Took some of the better questions from Friday's Q&A and will expound on them here.
Topics:
- Why Bill Belichick did this to the offensive staff and the Kraft's role
- Will the Patriots go offensive-heavy in the offseason
- The JC Jackson decision
- Belichick's influence on the offense
- How much of a difference Tom Brady would make in this offense
One of the big questions from the first half of the season is how/why Belichick decided to put Matt Patricia in as offensive coordinator/line coach, and Joe Judge as QBs coach. First of all, there were no ready answers on the coaching staff, which is problematic enough and more evidence that Belichick stopped anticipating things or didn't care. Unless he thought, like Tom Brady, that Josh McDaniels would never truly leave, it was a mistake to not get the next Josh ready. That was mistake No. 1. If he was deemed worthy, either Nick Caley or Mick Lombardi — any young coach — should have been inserted as QBs coach and learned multiple years from McDaniels. Belichick made an error thinking McDaniels would never leave. He was waiting for the right opportunity — and McDaniels would have told him if Belichick ever asked (there's no communication on futures inside the building, which has led to the mass exodus in the front office and coaching staff over the years).
The bottom line is, after 22 years and all he has done, Belichick earned the right to do what he wants with the coaching staff. They were as unsure about this as you or I, but Bill can do whatever he wants to the staff. Then they'll see how things look after the season, and what Bill will do about it, if it continues to be bad.
On the surface, I don't mind Judge as the QB coach and Patricia the line coach. It's not having an experienced OC there to dictate how everything was going to do. And I wonder if Bill didn't have enough input on the direction of the offense while they planned this thing. It looks like an offense where they just started throwing stuff up against the wall. The way this is looking ... I'm wondering if this was a bridge year for offensive coaching ... if you slide a Bill O'Brien in the coordinator spot, Patricia at o-line and Judge at QBs ... I mean, it's not my dream coaching roster, but it looks a lot better than this.
Patricia was hired because he's close with Bill and who else was going to hire him? The price tag helps, but that was not the reason.
I do not think so. I'm sure the current offensive staff and Bill will look at this and explain it to themselves as, 'Ziegler and McDaniels picked those guys, it's not our fault, we'll find our guys.' I don't think there was agreement on Jonnu Smith — and he was signed first and was the priority.
And they are certainly not going to point fingers at themselves and say, 'Man, we really screwed up an offense and QB that was decent in the first year.' But the failings of this offense, which much the same personnel and Patricia's hand-picked guy in DeVante Parker, are decidedly on the coaching staff.
I'm sure they'll add a piece here and there, but they have high hopes for Tyquan Thornton. Will Jakobi Meyers be back? Agholor is surely gone. I don't know why they didn't trade Kendrick Bourne before the deadline — but they're always late on that (Thuney, Gilmore, JC Jackson).
At the end of the day, I think the Patriots, as long as Belichick is here, will always believe it is their system that makes them winners, and not the talent. Despite evidence mounting by the day this is a different NFL and you have to score in the 30s regularly.
Well, first of all, I think the Patriots were willing to give Jackson a big contract ... just not quite as far as the Chargers were going to go. The Patriots viewed him as a good corner but not a franchise No. 1 shutdown corner.
Secondly, I hate these comparisons. What Jackson has or hasn't done with the Chargers in that scheme has zero to do with the player he would have been here. Two distinctly different systems. You have no idea what kind of player Jackson would have been here. He could have been an All-Pro. The comparisons are fruitless.
And I wouldn't start celebrating the Patriots' secondary until they actually beat a good QB with weapons ... the same issue they had in the previous seasons dating back to the Boogeymen. So far so good, but if Myles Bryant and Jack Jones get toasted by the Bills, Vikings, Dolphins, etc and the Patriots missed the playoffs along with the Chargers, one of the questions asked will be about the Jackson decision. Jackson, J. Jones and Mills with a better pass rush ... maybe that's better than what they have. We shall see.
I think Bill can suggest timing the routes better, but that doesn't mean they're going to be better ... it's like going backwards to Week 1 offense.
I think Bill can help figure out the offensive line, maybe take some of the gameplanning from Matt so he can work the line more, I think he can get them to focus on better running concepts, simpler and higher percentage passing, etc.
But it's very difficult, midway through the season, for them to suddenly be better. It's going to take week by week progress. I don't know if they have enough time.
Only if had a real offensive coordinator to help Brady get all this stuff together. I think a lot of people underestimate the dysfunction that's going on down on the field with this offense. They are not a QB away. They are a system away before you can even get to the QB. Plus, Brady at his age needs a lot of things to help him — a good line, a running game and weapons. How's Brady doing down in Tampa without any of that stuff, very similar to New England? I'd say not very well but getting better.
I just don't understand people who think the QB makes all the difference when the Patriots can't even run or pass block, before we even get into running the right routes, or the playcaller often guessing wrong on whether it's going to be zone or man so the plays often aren't good.
How did Brady look in 2019?
I said the same thing when Brady was here and the offense struggled ... he's not getting enough help. He can't do it on his own. Mac Jones is certainly in the same boat.