Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Coaching Concerns in Foxboro? — New England Patriots 2022 Offensive Coaching Staff — 5/22/22

Episode Date: May 23, 2022

Since the departure of former offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, the New England Patriots offensive coaching staff has been placed under the microscope. The examination has only intensified with the news that former Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia and former New York Giants head Joe Judge [both former Pats assistants as well] are the frontrunners to be the primary offensive play caller in 2022. Host Mike D’Abate gives his thoughts on the staff, and why some of the criticism is both premature and unfair.Find and follow Locked On Patriots on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-patriots-daily-podcast-on-the-new-england/id1140512627 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1c5ZxFmwg3WbfxAU3tR5Ve?si=k196wH-yRqifUcQQz8SjIQStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-patriots And follow host Mike D’Abate on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the New England Patriots and talking with fans.On Twitter: @mdabateNFLSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are locked on Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello to all of you, Foxborough faithful, and thank you once again for making Lockdown Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage and also, hopefully, your first listen each and every day. Remember, Lockdown Patriots is free and available on all platforms, including YouTube, so please be sure to smash that subscribe button on YouTube and download and follow the Lockdown Patriots podcast

wherever you get your podcasts, free and available on all platforms once again. I am your host, Mike DeBate. I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country of Sports Illustrated. I am also your host of the Locked On Patriots podcast, which, of course, is a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Folks, because it is your team every day, that means your questions, your comments, your feedback, always welcomed. Very much appreciated. So share that feedback and send it to the internet by reaching out to me and following me on Twitter at MDABATENFL. While you're out there showing some weekend love to that Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well

at LO underscore Patriots. And that's fans once again, a special edition weekend episode of Locked On Patriots. And that's fans once again, a special edition weekend episode of locked on Patriots. I know the week kind of got away from me a little bit in terms of some of the scheduling snafus and also some of the ongoing personal issues that have been going on. But once again, we come at you on the weekend to get you up to date and to get you ready for everything that you need to

be as informed a Patriots fan as you can possibly be. So thank you once again for continuing to show faith in Locked On Patriots. And I thank you for tuning in each and every day, wherever you get your podcasts, or if you're viewing this on YouTube. And today here on Locked On Patriots, we're going to talk a little bit about the Patriots coaching staff, which really is the hot button issue. As some of you may know, the Patriots coaching staff spoke with the media earlier this week, or I should say really last week, depending on when you're listening to this,

but we did get a chance to meet with the assistant coaches. And obviously the big hot button issue throughout most of the colleagues that I have in the media was the fact that Patriots coaches are not exactly eager or forthcoming to share their job titles. Why an official job title matters, I'm still on the fence about that, but I do understand that a lot of fans have questions, concerns about the coaching staff, and I for one can't blame you for that. We're dealing with a lot of first-timers and a lot of new positions. The Patriots lost arguably one of the best, if not the best offensive coordinator in the game, who is now going to be head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. I'm talking about Josh McDaniels. But Josh didn't go alone. He took a number of offensive coaches with him. He took Bo Hardigree, who was the assistant quarterbacks

coach here in New England. He'll now hold the big role in Las Vegas as the quarterbacks coach. He'll be coaching Derek Carr. He'll be coaching old friend Jarrett Stidham. And yeah, there's going to be some guys out there that are going to benefit from Bo because he is a tremendous coach. Nick Lombardi, who was really a jack ofof-all-trades on the Patriots offensive coaching staff, goes out to Josh. He is going to be his offensive coordinator. Nick was really one of the behind-the-scenes guys, unsung hero on that coaching staff last year. That one worries me a little bit, too, losing someone of his prowess.

Carmen Brasillo, for all of the vitriol that was thrown at the offensive line last year, I thought Carmen did a very good job of bringing these guys together when he needed to, especially when Trent Brown came back. Priscilla's not going to be walking through those Foxborough doors. He is as well taking his talents out to the Nevada desert. He'll be out in Las Vegas as the offensive line coach for the Raiders. Folks, it's just, there's a lot. There's an awful lot of stuff to overcome for lack of a better term that may

sound very basic but there really is there's an awful lot that the coaches that will be in this room are going to have to overcome and I haven't even mentioned the unofficial yet official retirement of Ivan Fierce who obviously has called it quits now he was not a part of the media contingent that spoke with the media Vinny Sincere will be taking over that role and I have my thoughts on Vinny and I'll share those with you today as well but a lot of what we're talking about in terms of concern around the coaching staff really hasn't centered around the running backs position as a matter of fact a lot of the fans that I have a chance to interact with are very much looking forward to Vinny taking over

and that's no knock on Ivan he's definitely going to be missed one of the most that I have a chance to interact with are very much looking forward to Vinny taking over and that's no knock on Ivan. He's definitely going to be missed. One of the most beloved and one of the best coaches on that staff but I think people saw the handwriting on the wall and feel that Ivan is walking out of the door having prepared Vinny as best he possibly can to take on this role. What I think fans are most upset about, and correct me if I'm wrong, comment in the comments section on YouTube or drop us a line on Twitter if you don't agree, but my thought process here is, folks, is that everyone is worried about Matt Patricia and Joe Judge taking on an active role, probably the most active role on the offensive coaching staff, and that's being the play caller. Neither one has experience at the pro level in doing that. And to me, that is a valid concern. I hear you and I understand you. But the one thing that I want to try to do is not take away all of your fears, but at least let you know

that this might not be the catastrophic thing you're hearing that it is. There is a possibility that this will work out. And I'm not saying that it's a remote possibility. I think it's a pretty good possibility that this will work out. We'll go over that today in just a bit. But lastly, I just want to close with this thought before we go ahead into a break in just a moment. And that is that the Patriots coaching staff right now, I think the biggest question, the biggest concern is how they're going to adapt to second year quarterback Matt Jones. I don't think a new coach coming in is going to be enough to derail his progress. And the reason I feel that way is because not only Max ability to catch on his ability to adapt his ability to understand plays, which really is above and beyond his years. It's one of the reasons why new England was so high on

him in last year's draft, but also he's not going to be coached by novices. He's not going to be coached by guys that have never done it at the pro level before. Maybe they haven't taken on this role at the pro level before, but each of those guys that is going to be working with him intricately have been head coaches in this league. They know how to handle talent, and they know how to handle people. So before you worry about how Mack is going to adapt, just take a deep breath,

evaluate the situation, and I think you'll feel a little bit better about it. Maybe after listening to this podcast, you will feel a little bit better today. That's certainly my goal. And in just a moment, I'll explain why I may have a little bit of optimism, or maybe I'm a little misguided, but I'll explain my situation and why I feel that this is not the catastrophic storyline that you're hearing through the media or through most members of the media. And we will do that when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. But first, if you're listening to this over the weekend, folks, it's been a scorcher of a weekend here in New England.

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believe that the catastrophe that it's being portrayed as is necessarily an accurate representation of how things are going to go on the field. Call me a homer. Maybe I'm an incurable optimist. I very well could be, and if I am, I'll definitely eat crow on this. But I don't think it's going to be as bad in New England this season as a lot of people are anticipating when it comes to this coaching staff. One of the great things that I've been able to see in my time covering the Patriots at Gillette Stadium is a sign that is on the practice facility wall. And it includes some of the tenants of being a New England Patriot, do your job, what stays here, what happens here, stays here, things of that nature.

But one of the tenants on that list is ignore the noise. It's on a beautiful silver sign, big, bold, blue letters. You can't miss it. And for a franchise that's had its share of success, but has also had an equal share of controversy along with it. That statement is there for a reason. It's a reminder for everyone that walks through those doors in that facility to remain focused on the task at hand. You don't want the distraction of media intervention. You don't want outside interference. You want to make sure that when you're at that facility, you're thinking one thing and one thing only, and that's football. Great advice to give to those players, but it's also pretty good advice to give to the coaching staff. They're human beings just like the players are, and they can definitely get sucked into some of the outside noise. Bill Belichick has seen it all, done it all, folks. I don't think you're

going to look at Bill Belichick now and say, oh oh we're going to be able to fool him with something he's pretty much done it all and he knows how to diffuse this type of controversy or really diffuse this type of distraction but some of his assistants may not be as good at that as he is especially when the criticism is coming from within their own ranks and earlier this week it looks like that's already starting a little bit boston sports journal had a recent report uh greg bedard of the boston sports journal who i've always known to report exactly as he's told and everything that he's uh you know reporting usually is based on something that he'll get through a source i have no reason not to believe greg here but this recent report was not very complimentary about the Patriots' new coaching staff. Now keep in mind, folks, a meaningful snap has not been taken in Foxborough just yet, nor have they really got into the types of drills and things that are going to be evaluated on the field. OTA haven't even begun yet. They will begin on Monday morning. But the reports out of the locker room right now are that

eyebrows are being raised by some of the players, some of the sources close to the team, that they're not exactly sure what to make of the whole direction of the way the coaching staff is going to be going this year. And I'm going to read Greg's statement verbatim because I don't want to misquote him or I don't want to misrepresent him here. This is directly from Greg Bedard on his latest podcast episode. And he goes, quote, I've heard from people in the last couple of days about what's going on with the offensive coaching staff. Again, it comes back to the offense folks. Greg continues by saying the initial reports I'm getting back are not good at all.

That includes what they're hearing from the players internally. It's not going in a good direction. Well, yeah, that may not sound pretty good, folks. That may sound pretty dire. And we all know what that's referring to. We talked about it in the opening segment, or I talked about it in the opening segment, I should say, since the departure of Josh McDaniels, the Patriots offensive coaching staff has really been placed under that microscope. And it doesn't sound like that is going to change anytime soon. They're going to continue to drill

down. If anything, the scrutiny is going to get even more intense. And it really does stem from Matt Patricia and Joe Judge taking on, I don't want to say alpha roles, but really taking on the majority of the responsibilities, especially when it comes to play calling. Neither one of them has been a primary offensive play caller in the league before, but either one of these guys is likely going to get the duties. As a matter of fact, Henry McKenna of USA Today's Patriots Wire also reported last week that internal discussions have been had about having a play-calling competition, very similar to a positional battle, where, you know, guys will go out, they'll call the plays, and then Bill Belichick and the Brain Trust are going to

make that determination. So apparently anything and everything is on the table when it comes to the Patriots and their play-calling for 2022 2022. now the reason why this raises the eyebrow is not only because they haven't done it at a pro level but these guys are not known for being offensive-minded coaches joe judge earned his reputation as being one of the better special teams coaches in the league for all of the problems that he had as his head coach with the giants you can't deny that when joe was here that special teams unit ran like a well-oiled machine. He was one of the best coaches in the league when it came to special teams. The Patriots were definitely not happy that he was going to be leaving for the New York Giants.

But that's where he earned his bread and butter. Matt Patricia, defensive coach. That's the first thing that you think of. Defensive coordinator, all right, maybe that's not first thing that you think of defensive coordinator all right maybe that's not the first thing you think of most of you are probably imagining Matt getting off the plane with the Roger Goodell clown t-shirt I love that by the way I think it's hilarious but that being said I think at this point those are the accomplishments that people are thinking and they're saying why is a defensive coach why is a special teams coach being given this kind of responsibility? Doesn't

make a whole lot of sense. But when you drill down and you really take a look at what these guys are good at, it makes a little bit more sense than you may think. Because even though they're inexperienced commodities, they're still commodities that know their football. And again, folks, they know a little bit more about offense than you may think how so well we'll discuss that in just a moment when this episode continues but first left on Patriots fans in this competitive business environment could you afford to have a portion of your workforce just sitting around doing nothing I don't think so so why should your building be any different Catalyst Power would like to lease that empty rooftop from you to build a large solar array. Generate a brand new revenue stream

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from live betting to playoffs, esports, and more. Head to the website today or use your mobile betting to playoffs, esports, and more. Head to the website today or use your mobile device to learn more about the trends and the action. Bet online where the game starts. Pats fans, once again, we are bringing it all home today here on Locked on Patriots by talking a little about the Patriots coaching staff, primarily the offensive coaching staff. And I know there's still a little uneasiness. Last segment, we talked a little bit about Matt Patricia, Joe Judge, and why there is that uneasiness in the building and also how the Patriots go about

ignoring some of the noise that's out there. And we're hearing some pretty negative things coming out about the Patriots offensive coaching staff. It's certainly not pretty, but at the same time, there is reason for optimism. And again, the Patriots coaching staff had the opportunity to meet with some of the members of the New England media last week. And when they did, Matt Patricia, Joe Judge were definitely top of mind with that. They were reluctant to reveal their job titles which they were asked several times um obviously for you know reasons that are well known to them and the internal patriots brain trust they weren't able to give that information but a point that

did not sit well with several members of the media was the fact that there didn't seem to be any type of clear direction as to who would be doing what this upcoming season the job titles is fun it's a nice speculative topic and it makes for a good copy you can write some articles on it you can have some fun with it but when you really don't know who's going to be calling the plays out there on the field that is a problem and that's something that didn't sit well with the media. It's not sitting well with the fans. It probably doesn't sit too well with the players either, but there are elements that are being discussed, I'm sure, behind the scenes, definitely, but there are things that are happening on the field that are going to essentially tip the hand of the New England Patriots, and that's one of the things that we'll all be keeping our eyes on, fans and media alike, when organized training activities

or OTA begin on Monday in Foxborough. And to their credit, the coaches did address this a little bit earlier this week. You know, Joe Judge especially was someone that was grilled a little bit on his press conference and his inability to really articulate exactly what was going out you know we're going to go on on the field we mentioned Greg Bedard's report in our previous segment and I'm going to continue that in just a moment because Greg did have a little insight primarily when it came to Joe Judge's press conference and Greg's quote is as follows people who were with the Patriots have Patriots ties heard about Joe Judge's press conference, went and watched it, and they're all texting me and saying like, what the expletive is Joe Judge

talking about? Like, this is all wasted energy. This is creating an awful lot of unsettledness. It's creating uneasiness throughout the fan base. As a matter of fact, I wrote about this for Sports Illustrated last week, and I got a chance to use the Pete Venkman line, human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria. I love that line, and I'm going to use it. But before you start going to Foxborough to storm the castle, so to speak, folks, keep the following in mind. And I hinted at this in the previous segment. Matt Patricia and Joe Judge may not be known for their offensive prowess, but these are both former head coaches in the league that held a position for multiple seasons. Judge only a couple, Patricia only a couple, but they were head coaches in this league, and it's not their first

rodeo when it comes to coaching offense especially judge judge was a former collegiate quarterback he played for mississippi state that's where he played college football and that's the position that he played a lot of people don't know that most of you do some of you may not so before you think joe judge has absolutely no experience with quarterbacks whatsoever just what he did with dan Jones the last couple of years that's not accurate uh he does have experience playing the position so he does know the ins and outs of quarterbacking during his previous time in New England he's got a very strong knowledge of this system he worked closely with Josh McDaniels he's someone that knows the offense he's been around when Tom Brady was here he's seen guys like Brian Hoyer and Jarrett

Stidham take the ball and be able to do that. So Joe Judge is not someone coming in here without any knowledge of how New England quarterbacks operate. And he also got a chance to see Mac Jones last year during training camp. The Giants came in for a couple of days and they, you know, performed here with the Patriots. And Mack had a very good couple of days quarterbacking. As a matter of fact, there are several people, myself included, that believe it was that period where the Patriots and Giants held joint practices that really tipped the scales in Mack's favor and allowed him to take the starting job from Cam Newton last year.

Mack was that good during those days. So Joe Judge had a front row seat. He was that good during those days. So Joe Judge had a front row seat. He was coaching against him. He saw exactly what this kid can do. So before anyone is thinking he has no idea what Mac's capabilities are, I assure you Joe Judge knows what Matt Jones can do. So when you look at a potentially shaky situation, a quarterback, it makes you feel a little bit better knowing that Joe is coming in with some knowledge now there is also a coaching line item that exists on Judge's resume and it is right here in New England don't forget in his final season here he also coached the wide receivers and I know a lot of you were going to scream at your device yeah but he did a terrible job we heard the

players hated him and again that's not entirely 100 accurate i'm not saying that guys are making that up or anything of that nature maybe that's what they heard but you know i've talked to several sources as well and you know it wasn't all bad when it came to their feedback on joe judge uh as a matter of fact one of the top players at the position that played under joe judge's wide receivers coach, who is as beloved a former Patriot as you'll find, Julian Edelman, actually had some pretty good things to say about Judge as a coach. He called him a passionate guy. I'm quoting Julian Edelman here from 2019. He works very hard at his craft. It's exciting to have him. He's been doing

a good job. I'm excited to work with him. So again, not an over-the-top glowing recommendation, but for Edelman to share that information, he wasn't coerced into doing so. He shared it because he wanted to. And I think it's truly what he felt. Julian is not a guy that pulls punches. He's going to tell you exactly how he feels. And one of the more trustworthy players I've ever covered,

when he says something, I take it to the bank. And I've never had a reason to mistrust him. And I hope that always continues. And I'm sure it will. But at the same time, Joe Judge does have some offensive ability. So before anyone starts pushing the narrative that this guy has no clue what he's doing, remember that there are elements of the offense that he does know. And there are things that he will be capable of doing and really folks the same with matt patricia he's got offensive experience to his credit too he began his coaching career as an offensive coaching assistant under bill belichick way back in 2004. that's the same year that the team won a championship and after offensive line coach tight ends coach jeff davidson

moved on all of a sudden patricia was reassigned to assistant offensive line coach, and he worked very closely with Dante Skarnecchia. As a matter of fact, he was asked about Skar in his press conference earlier this week, Matt Patricia was, and he mentioned that Skar is always the guy that he keeps on speed dial. He doesn't like to bother him because obviously Dante has his own things that he needs to do but at the same time it's also nice to know that he is there for some wisdom and counsel when he needs it but Matt Patricia is also someone that has coached on the offensive line before he played offensive line when he played for Rensselaer Polytech so he is very much capable

and he is very much knowledgeable when it comes to coaching the offensive line. Even though these guys don't have that experience of calling plays, and again, maybe some of what I've said here today hasn't really helped to move the needle in that direction for you, but understand that play calling is as much about knowing your position and knowing your player's capabilities as anything else it's not even so much about getting cute or getting inventive or having a whole arsenal of trick plays at your disposal it's about maximizing players ability and if that's something

that both Joe Judge and Matt Patricia can do then the Patriots offense is going to be just fine that includes Mack Jones and that includes a young offense that really, I think, took some strides last year in getting better each and every game simply because they got to know each other better. Now, were there growing pains? Absolutely. And they're going to continue to have those this season. But I do believe that the Patriots coaching staff

is headed in the right direction, and I think that Mac and his squadron of wide receivers, running backs, tight ends, they're going to be just fine. They've got competent guys that know the system very well. McKaylee is one of those coaches, coaching tight ends, that has an experience with being able to get these guys to play the position they need to. And I think, again, he's going to be a big help.

Ivan Fears being lost is definitely going to, you know that Patriots are going to feel that there's no question about it but Vinny Sinceri is someone that has played under he's coached under Ivan Fears he played in New England for a little while as well has a very good understanding of what it means here so before anybody's ready to start you you know, getting squeamish, I guess is the best way for me to put it. Probably the most diplomatic way for me to put it. Take a deep breath. Remember that these coaches do have experience. And remember that at the end of the day, Bill Belichick is still the one in charge. And for everyone that wants to think that the guy has lost it, Bill Belichick has likely forgot more football than most of us, definitely myself included, will ever learn.

As long as he's there, Patriots coaching staff still has a puncher's chance. But we'll see. We'll see on the field. That all starts with Monday's OTA beginning in Foxborough. And folks, this week, Lockdown Patriots will have you covered with all of the OTA coverage and all of the ins and outs of everything that goes on when it comes to football in Foxborough. And also, don't forget, this coming Wednesday, the Countess of Clas herself, Ms. Claire Classey, Claire Cooper, and I will reopen that musty old Locked On Patriots mailbag. Been a while since that's been opened up, but we will take your questions and we will solicit those.

So definitely be on the lookout from the Locked On Patriots account to submit questions for this week's episode. In the meantime, Foxborough faithful, thank you so much for tuning in, for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage, and also making Locked On Patriots your first listen every day. Download, subscribe to them, follow Locked On Patriots your first listen every day. Download, subscribe to them. Follow Locked On Patriots wherever you get podcasts, free and available on all platforms, including YouTube. So smash that subscribe button.

Until tomorrow, Foxborough faithful, stay safe, stay well. Be the change you will be in the world. Have a great day, everyone.