Friday is the calm after the storm following a pair of joint practices in Green Bay that had more spice than my Nana’s Sunday sauce. It also meant our first conversations with the assistant coaches in a couple of weeks. So while the boss man is flying all over the country to find a way home (travel is sooooo wonderful), here’s a breakdown of what caught my ear.
Bill Belichick was asked about the intensity of the two practices and what, if anything, he learned about them.
“I don’t think that's really what it was about. We had, I don’t know, upwards of 150 snaps. I'm not sure exactly what the number was; I'd say, well, it's probably more than that. I’d have to add them all up. It might be closer to 200 when you get into the kicking game and all that, but we’ve a lot of snaps here. So, we've benefited a lot from working against the Packers. They are really good to work against. They do a good job on offense, defense, special teams. They’re a well-balanced team. They have a lot of good players to work against. We've benefited a lot from that, just the competition and you know, seeing the different style plays and seeing different types of players. So, it was really good working against the Packers. The facilities have been great, and it’s been two good days for us here.”
Giardi: Was Bill Belichick happy???? Yes, yes he was. Clearly he didn’t want to get into the fights and trash-talking that got attention in Green Bay, but he did want to let us all know that he was pleased with the work his team got and definitely by the response they had on the second day. I’m told the team was challenged by the coaching staff after day one, and that response Thursday is something that not only built confidence with the players but from coaches to players. May not matter as the season progresses, or it may be one of those things we go back to when the team is performing better than they’re expected to (over/under win total in Vegas is 7.5).
One more from Belichick, on adjustments made between days one and two.
“Yeah, that's what we do. Figure out the problem, what it is. Identify it, make an analysis and then fix it. Again, that can be coaches, that can be players, a combination of both. I mean, there's multiple things that could be involved there. But, that's the game. So, like I said, it was a great experience. When you practice against the same players 30 times or whatever it's been going back to.”
Giardi: Translation… we didn’t a very good adjusting offensively last year. Now? We have the capabilities.
From Bill O’Brien on whether or not he can tell if Ezekiel Elliott has something left in the tank…
“I’m familiar with Zeke. When he was at Ohio State, I coached against him. I studied him when he was in the draft, when he came out, so I’ve known Zeke for a while. You know, Zeke just got here and it’s obviously a very fair question. One thing you see right away is he’s smart. He’s been in different systems. He understands football. Maybe they called it apples and we call it oranges, but it’s still football and he gets it. He picks up on it really quick. We’ve seen him on the field a little bit. Not enough to give you a breakdown of his skillset and all of that. I do think he’s a three-down back and he’s been a really good addition the last two days to our football team.”
Giardi: Umm, we wouldn’t have signed him if we didn’t think he could help. The one aspect of this answer that jumped out to me was calling Elliott a three-down back. The more I’ve watched Zeke from last year, the more you see the lack of explosion and why he lost carries/time to Tony Pollard. His best asset in the passing game was no longer catching the ball, rather providing good pass protection. Obviously far too early to tell if Elliott has got more spring in those legs but at the very least, he can handle a series or two in that role to alleviate the burden on Rhamondre Stevenson.
Wide receiver coach Troy Brown on DeVante Parker’s ability win 50-50 balls despite not being a player who fares well in the various metrics that track receiver separation.
“I didn’t know there was a stat in the league that kept track of separation. I don’t really understand that part of it. When I came into the league, it was two things: get open and catch the ball. That’s all that really matters to me. If you can do those things, I don’t really keep up with the rest of them.. like I said, DeVante works really hard.”
Giardi: This speaks to the overall approach Belichick has taken with the position. We think he needs to upgrade the talent and get quote unquote difference makers. Here, Brown follows his head coach’s lead. They don’t care how you get there, just so long as when the ball goes up in the air, their pass catcher comes down with it. Parker had two very good days in Green Bay.
Brown was also asked what he’s seen from Demario Douglas and if he has a soft spot for the rookie, being that have similarities in their story (both late-round draft picks, both smaller, both quick).
Brown: “He’s got a good skillset. I try to identify those things with every player in the group. Obviously, he’s got some quickness - he’s on the smaller side but that’s ok - he catches the ball well and he runs with the ball well. Those are all good things that you’d love to have in any receiver. As far as a soft spot, I don’t have a soft spot for any receiver. That’s not going to fly with me.”
Giardi: I’ve known Troy for a long time. He’s doing his best to pump the brakes on the hype that is surrounding Douglas but even then, that’s difficult for him to do. Douglas has met every challenge the Patriots have thrown at him and I can’t stress this enough, has not been an error repeater. The entire receiving core was guilty of being error repeaters a season ago, with the exception of Jakobi Meyers, and he’s no longer here. New year, new system and better results with some of the new players (Douglas, Kayshon Boutte).
Along those lines, the other wide receiver coach, Ross Douglas, was asked how important speed is at the position, and if it matters where that speed comes from.
“Demario (Douglas), he’s a slot player, so him being able to work inside the numbers and be able to threaten the defense vertically from inside the formation, that’s very very valuable. Then you have perimeter receivers like a Tyquan Thornton, who mostly threaten the defense from outside the numbers. He can play inside the numbers but mostly, he’s a perimeter receiver. But anytime you can just have that element on the field that defenses have to be “woooah” this ball could go over my head, that’s always great to have on any offense.”
Giardi: More proof of how Douglas has inserted himself into the conversation. I continue to err on the conservative side with him, in terms of what his role might look like in the first few weeks of the season, but if he continues on this path the next 10 days or so, I may have to embrace the reality that there may be more snaps for Douglas and less for one of the veteran receivers they’re paying well (JuJu Smith-Schuster/Kendrick Bourne). As for Thornton, his ability to eat up cushions that he gets from DBs is striking, but his ability to be consistent and stay on the field once again came into play in Packerland. He was hurt Thursday and didn’t return. He needs reps, including ones that might be there for him tomorrow in preseason game #2.
Offensive line coach Adrian Klemm hit on a number of topics, but the one that caught my attention, the impact a healthy Trent Brown has both on and off the field.
“It’s been really nice. Obviously, he’s really good player, really talented, and he brings a certain level of comfort on that side. But in addition to that, from my experience, he’s been pretty good with the guys in the room in terms of mentoring, speaking up, and he’s obviously done a lot more of that from when I initially got here.”
Giardi: Look, Brown is an interesting guy. We know about the conditioning issues he’s had over time, and some of the dissatisfaction with his contract (it really is too low for a good offensive tackle), but this is a side of him that we don’t often hear about and, quite frankly, it’s important. The Pats have three impressionable rookies in that offensive line room, and another 2nd year guy in Cole Strange. If Brown is setting a higher standard for himself and others, that will help Klemm and Belichick with their overall messaging. Also, just from Brown’s reinsertion into the lineup the last couple days, you can see what a difference maker he is. In some ways, the offense’s success this year may hinge on the big boy.