Subscribe
Follow Us
The saga that is the New England Patriots' offensive play-calling situation hits the road for the first time of the 2022 season this week. But as the team heads to the new home of their old offensive coordinator this week, Belichick is slowly sharing a bit more on how they're replacing Josh McDaniels.
In an appearance on WEEI's “The Greg Hill Show” on Monday, Belichick said the offensive play calls are a “collaborative effort,” adding it's determined “based on the recommendations or the information he’s received from other people on the staff.”
Even though he isn't the offensive coordinator, Belichick said that the buck stops with him with all matters on that side of the ball.
“We have jobs to do,” Belichick said. “Our staff works well together. There are a lot of people who are involved in all three phases of the game. Ultimately, I’m responsible for all of it. If you want to ask who’s in charge, then it would be me. I have the final say in every area. That’s the way it’s been, and I don’t really see that changing.”
Bill Belichick has refused to say much on the matter prior to Monday, calling it a “process” numerous times during training camp and the preseason. Even when Matt Patricia appeared to be the sole offensive play-caller in the Patriots' preseason game against the Carolina Panthers on Friday, Belichick said Patricia was just communicating with the quarterback.
“As far as calling the plays, there’s a whole ‘nother process on that,” Belichick added.
Bill Belichick says "It's still a process" when asked who is calling plays 👀 pic.twitter.com/gVwW6u3Nid
— NBC Sports Boston's Patriots Coverage (@NBCSPatriots) August 20, 2022
Patricia's mostly appeared to call the plays on offense during training camp practices. The Patriots' offensive line coach and senior football adviser also appeared to call the offensive plays during the first quarter of their first preseason game. However, quarterbacks coach Joe Judge appeared to be calling the offensive plays when Bailey Zappe took over after the first quarter of the game against the New York Giants, adding more confusion.
Article Continues Below
Belichick running the entire operation on one side of the ball isn't unheard of. The Patriots haven't had a defensive coordinator since the end of the 2017 season, when Patricia left to become the Detroit Lions' head coach.
The Patriots have also worked without having a coordinator on both sides of the ball during Belichick's tenure. They didn't have an offensive or a defensive coordinator in the 2009 and 2010 seasons.
Patriots quarterback Mac Jones has stated multiple times during training camp that it feels like it's a collaborative effort between himself, Belichick, Patricia, Judge and the offensive players. Jones also seems to be a fan of the guy who called plays in Friday's game against the Panthers.
“I think Matty’s done a great job,” Jones said of Patricia. “He’s one of the most brilliant people I’ve been around in terms of football knowledge. Between all of the coaches we have, they’ve done a great job preparing us. He’s really starting to get a feel for it. That’s the thing – growing each week and making sure we can stack good days together. He’s very easy to talk to on the sideline. Very easy, laid-back type of coach but demands a lot. I respect that about him.”
"He's one of the most brilliant people I've been around in terms of football"
Mac Jones spoke on Matt Patricia calling plays and his motivation from last year pic.twitter.com/Kl33lo9xzk
— NBC Sports Boston's Patriots Coverage (@NBCSPatriots) August 20, 2022
Jones and the Patriots will continue to test their new offense with a pair of joint practices with the Las Vegas Raiders this week before facing them in a preseason game on Friday.
