in the big-picture direction of the offense.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As the de facto quarterbacks coach, Judge serving as the play-caller would make sense.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Although he played coy when asked the question, Judge outlined a training process he\u2019s using to simulate game-like situations and conditions to practice calling plays.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSit in your office, put on a tape, and call it. Work through situations. You want to do it with other coaches, and sometimes they simulate what may have happened in a game,\u201d Judge said. \u201cIt makes you think, how am I adjusting my personnel now? What would I call? It\u2019s not drawing a bunch of plays and saying \u2018hey, I like that one.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

With Patricia spending most of his time with the offensive line, it wouldn\u2019t make much sense for Judge to attach himself to Mac Jones\u2019s hip and then have Patricia call plays.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most weeks, Patriots players spend most of their meeting time with their position coaches to go over last week\u2019s film, scout the next opponent and rehearse the game plan.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The most important relationship for the offensive play-caller is with the quarterback. Since calling plays that the quarterback is comfortable with running is paramount to its success. If Patricia is in another room coaching protections and blocking schemes with the offensive line, he\u2019s not breaking down progressions and opponents with Mac Jones. There\u2019s more room for error.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Many offensive play-callers around the league are either their own quarterback’s coaches or spend the most time with the quarterback. For example, McDaniels was his own QB coach for 11 of his 13 seasons as the Pats’ offensive coordinator.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Although Judge is the most practical option to call plays, it sounds like the Patriots will divvy up the other offensive coordinator responsibilities as they do on the defensive side of the ball, with Judge and Patricia serving as the offense\u2019s version of Steve Belichick and Jerod Mayo.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Our theory is that Judge will work with quarterbacks, call plays, and coordinate the passing game, while Patricia will serve as the offensive line coach and run game coordinator.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Pats are also ending another era on their offensive staff with long-time running backs coach Ivan Fears quietly retiring this offseason. Fears was responsible for coordinating short-yardage installs each week, which will likely now fall on Patricia and new running backs coach Vinnie Sunseri.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Skepticism surrounding New England\u2019s re-worked offensive staff is more than fair, especially given Judge and Patricia\u2019s lack of success away from the nest and the state of the Pats’ offense.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Patriots have a second-year quarterback entering a critical year of his development, an offensive system that needs an update, and offensive weapons Nelson Agholor, Jonnu Smith, and rookie Tyquan Thornton need to produce returns on investment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Do the Patriots have the right coaches, and do those coaches have the chops to make all of that happen as New England moves forward without Josh McDaniels? That’s a tough sell presently.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, the notion that Belichick doesn\u2019t have defined roles for his staff heading into the mandatory portion of the offseason is nonsense, even if he doesn\u2019t want to tell us.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Without further ado, let\u2019s empty the Patriots mailbag as we head into organized team activities:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Any thoughts on *why* BB\/the Pats are cagey about the roles coaches are taking? Is it to take public pressure off coaches in new roles? To try and confuse opponents?<\/p>\n

— Brian McCarthy (@vgman20) May 18, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n