Tag: joe judge

Patriots announce titles for 2022 coaching staff, won’t have OC or DC

The Patriots gave titles to members of their coaching staff, but they won’t have an offensive or defensive coordinator

The New England Patriots will begin the 2022 season without a titled offensive or defensive coordinator on staff.

The organization will instead delegate responsibilities according to position. Joe Judge is the offensive assistant and quarterbacks coach. Matt Patricia will take on the role of senior football advisor, as well as work with the offensive line, per Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.

Steve Belichick and Jerod Mayo will take on the duties of coaching the linebackers.

This news is just another piece in a barrage of changes the Patriots have made this offseason. Josh McDaniels departure to Las Vegas was perhaps one of the bigger ones. Now, New England will elect take care of offensive duties in-house.

Mayo has spent the last three seasons as the inside linebackers coach for the Patriots. The younger Belichick has been the outside linebackers coach since the 2020 season.

New England will have a chance to explore fresh ideas in what is a different-looking staff from last season.

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Mac Jones discusses how Patriots offense is evolving and changing this offseason

“The idea for every offense is to have an identity and to be able to play fast and play quicker.”

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New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones is at the center of an offense that appears to be under reconstruction.

With offensive assistants Joe Judge and Matt Patricia taking charge of leadership, Bill Belichick has decided to streamline the offense and simplify it. Tackle Isaiah Wynn went so far as to say they’d dumbed down the offensive terminology.

Jones was asked for his thoughts on those changes.

“The idea for every offense is to have an identity and to be able to play fast and play quicker. And to put stress on the defense is important for any offense,” Jones said June 9 during a videoconference call. “We want to be able to do that consistently and we want to be able to do whatever we want to do at any given time, whether that’s a run, play action or pass short, medium or long. We’re trying to have a little bit of variety and just grow together.”

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Jones looked dialed in this offseason with excellent showings in organized team activities and minicamp. He was extremely accurate and began to push the ball downfield with more confidence than he displayed in his rookie season. That’s not the only area where the rookie seems to have grown. He was asked whether he felt like he had command over this new offense.

“Yeah, I think that’s the whole point of the quarterback, right? It’s to lead the guys around you, get them the ball.”

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10 takeaways from the Patriots’ offseason practices: Mac Jones’ deep ball was working

The Patriots are as deep as they’ve ever been. But who are the truly elite talents? And will more emerge?

The New England Patriots completed their offseason program on Wednesday. New England cancelled the third day of minicamp and the final two days of organized team activities. It was an early end to what coach Bill Belichick has considered a successful offseason.

So let’s examine what we learned, with a focus on the minicamp sessions, which were mandatory — and more competitive than the OTAs.

It was impossible not to see how the Patriots offense took massive leaps forward in attacking the middle and deep parts of the field. Receivers Tre Nixon, Nelson Agholor and Tyquan Thornton helped the quarterbacks — particularly Mac Jones — push the ball downfield. That leads us seamlessly into the first takeaway.

Report: Matt Patricia is trending toward taking Patriots offensive play-calling duties

The Patriots haven’t decided, but Bill Belichick is leaning toward Matt Patricia for play-caller.

The New England Patriots have not selected their offensive play-caller for the 2022 season, but Bill Belichick seems to be beginning to lean a particular way, according to The Athletic’s Jeff Howe. Offensive assistant Matt Patricia appears to be on a path to serve as the play-caller for 2022.

Patricia, Bill Belichick and Joe Judge have all been working together in leading the installation process. That much is clear in practice during the early days of organized team activities. But apparently, Patricia could soon take the step forward during the course of the offseason to be the play-caller.

Another interesting wrinkle: While it seemed (at least to reporters watching practice) the Patriots were poised to have run-game and pass-game coordinators, they are unlikely to do that, per the Athletic.

Here’s more from Howe:

“Belichick has not yet decided who will call the plays during the season, but it’s trending in Patricia’s direction, according to a source. Patricia and Judge are each preparing for the possibility of calling plays, but Patricia’s workload this spring has suggested he’s the early favorite to handle that responsibility.”

New England has a vacancy at offensive play-caller after the team lost Josh McDaniels to the Las Vegas Raiders coaching vacancy. He brought three offensive assistants with him, including Mick Lombardi, now the offensive coordinator in Vegas.

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Mac Jones discusses the transition on the offensive staff

Mac Jones discussed what it’s like on the Patriots without Josh McDaniels.

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Mac Jones expressed excitement about working with his new positional coach in Joe Judge, even if Judge would not confirm that he has the job title of quarterbacks coach. (He did confirm he is currently coaching the quarterbacks, however) While the Patriots mess around with the media over the semantics of job titles, the team is conducting their organized team activities, a voluntary series of practices.

That’s where Jones has gotten his first on-field exposure to the new era of coaching in New England after his rookie season under offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. For now, Bill Belichick has not replaced McDaniels with a new coordinator. Belichick has instead gone with a coordinator by committee, which seems to include Judge, Matt Patricia and perhaps even Belichick himself.

“Obviously he’s a great defensive mind, but he also has great offensive knowledge,” Jones said of Belichick after practice on Monday. “They’re all helping out and making things really easy for us and just teaching us what they know. It’s been really good just to be able to stand up in the meetings and talk through things with everybody, and everyone’s on the same page, regardless of who’s talking or who’s saying what.”

Jones and Judge met last season during joint practices between the New York Giants and the Patriots. At the time, Judge was New York’s head coach. After the Giants fired him this offseason, he rejoined New England’s staff. Once the special teams coordinator for the Patriots, Judge is immersing himself in the offensive phase of the game, which he apparently favored in New York.

“He’s seen a lot of football, obviously he’s been around football for a long time, whether that be as a head coach, special teams, playing the position himself,” Jones said. “So (Judge) has knowledge that is very beneficial to me as a quarterback and obviously I’m going to learn with him, that’s the goal, is to kind of teach each other and move along and take what he knows and then take the experiences that I have and combine them and work together as a great team.”

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Projecting Patriots starters for 2022: What to do with Nelson Agholor, Jonnu Smith?

How can the Patriots get Nelson Agholor and Jonnu Smith on the field? And how will the linebacker spots shake out?

The New England Patriots head into the summer — equipped with OTAs (organized team activities), mandatory minicamp, and eventually, training camp — with several outside the organization, including the national media, local media and fan base, wondering if the team made enough offseason moves necessary for the team to compete in a suddenly loaded AFC.

Several teams in the conference have bolstered their rosters via blockbuster moves and acquisitions to catch teams like the Kansas City Chiefs and Patriots AFC East foe Buffalo Bills as potential Super Bowl contenders.

Has New England done enough to keep up?

Other than trading for former Miami Dolphin wide receiver DeVante Parker, signing safety/linebacker hybrid Jabrill Peppers, and welcoming back Malcolm Butler, Bill Belichick, Matt Groh and the franchise’s front office were rather quiet on the additions front in the early free agency period. Of course, much of that is due to limited cap space from the 2021 spending spree.

In the draft, the team shocked many by selecting UT-Chattanooga offensive lineman Cole Strange (first round, No. 29 overall) and Baylor receiver Tyquan Thornton (second round, No. 50 overall) with its first two picks before selecting back-to-back cornerbacks in Marcus Jones and Jack Jones in rounds three and four. The consensus from the media and many mock drafts in the pre-draft process was that some of these players could have been added significantly later than where they were picked.

Generally team seems set on some what of a run-it-back approach with personnel, despite losing key pieces like cornerback J.C. Jackson (Los Angeles Chargers), guard Shaq Mason (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and Kyle Van Noy (Los Angeles Chargers). And there are certainly question marks on the offensive coaching staff with Josh McDaniels now in Las Vegas as Raiders head coach.

Will they improve on offense and/or defense this season? Here are the Patriots’ projected starters tasked to provide an answer to that question.

Joe Judge explains how he plans to coach Patriots QB Mac Jones

Joe Judge isn’t going to reinvent the wheel when it comes to coaching Mac Jones.

Joe Judge has a brand new task ahead of him in his career — coaching quarterbacks.

Judge was a longtime special teams coach for the New England Patriots before joining the New York Giants as the head coach. While discussing his specific role, Judge still said he will help out with other positions in the offense.

“I’ll give you a direct answer right there, not to be evasive on anything,” Judge said, via NBC Sports Boston. “I am working with Mac, as well as some other people on the offense. I’m working with all the skill groups on the offense. I would say all of us are working collectively as a coaching unit to work with the entire offense.

“So that’s the most direct and specific answer I can give you on that, guys. In terms of who’s coaching each position, you’ll see me on the field with the quarterbacks.”

When it comes specifically to Jones and the quarterbacks, Judge has a plan prepared.

“I’ve been very excited to work with Mac,” Judge said, transcribed by NESN. “My job is to do everything in my power to prepare him on a daily basis, and for me, it starts with fundamentals. That’s just the way I see it. If you don’t have good fundamentals, every play is doomed from the start. And if you look at any player at any level, no matter how long they’ve been playing — whether it’s Year 1, Year 2, as it for Mac, or Year 13 or 14 — this time of year and training camp especially, you’ve got to get on the fundamentals.

“You have to start with a strong base. You’ve got to work on their footwork. You have to work on their mechanics. You have to work on the different throws they have to make. And I’m a firm believer in doing the things you’re going to do and doing them repeatedly. I know there’s a lot of clever and cute drills, a lot of things that look really cool and go out there and look like a guru. I’m a big believer in practicing what you’re going to do over and over, and for me, with a quarterback, that’s footwork. That’s what it is.”

He isn’t planning on changing Jones’ throwing motion.

“I’m a big believer,” he said, “that at this level of football, you’re not going to do much to change someone’s throwing motion — and I’m not saying that would apply to Mac at all, so don’t put that in there — but you don’t work with a quarterback to change how they throw at this level, in my opinion, but you can always improve their feet and their base and work on their release time.

“If you start changing how someone’s gripping the ball or someone’s throwing the ball, that’s just a great way as a coach to screw it up and think you’re a genius. So we’re going to focus a lot on the feet and the timing, and then you talk through just the offensive progressions.”

Jones is entering his second year and he’ll be without the proven offensive guru, Josh McDaniels. It will be a change of pace, but there doesn’t seem to be much that throws Jones off his mark.

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Rich Eisen staunchly believes Jabrill Peppers will be ‘terrific’ for Patriots

“And he’s going to have, all of a sudden, the old fountain of youth, even though he’s still youthful.”

The New England Patriots didn’t make any flashy moves in free agency or in the 2022 NFL Draft.

It was disappointing to fans following an offseason of unprecedented spending. The Patriots didn’t have much cap money remaining and they went out to get value pieces to add depth, while also retaining key veterans. Some of the notable free agents that came in include Malcolm Butler, DeVante Parker, Jabrill Peppers, Ty Montgomery and Mack Wilson.

Peppers, 26, was a sneaky good grab for the Patriots and they signed him to an incentive-laced one-year deal that could be worth $5 million. Peppers didn’t have a great NFL start with the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants, but NFL Analyst Rich Eisen believes he will be great for the Patriots.

On “The Rich Eisen Show,” he raved about Peppers’ potential in Foxborough — as he put him in his top five of under-the-rader offseason moves.

“I’m telling you, I’m biased, flat-out biased when it comes to this player, who was one of the most dynamite college players, did not do very well in Cleveland (Browns),” Eisen said, transcribed by NESN. “Get it, understand. Didn’t do all that great, didn’t shine out in New York (Giants) but now he’s coming to New England, and I’m telling you, the Patriots will understand what to do with this guy.

“And he’s going to have, all of a sudden, the old fountain of youth, even though he’s still youthful. Jabrill Peppers is a New England Patriot, and I’m telling you, he’s gonna be terrific in this defense. They’re gonna figure out what to do. He’s gonna make plays. He’s gonna ‘do your job.’ He knows how to do it. Bill (Belichick) loves Michigan players, and that’s not just a (Tom) Brady reference.”

Peppers will join a loaded safety group that includes Devin McCourty, Adrian Phillips and Kyle Dugger. The next area of concern for the Patriots is stacking up the cornerback group — who lost J.C. Jackson this offseason.

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Matt Patricia, Joe Judge confirm which positions they’re coaching – for now

The Patriots haven’t handed out titles. But here’s what we know so far.

Neither Matt Patricia nor Joe Judge would make any promises about which position they would coach in 2022. But they did each admit they were currently focusing their time on coaching at a particular position — for now.

Judge said he has been working with the quarterbacks and Patricia said he has been working with the offensive line. The coaching staff, however, has not been to one skill group. Judge explained the effort has been communal.

“I am working with Mac, along with all the skill group on offense. I’d say all of us are working collectively as a coaching unit with the entire offense. So that’s the most direct and specific answer I can give you on that,” Judge said during a video conference call on Monday. “We want to make sure we can coach all the players and that nobody is out there with a lack of knowledge in the offense.”

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It’s likely Bill Belichick will name each coach to a position — even if the Patriots choose not to have a defensive or offensive coordinator. But at this point, the Patriots haven’t applied official titles to their coaches.

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Joe Judge tells a story about how he knew Patriots’ future was bright with Mac Jones

Joe Judge told a really interesting story about Mac Jones making a strong first impression.

A full year before Mac Jones began working with Joe Judge, the New England Patriots quarterback impressed his new assistant coach.

Jones and Judge shared the same practice field during training camp in 2021. They were both in very different spots in their career. Jones, the 15th overall pick in the 2021 draft, was in a position battle with quarterback Cam Newton, which the rookie would eventually win. Judge, meanwhile, was in his second season coaching New York, a job he would eventually lose.

It appears they’ll be working together every day, with Judge working with the quarterbacks in 2022 as a Patriots coaching assistant. And it sounds like Judge is looking forward to the opportunity after getting a glimpse of Jones’ impressive qualities during that joint practice last year.

“I like the way he handled the command of the huddle and the team last year when we practiced against him,” Judge said Monday during a videoconference call. “That was the thing that stood out to me — not the completion, incompletions. Just really seeing him interact. I was standing behind both huddles and really watching him put it together so I had the opportunity to listen to both huddles. You can hear the command, you could see players’ eyes on him. That’s something that really stood out to me as I walked off the field: ‘OK, they’re going to be alright with this young guy.'”

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With the Patriots in their voluntary offseason program, Judge said he hasn’t had much opportunity to work with Jones on the field, but Judge remembered his takeaways from the quarterback’s college film. Judge said he ended up watching a lot of Jones’ film amid his studies of the other SEC prospects that Jones played with and against. What stood out?

“The accuracy, the presence in the pocket, the decision-making and that nature,” Judge said.

Jones was as steady as a rookie can be in his first season. He mitigated risks, which avoided rookie mistakes — but also limited big plays. With New England likely trying to get more out of its passing attack in 2022, Judge and the rest of the Patriots coaching staff will need to focus on developing Jones into a quarterback with even more command of the offense.

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