Sometimes the best defense is a good offense, or so the saying goes.<\/p>\n
The Patriots for their part, appear to be approaching their offense through the lens of two of the best defensive minds in football. Bill Belichick and Matt Patricia.<\/p>\n
Patricia – a defensive coordinator by trade – was seen calling plays during competitive team drills on Day 1 of Patriots training camp on Wednesday. It seems fairly obvious that he is the team’s de-facto offensive coordinator, despite what his title (offensive line coach) might say.<\/p>\n
In addition to having Patricia in his ear Patriots second year QB Mac Jones is also receiving a lot of input from coach Belichick, as has been the case all offseason.<\/p>\n
\u201cMatty [Patricia] has seen so many different defenses, along with coach Belichick so it\u2019s like they combine their knowledge of how to attack the defense,” Jones told reporters after the first day of training camp. “That\u2019s something that\u2019s really stood out to me. They\u2019re great guys. They all bring different energy to the room when they\u2019re presenting.”<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s a cool thing that we get to see it from another perspective,\u201d tackle Trent Brown said of Patricia calling plays. \u201cHim working on the defensive side of the ball for so long, we get to know the who, what, when, where, why and not just the X\u2019s and O\u2019s. I think that\u2019s the coolest part about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Former Giants head coach and Patriots assistant Joe Judge worked with Jones during positional drills. That makes 3 current or former head coaches who are devoting time and attention to the Patriots second year QB and helping to fill the void left when Josh McDaniels left to join the Raiders.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou want to listen to the good coaching that you can get from the three different coaches who have all been head coaches,\u201d Jones said. \u201cSo they\u2019ve seen a ton of football and that\u2019s what I\u2019m just trying to take in. What is something that each of them says in a meeting that I can take with me, whether that\u2019s about life or football.\u201d<\/p>\n