It was easy to overlook a short answer from Bill Belichick during his press conference on Tuesday when he was asked about adjustments to the offensive system this offseason.
“Yeah, we’re doing a lot of things different,” Belichick said.
The response seemed like nothing more than a brush-off. He seemed to be briefly but broadly evading my question.
But he wasn’t. He was actually revealing more than he typically does. We now know things are changing in a big way after an interesting set of interviews with Patriots receiver Kendrick Bourne at the 47th annual Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts Golf Classic this week,
“Joe Judge — our newest member, he’s doing a great job. Really just new terminology, new words,” Bourne told ESPN’s Mike Reiss during the charity event. “Football is football. It’s just about getting the new words in and the old words out. It’s just about applying my new abilities to the new system. I think he’s putting us in a position to be successful.”
Bourne said he’s been rushing the ball and “doing a lot of different things” in this new offense. If Belichick was dropping a subtle hint, Bourne was providing a flashing red sign: New England offense is in transition.
In part 3 of our conversation, @BournePoly11 provides a player’s perspective on how the Patriots are transitioning without Josh McDaniels as offensive coordinator. pic.twitter.com/Ir9coquYpe
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) June 2, 2022
The Patriots have leaned on Josh McDaniels, their former offensive coordinator and current Las Vegas Raiders coach, for 13 seasons to run his offense. That offense was, roughly, his spin on the offense Belichick designed — but allowed pupils like McDaniels and Bill O’Brien to make their own. It sounds like the Patriots are doing that again.
It’s likely New England has gone back to Belichick’s offense. The Patriots are putting Judge at the forefront of installing that offense. Eventually, he and maybe Matt Patricia could get a shot at imprinting their mark on the offense — if they’re not already. New England is giving every indication that the offense, for now, is under the supervision of Belichick, Judge and Patricia.
No matter what playbook and what terminology and what system the Patriots teach, Bourne suggested his role is going to be familiar. He’s not entering totally new territory.
“(I’m playing) kind of the same role, just using me in a lot of different ways. But a lot more explosion,” Bourne told NESN’s Zack Cox. “I feel like I’m a lot stronger. I’m getting better as the years go on, man, and I’m just a lot more comfortable with New England. Just playing with a lot more confidence this year, so we’ll see how it goes. I’m excited.”
The obvious question is how this transition will impact quarterback Mac Jones. The team, as mentioned, is replacing their offensive leadership. Jones is facing some turnover on the offensive line, with the team set to replace Shaq Mason and Ted Karras with Michael Onwenu and Cole Strange. And now, he’ll be learning new verbiage and a new system.
That’s a lot to throw at a second-year quarterback. His response should be fascinating.
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