NFL Notebook: How much blame do Judge, Belichick deserve for the meetings violations?

As you may have heard, the Patriots earned an extra-long Memorial Day weekend after they were docked two voluntary offseason practices due to violations of the offseason rules during Phase 2. The Patriots canceled the sessions Thursday and Tuesday. Patriots are now due to be back on the field Wednesday, the first session open to the media. Bill Belichick was also fined $50,000 as part of the violation.

It is an unequivocal fact that assistant head coach/special teams coach Joe Judge's error was responsible for the violation, and the record must reflect that. Judge was named three times in the sanctions letter addressed to Belichick, and Judge was named in the second paragraph. Belichick wasn't mentioned once. Judge was also cc'd the letter itself, the only member of the coaching staff to be included. Basically, that was league reinforcing Judge's mistake — a repeated one.

What should also be noted: despite the league noting that the Patriots "candidly conceded" the violation, it's "candor and full cooperation with this investigation is noteworthy and commendable," and that the "Club is to be credited for these remedial measures," there is zero mention of the team self-reporting the violation at the outset, which has been reported elsewhere. If that was indeed true, there's little reason to think the Patriots would have been docked two practices. Nothing in the record, compiled jointly by the NFL and NFLPA, suggests the Patriots discovered the error and fessed up, blowing the whistle on itself.

The violation and subsequent punishment have naturally led to a bunch of discussion points about Judge's role, Belichick's oversight of the team, what this penalty means for the team and whether some of the players were involved. Let's tackle those topics, starting with the smoking gun that started this, the posting of the meeting:

How much trouble should Judge in with this?

Judge is certainly an easy and repeated target, especially now that Matt Patricia has resurfaced with the Eagles. He was part of the offensive problems that sunk the team's hopes last season, and he got a promotion for this season.

I think a lot of this is unfair. Look, Judge made a mistake. And, yes, it was far from innocent because Belichick, via assistant Berj Najarian, reminded all coaches of the offseason rules less than a month before the infraction. But this amounts to an aggressive mistake, if we were talking about a player on the field. Judge was "trying to make a play" by helping to improve the special teams, and just got a little carried away. The optional part doesn't really matter. Judge just should have known better. If you want to touch on special teams, just ask if you can borrow 20 minutes from offense in defense. Or, better yet, wait until the mandatory mini-camp when players are there for eight hours and build in a couple of extra sessions.

The punitive nature of the punishment likely reflects the Patriots, meaning Judge, being careless with an NFLPA monitor on hand, and then not self-correcting quicker — like they/he was ignorant of the infraction, or simply didn't care. That's a big mistake.

The big faux pas by Judge was creating an issue for Belichick where there wouldn't be one. Judge has been a coordinator, head coach and now has been tasked with being Belichick's assistant head coach where his main thrust is to take things off the 71-year-old's plate. Belichick empowered him, and Judge fumbled soon after the handoff. But Belichick knows everyone is human, and this was a minor mistake made in the interest of making the team better. It's not a big issue.

Is this another example of Belichick not being on top of things like he used to be?

Yes, that's fair for the most part — to a point. It might be a better example of Belichick continuing to put his trust in the wrong people and now repeatedly getting burned by it. But, again, it's not an egregious mistake.

Look, I'm not going to make a huge deal out of this in regard to the Patriots overall and where they are going. The penalty isn't huge because the Patriots normally cancel one practice for team-building, and this is during an optional time for the players so you can't bank on, say, offensive install days because you don't know how many players are going to be there. And Judge going rogue trying to get a bad special teams unit a little better in May isn't some example of a lack of institutional (read Belichick) control. Coaches sit around at this time trying to think of ways to get better, and Judge just got carried away.

The most important days for the 2023 Patriots lay ahead — the mandatory mini-camp, and training camp. Nothing about this changes that. Talk to me if they are docked training camp days, or Belichick schedules a bunch of three- and four-day weekends again.

Were players involved in this, meaning there could be continued problems behind the scenes if not a mutiny?

There's nothing in the record to support that. What we know:

• An NFLPA monitor noticed the above schedule and had questions (Around May 4).
• In the next five days, the NFLPA found out there were multiple violations over three OTA days, probably from one of the four union reps: Joe Cardona, Deatrich Wise Jr., Cody Davis or Matt Judon. The first three play roles on special teams. The players can't lie if the union asks. The NFLPA amended the complaint that it happened on three separate days.
• Patriots responded May 17.

If you are a conspiracy theorist, or don't have much to discuss this time of year (another reason for the Patriots to do the three open media practices instead of skirting one due to their own infraction), it could be fun to dream about ways this could have happened. But there is nothing in the documents that point to players being sources on any of this. The Patriots themselves supplied "documents including practice schedules and video that Coach Judge had prepared for use in the 'Special Teams Workshops.'"

Bottom line

This was a mindless unforced error by the Patriots, specifically Judge, and the team/players/coaches paid a minor price that won't amount to much. It's fun to talk about, especially for the people that want to pile on a team that seems to be mired in being in the middle of the pack, but it's a stretch to say this episode illustrates fundamental flaws with the Patriots and the latter days of Belichick's regime. But hopefully it's a little bit of a wake-up call and tells them that even the coaches need to do things better.

NICKEL PACKAGE

1. The Patriots were one of five teams to vote against the kickoff touchback rule, according to Albert Breer. Yes, that was predictable.

2. Before DeAndre Hopkins was released by the Cardinals, the Bills and Chiefs were the only teams to show a level of seriousness to the discussions. The Patriots called, but it was mostly due diligence. 

3. Interesting report from PFT on Jimmy Garoppolo's surgery and his contract revamp by the Raiders. Sounds like the injury is a real issue and could easily flare up. The Raiders protected themselves in the contract, but are really out there on a limp as far as the position. The Raiders only have Brian Hoyer, rookie Aidan O'Connell (fourth round) and Chase Garbers on the roster. Hoyer could now play a huge role in the success of Josh McDaniels. Big stakes in the desert.

4. Bummer that Patriots LB Raekwon McMillan suffered an Achilles injury and is out for the season. Two years ago he looked like a key piece before being injured. Last year he got off to a slow start but made progress. This year he seemed to be in line for a key role in pass coverage, but now he leaves a sneaky big void. Mack Wilson will have to surprise, or rookie Marte Mapu will need to make a huge jump.

5. Like the signing of veteran TE Anthony Firkser, who is a good, solid all-around tight end. Basically, he's an upgrade over Matt Sokol. But it's a very minor depth move. Seems like this team specializes in those.