While coaching running backs through a drill, Bill Belichick played some center in a practice on Tuesday when an abnormally large volume of New England Patriots seemed to be doing new things.
Let’s start with Isaiah Wynn, who — at least for this practice — was working at right tackle after spending his entire career on the left side after going 23rd overall in the 2018 NFL draft.
Matt Patricia appeared to be relaying plays via a walky-talky to the offensive huddle during practice. So is he the de-facto offensive line coach and de-facto offensive play-caller? Unclear. But it seems to be trending that way.
Then there was tight end Hunter Henry and running back Ty Montgomery who spent some time running through position drills with receivers. Montgomery, in fact, did zero work with running backs. And then there was tight ends coach Nick Caley who took charge of route-running drills with receivers and tight ends. And finally, there were times where N’Keal Harry practically looked like he was a tight end — though that’s not new.
All this came on a day when Belichick went out of his way to provide zero information on the “streamlining” he’s doing on the offense, an adjustment he compared to what the defense underwent a few years ago. What we know is that they’re not running the veer, per Belichick. Helpful — I know.
Let’s dive into the observations.