Tag: joe judge

Bill Belichick shows support for Joe Judge in light of OTAs violation

Bill Belichick showed full support for Joe Judge on Wednesday.

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The New England Patriots have had an eventful last week, as the team was penalized two OTA workouts as a result of infractions.

Special teams coach Joe Judge was thought to be a key figure with these infractions. Nevertheless, coach Bill Belichick had his assistant’s back on Wednesday.

Judge was New England’s quarterbacks coach last season. The offense struggled, and he was assigned to different duties as an assistant during the offseason. He was a special teams coordinator for the organization from 2015-2019.

When speaking to the media on Wednesday, Belichick made it a point to praise Judge, who is in his 10th season with the organization. He remained firm in his support, as transcribed by NESN.com’s Zack Cox.

“Joe’s great,” Belichick said. “Smart guy. Has a lot of experience. He’ll do whatever we need him to do, and he can do a lot. So he will.”

When asked if Judge was responsible for the OTAs punishment, Belichick took the blame for the entire incident.

“I’m responsible for it, so that’s it,” said Belichick.

New England is ready to turn the page on this latest chapter of controversy within the organization. No team is better at moving on and forgetting than Belichick’s Patriots.

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Bill Belichick commented briefly on Patriots’ OTAs violation

Here’s what Bill Belichick had to say regarding the Patriots’ OTAs violation.

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New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick had a smile on his face the moment he stepped to the podium during Wednesday’s press conference, even though he had to know the biggest question that awaited him.

Of course, it was in relation to the Patriots being stripped of two OTA practices due to a scheduling violation on the special teams side.

“It’s good to get back on the field today. We had a situation with some scheduling in Phase 2, but we got that worked out,” Belichick said, via NESN’s Zack Cox.

There was a classic Belichick response thrown in as well when he was asked how much losing the two practices impacted the team.

When it comes to the media side of things, the legendary coach is already in midseason form before the 2023 regular season even begins.

Belichick and the Patriots are slated to host their first open OTAs practice on Wednesday. If the team has a great early showing, all of the questions about missed OTAs and the hefty $50,000 fine Belichick received will quickly fall by the wayside.

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Ex-Giants coach Joe Judge the cause of Patriots’ rules violation

Former New York Giants head coach Joe Judge is at the heart of the Patriots’ offseason rules violation, which cost them two OTA practices.

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The New England Patriots were stripped of two OTA practices and head coach Bill Belichick was fined $50,000 this week due to an offseason rules violation.

As it turns out, Belichick was not the direct source of the violation. Rather, it was former New York Giants head coach Joe Judge, reports George Bedard of the Boston Sports Journal.

At the heart of the matter: coach Joe Judge — referred to as Patriots’ Special Teams Coach by the league in the documents — conducted special teams meetings that caused offense and defense players to be at the facility longer than their maximum four hours.

The NFLPA filed the complaint on May 4 alleging the four-hour violation. On May 9th, they amended it, “alleging that Patriots’ Special Teams Coach Joe Judge directed special teams players to be at the Club’s facility longer than the maximum of four hours permitted during Phase Two of the Club’s program.”

The violations occurred on May 1, 2 and 4 during Judge’s “special teams workshops.”

During his time with the Giants, Judge ran a militaristic ship. Some of the players liked it but many others did not. There were reports of conflict with general manager Dave Gettleman, former offensive line coach Marc Colombo and even some players, including Kelvin Benjamin.

The Giants fired Judge following the 2021 regular season and was re-hired by the Patriots a month later.

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Ex-Giant Nate Ebner: Dave Gettleman challenged every Joe Judge decision

Former New York Giants safety Nate Ebner peels back the curtain on the very dysfunctional Dave Gettleman-Joe Judge era.

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The dysfunctional Dave Gettleman-Joe Judge era is undoubtedly one New York Giants fans don’t want to relive or revisit, especially now that the team has found stability with general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll.

However, if you’re unaware of history you’re doomed to repeat it. And for that reason, it’s imperative for the curtain to be peeled back on that era and former Giant Nate Ebner has done just that.

During an appearance on the Green Light Podcast with Chris Long, Ebner detailed how every single decision made by Judge was immediately challenged by Gettleman.

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“We go to New York and it’s like, Joe is trying to put this team together that’s this gritty team and then you’ve got this GM who just doesn’t want to do it that way,” Ebner said, via Bobby Skinner of Talkin’ Giants. “At every turn, Joe wants to go right and Gettleman wants to go left.

“The effect that had on everything… Just like, Joe had one hand tied behind his back because every decision was getting challenged. How can you manage a football team when you can’t even get along with a guy about an administrative or personnel (decision)?”

Judge certainly made plenty of his own mistakes, culminating in back-to-back quarterback sneaks in the second quarter of a Week 18 game against the Washington Commanders — a game that ultimately sealed his fate.

There was also Judge’s tough-guy approach to the media, which wore thin as the team continued to falter and fail.

However, as we argued at the time, Judge did not necessarily receive a fair shake with the Giants. His termination was necessary but due to the presence of Gettleman and various other factors (COVID-19), Judge stood little chance at success.

That’s even more clear now that Ebner has outlined the utter dysfunction that existed in East Rutherford at the time.

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Cam Achord hints at new role for Joe Judge

Cam Achord is excited to work with Joe Judge in a different capacity.

There have been rumors all offseason about New England Patriots assistant coach Joe Judge changing his role. Now, those rumors are confirmed.

Special teams coordinator Cam Achord spoke to the media and confirmed the changes.

Judge was an offensive assistant with the team last year, helping Matt Patricia call offensive plays. There were reports earlier this year that Judge would be assuming a new role in a different capacity, and now it appears he is going back to special teams.

New England’s special teams were one of the worst in football last season with the Patriots allowing two kickoff returns for touchdowns against the Buffalo Bills in their final game. Those blunders were a microcosm of how much the team struggled in that area.

Achord seems pleased that Judge will be helping him on the special teams unit, as transcribed by NESN.com’s Dakota Randall.

“I have to give credit for when I first got into the league,” said Achord. “Joe Judge brought me in. I learned under coach and learned so much from him. Obviously, he’s a great coach, so any time you can add more coaches to help you, influence you and work together, it’s only going to make you better.

“The better coaches you have, the better coach you are. If it’s one of us, two of us, three of us, four of us — Troy is working with returners. The more good coaches you have in the kicking game, the better you’re going to be.”

The proof is in the pudding, but the Patriots should be able to get back on track on special teams. They’ll have to if they want to have success in 2023.

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Report: Ex-Giants coach Joe Judge gets new job title with Patriots

Former New York Giants head coach Joe Judge is expected to become an assistant head coach for the New England Patriots.

Former New York Giants head coach Joe Judge is expected to be named an assistant head coach of the New England Patriots, reports NFL insider Albert Breer.

Judge spent two seasons as head coach of the Giants, both of which were epic fails and the nail in the coffin of the Dave Gettleman era. In 2020, the Giants went 6-10 and in 2021, the year Saquon Barkley tore his ACL, the team went 4-13.

Prior to joining the Giants, Judge spent eight years under Bill Belichick as part of his special team’s staff. After leaving the Giants in 2021, Judge returned to the Patriots as the quarterbacks coach/offensive assistant.

As an assistant head coach in 2023, Judge will work more closely with special teams.

“I think people are making the mistake of looking at this as like all of a sudden now he’s second in command in the organization. He isn’t,” Breer told Trenni Casey on “Early Edition.” “I think this should be taken very literally that he’s going to be taking things off of Bill’s plate in some ways. It’s gonna be like the role that Matt Patricia served in two years ago in 2021 in that he’s gonna be a liaison between scouting and coaching. He’s gonna have some head coach-like duties to what he does. And part of that I think is gonna be to free Bill up to do a little bit more.

“And then another part of his job is gonna be to oversee the special teams. I think we can all agree that the special teams were a huge problem last year and maybe a bigger problem than they’ve been at any point in Bill Belichick’s 23 years in New England. And so, I think, the way you want to look at this is, it’s very literally assistant head coach. It’s like taking things off of Bill’s plate, serving in a lot of different ways, and trying to make the operation as a whole run a little smoother.”

In other words, Judge is really more of an assistant to the head coach.

Even the Patriots, who have had Judge under their wing for 10 years, have learned that he’s a great used car salesman but have kept him firmly in Belichick’s grasp. It’s almost like they understand that he needs more time to learn what it takes to fully run a football program.

It’s too bad the Giants had to be the guinea pig.

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Report: Patriots assistant Joe Judge gets clearly defined role

Joe Judge will have a new role for the Patriots in 2023.

The New England Patriots are reportedly moving Joe Judge to assistant head coach of the team. NFL insider Albert Breer reported the news on Thursday afternoon.

Judge spent last season helping out with the offense, and the unit struggled as a whole. His new role includes working with Cam Achord and Joe Houston on the special teams unit. It is worth noting that Judge found the most success when working with special teams.

Judge will have a similar role to what Matt Patricia had in the 2021 season, as noted by Breer. This change of scenery could help the coach, as he looks to regain his footing once again.

It will be intriguing to see exactly how this role plays out. Nevertheless, it’s clear that staff shakeups have been a theme this offseason.

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Joe Judge’s new role with the Patriots might have been revealed

This could be Joe Judge’s new role with the Patriots

Joe Judge will remain on the New England Patriots coaching staff for at least the 2023 season. It’s still unknown what role he will fill on the staff, but ESPN’s Mike Reiss offered some clarification about the role, courtesy of a conversation with Devin McCourty.

Judge helped Matt Patricia with the offense last year, and things did not work out. Even still, it appears coach Bill Belichick will have him involved in some capacity, according to McCourty. Judge has previously worked for New England as their special teams assistant from 2012-2014 and special-teams coordinator from 2015-2018. He then took on the role of wide receivers coach in addition to special teams coordinator in 2019.

Now, it appears he is going to take on a completely different role off the field, as noted by Reiss:

When McCourty told the story of how he informed Belichick of his decision to retire in a WEEI radio interview, he described how he walked into Belichick’s office and Joe Judge was there meeting with Belichick. That reflects what some believe will ultimately be Judge’s role with the team this year: a senior adviser to Belichick.

It will be intriguing to see what type of role Judge will play for the Patriots, as New England looks to rebound from a disastrous 2023 season. All hands will need to be on deck in what is a crowded and talented AFC East.

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No more excuses in a make-or-break 2023 season for Mac Jones

With things starting to fall into place, Mac Jones must do his part in 2023.

Everyone hears about how important the second year for a young quarterback is, and how that can ultimately make or break a career.

The New England Patriots seemingly did everything they could to set Mac Jones up to fail in 2022. They never named an offensive coordinator, and they allowed first-time offensive play-caller, Matt Patricia, along with Joe Judge, to handle the development of Jones.

The second-year quarterback is not completely off the hook, and he certainly could have been better. But the foundation was clearly ready to crumble before he took his first snap of the season.

And it surely did.

The sun would shine again, when the Patriots announced they were looking for an official offensive coordinator. That’s when Bill O’Brien decided to step back into the role of offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the team. Suddenly, everything in the football world seemed okay again after a disastrous 2022 season.

The Patriots have already started to shape the offensive coaching tree by adding Will Lawing and Adrian Klemm, who have yet to officially be named position coaches. Many believe Lawing will take over for Nick Caley coaching the tight ends, and Klemm will take over for Patricia coaching the offensive line.

But what makes 2023 more important than ever is not because this is Jones’ do-over Year 2. No, he doesn’t get that, and quite frankly, no one should. What happened in 2022 can’t be erased.

Next season is important because it’s a make-or-break year for the former first-round draft pick, and there will be no more excuses.

“Mac needs better coaching.”

Check.

“Mac needs a better supporting cast.”

Check.

Jones had a worse skilled group in 2021, and he played better. How about we take this for face value and admit this year is all on Jones?

The Patriots will still need to do what other teams do for their third-year quarterbacks like the Bills did to get Stefon Diggs ahead of Josh Allen’s third year, or how the Eagles went and added A.J. Brown ahead of Jalen Hurt’s third year.

If the Patriots can add someone of that caliber, the pressure is really on. But even if there aren’t any true game-changers available, the Patriots, with obvious offensive tackle upgrades looming, would have done all they could to support their young quarterback.

Jones has had premiere talent at almost every level of competition he has played, but even the 2022 improvements were overshadowed by the ineptitude of the coaching structure. In 2023, with virtually the same roster, Jones will need to improve.

What makes this year important is simple roster building. After the 2023 season, the Patriots will have to make a decision on Jones’ fifth-year option for 2025.

If he ultimately looks like he did in 2021, I think they gladly pick up the option, call the previous a wash, and attempt to build around him. They could even consider looking to extend him long-term, if they feel that he is their franchise quarterback.

But if 2022 was more on Jones than coaching or personnel and he struggles again, the Patriots could be looking towards the 2024 offseason to find the next guy, whether through free agency, trade, or taking another stab at a first-round quarterback.

The 2023 season will be important for everyone—Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft, Jonathan Kraft and Mac Jones. If they can erase the stink from 2022 and develop Jones further, the Patriots can finally have the peace of knowing they’ve found their guy and shift focus towards other needs with the most important position on the field settled.

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Podcast: Tom Brady’s retirement and the unknown future of Matt Patricia

FOX Sports’ Henry McKenna joined the Patriots Wire Podcast to talk about Tom Brady, Bill O’Brien and the futures of Matt Patricia and Joe Judge.

A year to the date of Tom Brady’s first retirement, the former New England Patriots quarterback retired for a second time on Wednesday. And this time, he made sure to say it’s “for good.”

FOX Sports’ Henry McKenna joined the Patriots Wire Podcast to react in real time to Brady’s announcement. He also dropped some golden nuggets on the futures of Matt Patricia and Joe Judge.

The panel delved into the expected impact of Bill O’Brien as the Patriots’ new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach as well. Can he fix the team and turn them back into a playoff contender?

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