Sometimes the best defense is a good offense, or so the saying goes.
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.
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.
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.
“Matty [Patricia] has seen so many different defenses, along with coach Belichick so it’s like they combine their knowledge of how to attack the defense,” Jones told reporters after the first day of training camp. “That’s something that’s really stood out to me. They’re great guys. They all bring different energy to the room when they’re presenting.”
“I think it’s a cool thing that we get to see it from another perspective,” tackle Trent Brown said of Patricia calling plays. “Him 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’s and O’s. I think that’s the coolest part about it.”
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.
“You want to listen to the good coaching that you can get from the three different coaches who have all been head coaches,” Jones said. “So they’ve seen a ton of football and that’s what I’m just trying to take in. What is something that each of them says in a meeting that I can take with me, whether that’s about life or football.”
Jones also says that despite being only in his second year as an NFL Quarterback, all the coaches seek his input
“They bring a different perspective, but I feel like they’re all listening to the players – ‘Hey, we kind of like this concept.’ ‘Alright, let’s try it.’ Or if they want to put in something else, they explain the ‘why’ and that’s the important part for me – understanding why we’re doing something.”
YEAR 2 DIFFERENCES
Jones received a lot of praise earlier this week from head coach Bill Belichick who said the second year QBs underwent “dramatic” offseason improvements.” Jones was a bit more humble responding to his coach’s praise.
“Just evaluating what I wanted to get better at, whether that be footwork, where the ball location is on certain throws, just trying to learn how to hit every throw in different ways,” the quarterback explained. “The offseason is great, but you want to take what you do and be able to use it in games. It’s the reason you work hard.”
TEAM CHEMISTRY
Jones was sharp in red zone work making several connections with a few Patriots incumbents like Kendrick Bourne and Nelson Agholor as well as new receiver DeVante Parker who really shined on day 1.
“It all comes down to building a relationship with the guys,” Jones said. “We have a great team camaraderie. I think that will grow as time goes along. It’s a lot of our second years in the Patriots’ system, so I think there’s a lot of growth to be done.”
