the streamlining of George Costanza wallet. You've got the question
of who's actually going to be calling
the plays offensive ly
this year in New England. We've said this before, it was any
other coach doing this
we would be saying this is insane. A long time defensive
coach who's a failed head coach, not necessarily entirely
his fault
hard to put the Patriot Way on top of the Lions franchise.
Just doesn't quite Right fit, but mad Patricia back after
being the Jack of all trades last year. He's now
the offensive line coach, Joe judge, special teams,
coordinator, dabbled, a little bit in offense, but he was
a special teams. Got it
failed. Former head coach of the Giants, he's now
the quarterbacks coach. So, in week, one of the preseason,
both were calling the plays. It was Patricia with Brian Hoyer.
It was judge with the rookie quarterback Bailey Zappa.
Now, going forward, we don't know who's going to call
the plays. Here's
Bill Belichick. Matt Patricia and Joe judge from yesterday,
talking about the current play-calling situation
offensively in New England.
Like all you're going through a process just like everything
else on the team. What's the nature of the that process is
a competitive, you know, like it is for the players where you're
competing for opportunity and being evaluated.
No, that doesn't have anything to do with it.
Then how would you characterize the process? That's
we don't have time for that
but I appreciate the question I really do.
I know I know how interested you are not subject and
I'd love to be able to shed a little more light on it, but it's
honestly it's a much longer conversation.
The assistant. Coaches job is real simple.
Make the head coach happy. That's your job.
He is a vision for his team.
He knows what he wants his team to look. Like it's our job to
listen and to go out and execute the way he sees it. And
that's the important thing is Justin coach, you know what you
can't have,
you know, 20 head, coaches. There's one head coach.
All right. It's our job to make sure that when he speaks in
a meeting, we understand what he's saying, and make sure that
our players can go out there and execute within that Vision.
That's our job, that's my job. So
as far as Define roles over, maybe I come to work every day
with one, simple policy, whatever he says goes, okay.
I'm not the head coach here,
that's one certain thing
and my jobs do whatever he says to the best of my ability to
get the players playing better. I mean honestly it's just
collaborative from that standpoint. You know, I mean we
we follow coach Belichick's lead, you know, I mean, it's
obviously, we're just
I'm just trying to do my job to the best ability. Whatever he
asked me to do
and any given day and that's the beauty of it. That's what
I love. You know, it's always kind of new and exciting and
challenging from that standpoint, but
really just, you know, we're all just working together right
now, which is the great part about it.
You can tell that both judge and Patricia have been head
coaches because they know how to communicate effectively,
right. The media, right? And you didn't get,
I know this is kind of playing the hits around here but it
really does kind of bug me that there's this
undercurrent of derision from Belichick from time to time
when people are just trying to do their damn jobs, it's
an obvious question. Well, we don't have time for that. Well,
we got time Bill.
We got, we got nowhere to be. We'd love to know what the hell.
Going on here mean, the idea that you've got two different
guys calling the offensive plays in a preseason game. Of
course, that's going to create Natural Curiosity and may be
confusion as to what the hell is going to happen, week one
and it does
invite speculation course that he is letting the two
candidates compete to see which one does a better job of
calling the plays because neither guys done it.
Who's gonna call the offensive plays? Well, I got two former
head coaches that Really aren't experts in the offensive side
of the ball. Let's see how Patricia handles it. And let's
see how judge handles it. That's the
obvious explanation is anything but that, then take the time
and explain it to us. I mean, we've seen Belichick, go down
a 10-minute rabbit hole on how they use the up, back in
the single wing. Back in 1942.
He can take some time and tell us about what his plan is that
the play caller position. I hear you there Mike. I mean
I love coach Bill Belichick and he's the greatest coach in
the history of sports.
In my opinion, but
I do wish he was a little,
you know, easier on the media that way, maybe just a little
bit more. Hey, you know,
it's not that hard to answer that question. We don't need
all the details, but just give us a little inkling.
I hear you. I don't understand that either. Sometimes about
him but I'm sure he has, his tactical reasons as well. He is
one of those guys and he's extremely tactical,
everything's pretty thought out. And I don't think he wants
to shed light on anything and casing. Might say something and
somebody you know misconstrues it some way and take some other
directions. So I guess he just says tight-lipped when it comes
to that stuff. Or maybe
the truth happens to come out? Well he doesn't want that exact
amount, I think so. You're right. Maybe that's that is,
maybe that is, but there's one thing and you heard it there.
I mean
not that I've been in every building in football and
the head coach is always the man and every building but you know
it said you know Mass General Brigham there behind them.
I mean there's there's only one Roll in that building, okay,
I could just tell you that as soon as you walk in, you know,
who the freaking General is,
you can't walk in without going by
his office and bears, Nigerian his assistant.
And, you know, they're
you feel like when you're walking by, you might be going
through like a metal scanner and their x-ray. Onion. You're
like a man with a, is there some secret machine? They got
the
tell my mood today, and if I'm what I'm bringing in
the building, I mean they're just all over every detail and then,
you know, Belichick to the to what they're saying. Saying it
Belichick is one of the few coaches
that could coach both sides of the football. He could do it.
So he's going to be and he's already made comments. He spent
more time on that side of the ball and then ever before in
his life and he's going to give them
the path and the vision in which
he wants to see the offense go.
And that's where they're
they're different to.
You know, they have long coaching meetings, where he
coaches the coaches and they, you know, understand his
vision. Like they were talking about through that.
So I think they're just finding their way and who calls
the plays.
I think it's probably the thing that Belichick's probably least
concerned about because, like, we talked about last week or
maybe it was two weeks ago, I think Belichick's. Gonna narrow
it down
for these guys to a degree where it's not going to be that
hard. He's gonna go hey on 3rd and 7 to 10, I like these 10
plays so you guys okay, you can have the freedom of which ones
you like the best and when you talk to Mac Jones or
whatever but these are the ten plays out Like, here's third
and 2 to 4.
Here's the 10 plays that makes sense to me,
and, you know, they'll build off of that and at some point.
Yes, he'll try to find the guy who has the best Rhythm within
calling those plays and and having a feel for the defense
but it is still be collaborative. He's still going
to be on the
sidelines Mike with a sheet and
a headset. Yeah and they're playing oh heads up
they're playing us and
you know every time we get in three receivers to the right
they're playing this and then Patricia's going to write it
down and Joe judging Write it down
and they're going to start to understand throughout the game.
And that's why they're so great adjustments. Anyways, they are
New England. So that's kind of how I envisioned it. See it
going at least
not a great impersonation of Bill Belichick, but a pretty
spot-on impersonation of Phil Simms personating Bill
Belichick, that's that's kind of the that's what L we have
lens
through, which all of your bits of flow.
Here's the other thing to keep in mind to as it relates to
judge and Patricia and
this whole idea of submitting to the true master General.
Both of those guys are working for free this year.
Patricia worked for free last year, I forgot about that. He's
working for free this year. He's still in his lions by out
and every dollar he makes from the Patriots is credited to
what the Lions would owe him. Same thing for Joe judge,
remember when we saw him last year after he got
fired they had like
six cases of beer and 20 pizzas and I'm thinking JoJo judges
just going to live it up for a couple of years on
Nickel of John Mara.
Nope, he's working for free
for Bill. Belichick
and Patricia's working for free again,
for Bill Belichick, it's a free education,
it's a PhD plus and right, well,
and they're getting themselves ready, so they
either can continue to be employed by the Patriots after
their buyouts expire, or
they get themselves. Ready for a second act
in coaching, right somewhere, just like Josh McDaniels now
after an extended.
Stay with the Patriots, following
the way things didn't work out for him in Denver,
their workers might
let me ask you, let me ask you this. How does all this affect
Mac Jones? That's really the most important aspect of it.
I hear you. I know he's definitely,
you know it's a different Vision you know. Again as much
as I love Joe judge and Matt Patricia and their
to me again, I know it didn't work at his head coaches. But
damn, they're good head, they're good coaches to have on
your staff. They can coach a lot of different things but
but yeah the Which is it gonna be a little different? Are they
going to be able to coach every intricacy in the world? Like
Josh McDaniels could? Absolutely not. I just there's
no way that mean that's what made Josh McDaniels special as
I've told you before you know I was with Jon Gruden. Who's
considered offensive genius? I got with Josh McDaniels and
I learned things where I was like,
whoa, I never knew that was what you guys did and whoa,
that's how you teach it.
And whoa, you can still run that play against this
coverage. I was always Those kind of taught not to do it.
Well yeah, if you adjust this and this you can still run it
well so
I can't imagine. It's going to be quite as good as Josh
McDaniels right off the bat. But I think that's probably
part of this streamlined process of, let's
let's make the package of plays smaller. Let's make
the language smaller. So there's not as many coaching points to
be had out there and we can have more of a clear message in
within what we do.
So that's where New England's, you know.
Different, I think than most places and Mike also
you hear reports, right? Like, hey, the offense doesn't look
good and, you know, Mac Jones and Company doesn't look as
good as last year in practice and things like that. Well,
New England's not worried about that, you know, there was
plenty of days when I was up there where they don't script
for success. I think I've told you that before, where I was on
other teams where it was,
hey, we want to run this play and Jon Gruden would tell
the defense what coverage you wants. When he runs that play
before we went out in practice.
They they just go know, you adjust to the game. You just do
it. We don't know what the defense is gonna call. So we
got to figure it out and sometimes that makes practice
look. Ugly.
And of course, then when you add into new offense of mines
and some adjustments that they're having their, I'm sure
it's not quite as smooth as it has been in years past.
That's why it's practice. That's right. But it's all
building toward week one when they take on the Dolphins. And
we really don't know what to feel about the Patriots.
Although there was a point last year where we were feeling like
whoa,
they're kind of back that ended with a thud
when they got the crap kicked out of him by the Buffalo Bills
in the Wild Card round. But let's not forget that. Before
that game we were feeling like the Patriots were figuring life
out post. Tom Brady. Now they have to figure it out, post
Josh McDaniels but
Again with Bill Belichick. Any other coach, we would be saying
this is crazy. This is a Trainwreck dysfunctional teams
do dysfunctional, things. With the Patriots we say, yeah. You
too, probably
the price found a way to figure all this out and make it work.