Not only did the Patriots cancel the final day of minicamp Thursday due to rain — despite having an indoor practice facility (it's a very tight fit for a 90-man roster and media, so we get it) — but the team also punted on the final two days of OTAs next week.
So, for better or for worse, the 2022 Patriots are now set to open training camp in late July.
School's out for summer
School's out forever
I'm bored to pieces
So based off of two days of open OTA practices, and another two of minicamp — all without pads — here are the three facets of the team we have more confidence in based on what we've seen so far, and three that we're a little more worried about — or at least have more questions about.
MORE CONFIDENT
1. More of a vertical element to the passing game.
As we've said many times, that the Patriots weren't that dangerous in the deep passing game last season had little to do with Mac Jones, Nelson Agholor or Josh McDaniels — even though they ended up third in the league in combined explosive runs and pass plays (more than Josh Allen and the Bills, by the way). It was basically a convergence of factors. A rookie QB, a ton of new weapons to the scheme, some shoddy pass protection early in the season. It all combined to make the Patriots fairly easy to defend, especially if the running game wasn't hitting on all cylinders.
We always figured the Patriots would take another step with the deep passing game with everyone in Year 2, and that was on display in the two minicamp practices. Each day, Mac Jones and assorted receivers hit big plays down the field — and often they were in tight windows, and Jones spread the ball around. So that was great to see. We feel better about that being in their arsenal heading into the season.
"Yeah, I think that's my job is to just distribute the ball to the playmakers and I want it to be about them making plays," Mac Jones told reporters Thursday. "And the end of the day, we're all doing this for each other. So I think we have that chemistry. Like you said, there's a big play, everyone's excited because they know that another big play can be coming their way. So I think that is good. You know, it's more of a spread-the-wealth-type deal and let everybody have a chance to make a play. And that's what football is all about. And, you know, when we score touchdowns, that's the whole goal ... to celebrate with your teammates, celebrate with the offensive line and continue to do that every drive that you can. So it all starts in offseason training, you know, just getting together as a group, understanding what we're trying to do and then going out there and doing it and like you said, having fun while you're doing it."
But we wouldn't go nuts about what we saw, either. Jones wasn't some pinpoint mad bomber. All the big plays happened in 7-on-7s with no pass rush. Those plays were not there once there was a pass rush on the field.
So it was good to see, but we wouldn't jump to conclusions yet.
2. A varied pass rush.
Again, no pads or anything and the defense was attacking a revamped offensive line, but the Patriots' amoeba package looked to be in midseason form despite several new pieces themselves, especially at linebacker and safety — they all got into the mix.
We still have no clue exactly what the mix is going to be in terms of personnel, and it didn't look like the Patriots knew either — they were kind of throwing things out there and seeing what stuck or looked good heading into camp — but the pass rush looked better and quicker. Interested to see how this develops.
3. Jake Bailey is back, baby.
The punter was a sophomore sensation, earning All-Pro honors in 2020 as his 45.6 net punting average led the league, was the second-highest in NFL history and set a new Patriots record. His gross punt average of 48.7 also set a new team record.
But his third season was a different story as he slumped to 47.3 and 42 net, along with having three punts blocked (his kickoff touchback percentage plummeted as well).
Bailey was definitely dealing with an injury last season, but no one ever knew the extent. After seeing him in minicamp, it's clear the injury was major but he was back to kicking the stuffing out of the ball and also being pinpoint pinning the opponent back.
After last season, it wasn't clear if the Patriots needed to carry a punter on his rookie deal making $4 million per season. But after seeing Bailey regain his form, and with UDFA Jake Julien clearly not in the same class, it appears to be money well-spent on a team that will likely need a very good punter.
(Getty Images)
Tyquan Thornton
WORRIED LIST
1. Rookie class not off to a fast start.
It's four practices in no pads and most of them barely know where the lunch room is, but on first blush and from 10,000 feet, we weren't blown away by the potential instant impact from this draft class. At the very least, we have some questions on them:
Cole Strange is going to start, we know this. But is he going to be strong enough in his lower body to fend off the biggest of big uglies on the defensive interior? I'm sure he'll be fine in time and with development, but can he give them what Teddy Karras did a year ago? I think that's to be determined.
Tyquan Thornton looked like a typical rookie feeling his way through the NFL and a new offense. He popped as a gunner and we were intrigued with the ball in his hands after the catch, but is he going to be anything more than an occasional shot play guy as a rookie?
Marcus Jones didn't do much in a red jersey. Jack Jones was in the mix and got his hands on some balls, but is he going to take someone's job? He's definitely in the mix, for sure.
RBs Pierre Strong and Kevin Harris didn't readily pop, but that usually comes in pads and preseason games so they have time.
DT Sam Roberts stood out for his robot-like knee braces and looked fine. Chasen Hines and Andrew Stueber weren't on the field.
So, basically, none of the rookies lit the world on fire, but it's very, very early and much can change.
2. The offensive line has big questions.
Probably the unit that worried us the most in minicamp was the offensive line, which had struggles pass protecting in 11-on-11s — the QBs likely had more sacks or scrambles than completions in those periods. And it's understandable considering all the players, save David Andrews who was limited (that didn't help the unit), have questions:
- Can Trent Brown really be an effective left tackle given his injury history and how he hasn't played there in four years?
- We know Strange can get down the field with the best of them as a rookie, but can he hold the point against the big guys from Buffalo: Ed Oliver, DaQuan Jones, Jordan Phillips, Tim Settle?
- Is moving to more of a zone running scheme the best for this group, including Andrews?
- Is Mike Onwenu, who got beat out by Karras last year, better at guard in Year 2? Can he approach what Shaq Mason did? Or is Onwenu still a better RT, which leads us to...
- Is Isaiah Wynn a player the Patriots want around after he admitted to enjoying the voluntary aspects of the last two offseasons, even as a player who has accomplished little? Would it make sense to trade Wynn, if they can find anyone to take his contract, move Onwenu to RT and find another RG?
Not sure even the Patriots can answer those questions in the affirmative right now.
3. The ongoing question mark: Who's the playcaller and will it work?
It sure looked like it would be offensive line coach Matt Patricia, which even Belichick confidant Mike Lombardi admitted was problematic.
"I don't buy it at all," he said on his podcast. "I don't see how an offensive line coach can call plays. It's hard enough to get those five guys to play good, to make sure they handle the protections, to make sure that everything's copacetic in the run game, to make sure they're doing their job. You're focused on that. You're not seeing the game from above the stadium, you're seeing the game from the endzone level. So it's impossible to focus on that and then call plays.
"Now if Matt Patricia was the line coach, and there was another line coach that could handle it, they have Billy Yates there but I mean... (Patricia's) the guy coaching them and when they come to the sideline, he's gotta go over and spend all his time making sure they understand it. Who's sitting with Mac Jones? That's the key guy. That's the guy that's got to call the plays because on Monday through Saturday, that personal relationship between the quarterback and the play-caller manifests itself on Sunday. I like this. I don't like that. Against this look, I think we should do this. Okay. Do you like this play? That's a one-on-one relationship that is not just limited to veteran players. It's limited to whoever plays the position. And as the play-caller, you never want to put that guy in an uncomfortable position. You never want to give him something that he's not coming and so you have to have constant. How can Matt Patricia coach the line and those 8-10 guys, he's got a coach, and then have a developer relationship with the court. It doesn't make any sense to me. I think it's just somebody throwing stuff out there.
"Belichick just doesn't give away titles and jobs, you've got to earn it. I don't think he's gonna allow somebody call plays that he hasn't seen call plays. But I think this preseason, we'll see a lot of that we'll see who's calling the plays and how it works."
Lombardi's guess for the Patriots' playcaller?
"I think it's gonna be Joe Judge. I think it has to be Joe Judge," Lombardi said. "He's coaching the quarterback. It has to be Joe Judge because he sees the game on all three levels that Patricia is only watching the game on one level. That's the offensive line. The quarterback coach sees the game on level one that's the offensive line. He sees the game on level two. That's the linebackers. He sees the game on level three. Do you think if I went to any offensive line coach in the league during a game and said how much Cover 7 are they playing today? You got no idea. He wouldn't even care, he wouldn't even give a shit, he could care less Cover 7, 'I don't give a shit that three-technique is kicking my ass. You know, they're playing it over front. They're playing it under. Oh, we got this you know they're getting in this double eagle look.' ... That's all they care about. That's their job. That's all they care about. They want to do that. That's what they're best at doing."
Lombardi himself has concerns about Judge in the playcaller role.
"I think you have a lot of concern," he said. "He was the wide receivers coach (one year in New England) so he had some time there, but he wasn't really calling the plays. I mean obviously, he was on the headset during the game.
"Look, play calling in the NFL is hard. It's not Madden in your basement. It's deliberate. You've got to set things up. You've got to understand it. You know, even though the hash marks are in the middle of the field, where you want the ball to set up the play on what hash mark is critical. And that's why I've always found great playcallers, they have some math background in them. Josh McDaniels was a math major. Great playcallers see the game in three dimensions. They can really understand how to set things up and it's a little bit of it's a chess game, it's a chess board and your moving pieces. It's a hard, hard job. It's not as easy as it looks.
"The defensive playcaller really makes a difference. How you call the defense, how you set up the defense, what you do in the third quarter to adjust your defense to then give the offense more problems. I mean, we don't talk enough about a great defensive playcaller who has the right blitz against the right front or anticipates the right blitz into the bootleg. I mean those guys don't get enough love and praise. I think Dennis Allen does a great job with that. I think he's one of the best play-callers on defense that you could find because he seems to always have a good handle on what's the next play."