The story of the Patriots’ offseason and training camp has been what they’re doing with their offense.
Head coach Bill Belichick, offensive line coach Matt Patricia, and quarterbacks coach Joe Judge have all spoken a lot about how they’re using a collaborative process to put the scheme together and call plays. That collaboration apparently extends to the players, which quarterback Mac Jones talked about on Wednesday.
“I think the coaches have done a good job just kind of listening to us,” Jones said in his press conference. “If we don’t like something, it’s something that they’re going to listen to and tell us why we should do one thing or another. At the end of the day, they have a lot of experience and they know exactly how to attack a defense. And that’s something that we’ve kind of bought into. There’s a lot of knowledge and a lot of it is just making sure we’re all on the same page.”
Jones added that the Patriots have laid a foundation of what they want to do and the unit has “definitely bought into that.” But the coaches have been willing to listen to tweaks and additions from the players.
“There’s things that I’ve done in the past or things that I like and we’re trying to incorporate them,” Jones said. “Or things that coach Belichick sees on the film and he’s like, ‘Hey, what do you think about this?’ So, it’s very fluid.
“And for them to be able to take some of our thoughts, I think, is really important. I think the really good offenses in the NFL, you can tell that the play-callers and the quarterback are on the same page. I think we’re getting there and that’s the progress that we need and I’ve been really pleased with that.”
Patricia has called many of the plays during camp and Jones said that’s been “good,” touting Patricia’s experience in play-calling — though Jones didn’t mention that experience has been on defense. And when asked if Patricia will be the in-season play-caller, Jones deferred to Belichick.
“At the end of the day, I’m going to do whatever they tell me to do and do it to the best of my ability,” Jones said.
Time will tell if the Patriots’ new offensive approach will be a success. But it seems like a significant risk, especially considering Jones’ status as a second-year QB.
