Report: Patriots players have 1 concern about upcoming season
Oct 10, 2021; Houston, Texas, USA; New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick reacts during the second quarter against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
There have been a lot of questions about how the New England Patriots will look on offense next season now that Josh McDaniels is gone, and those are not exclusive to the media. Some players are reportedly a bit concerned, too.
Greg Bedard of BostonSportsJournal.com said this week that there are players on the Patriots’ roster who are “alarmed” about the direction of the team’s offense. More specifically, there are people who were baffled by the comments offensive assistant Joe Judge made earlier this week.
"There is a high-level of concern about what is going on with the Patriots."@GregABedard says he's heard that #Patriots players are 'alarmed' so far with what they've seen from the team's offensive coaching staff 😳 pic.twitter.com/5FTVhscSxK
— NBC Sports Boston's Patriots Coverage (@NBCSPatriots) May 19, 2022
Judge, who was fired as the head coach of the New York Giants after last season, has returned to New England. He served as an assistant on Bill Belichick’s staff for eight years prior to landing the Giants job. He was mostly a special teams coach, but Belichick added wide receivers coach to his title the season before Judge was hired by the Giants.
While the Patriots have not named a new offensive coordinator (at least publicly), Judge told reporters on Tuesday that he will be working closely with Mac Jones. He shared some of his plan to help the second-year quarterback develop.
Judge also babbled at length about how all offensive coaches need to be able to coach all skill position players. Bedard found those remarks to be puzzling.
The phrase “in Belichick we trust” is a popular one in New England. However, the coach is going to face a great deal of criticism if the Patriots struggle on offense this season. Daniel Jones did not make strides under Judge in New York. If Jones hits a wall, Belichick’s decision to bring Judge back will look pretty bad.
