Patriots, no panic over defense’s adjustment problems
One of the reasons Bill Belichick has traditionally promoted from within in his group of assistants with the New England Patriots is that he values continuity, and thus players don’t have to learn a new system with every change.
Offensively, that resulted in Charlie Weis (2000-04) passing the baton to Josh McDaniels (2005-08), who in turn handed it over to Bill O’Brien (2009-11), before taking it again (2012-21).
This promoted healthy player development, and is the reason many assumed, including this reporter, to be behind Belichick’s decision to reload Matt Patricia and Joe Judge as lead offensive assistants for 2022. They would be entering a familiar culture in an attempt to run the same system, with minimal variations.
But, possibly the biggest surprise since the Patriots reported to training camp last July 26, is that the system is not as much like the familiar one as many of us assumed. Quarterback Mac Jones and wide receiver Kendrick Bourne are among those who have referred to the “new offense,” with Jones adding, “I think we’ll figure it out. It’s going to take time and patience.”
The result has been some shaky practices, including one last Monday that had center David Andrews addressing the entire unit in a lengthy talk. The next day, with a better practice, quarterback Brian Hoyer said no one “wants to come out here and be humbled, before stating, “When you’re doing new things, there’s going to be some growing pains.”
Witnessing the challenging transition has raised obvious questions: why destroy the offense in which Jones shined as a rookie? And what exactly are those changes players undergo in the adjustment?
The primary motivation for the change, according to those familiar with Belichick’s thinking, was to make things easier for the players. The volume of the previous system had reached so much in the last 20 years, — with Tom Brady being a big part of it, and then the specific adjustments for Cam Newton in 2020 adding another layer to the total — so the timing seemed right to go back to the original roots.
The language modification is arguably the most significant part of that change. Many things don’t have the same meaning as before, so offensive players learn a new language, and the rules/responsibilities that come with it.
As for player issues on the field, the line hasn’t always opened up lanes in the ground game (zone-blocking runs have been a notable problem) or protected Jones, who said, “It’s just about fine-tuning communication. It’s different than what we’ve done in the past.”
Jones, who admitted there are things he can do better to help the transition, expressed confidence the Patriots will find the answers. And, Hoyer said, “there are still elements of what we’ve always done here.”
“It’s a time when you decipher what works, what doesn’t, and you try to grow in that process,” Hoyer explained.
