Who Is Patriots Bill Belichick Praising Ahead Of Joint Practices With Panthers?
FOXBORO — New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is clearly an advocate of holding joint practices.
Having both hosted and attended such sessions almost annually during his tenure as head coach, Belichick is well-aware of the potential benefits to be gained by his team when they welcome the Carolina Panthers to their practice fields on Tuesday and Wednesday. The two teams play a preseason game Friday at Gillette Stadium.
Belichick shared some of his sentiments on joint practices when speaking with reporters prior to Monday’s team practice.
"It’s a new look,” Belichick said. “Individual matchups are good ... schemes are different ... less predictability of practice."
Belichick’s counterpart, Panthers coach Matt Rhule, is also intrigued by the gains which these sessions may provide his team.
“I just know everything they do is first class,” Rhule remarked while speaking with reporters at the NFL Annual Meetings in March. Rhule added that he is expecting the practices to produce some “good, productive work” in preparation for the upcoming 2022 season.
Unsurprisingly, the respect between Rhule and Belichick is a two-way street.
“[I have a ] ton of respect for Matt Rhule,” Belichick said. “He turned out a lot of good players at Baylor. Had a good connection with him when he was at Temple. He’s a football guy. So we have a lot in common there. We love football.”
Though the Patriots and Panthers are not storied rivals, this potential preseason union does come with its share of intrigue. In addition to their classic matchup in Super Bowl XXXVIII [resulting in a 32-29 New England victory], the two teams added a bit of spice to their relationship during last season’s 24-6 Pats win in Week 9.
During that game, tempers flared between Patriots quarterback Mac Jones and Panthers’ linebacker Brian Burns. In the immediate aftermath of Burns’ first quarter strip-sack of Jones, the Pats’ quarterback was seen holding Burns’ ankle as he attempted to move in the direction of the ball. Jones instinctively tried to prevent Burns from recovering the fumble. However, Burns landed awkwardly as he attempted to spin away. He was evaluated in the sideline medical tent, before returning to action.
In the days following the game, Jones explained that he was not trying to hurt Burns. Rather he was simply trying to make the tackle. However, the then-rookie’s actions were met with criticism by members of the Panthers team, coaching staff and even its media corps. None were more convinced than Burns, himself, who labeled Jones’ actions as ‘deliberate,’ thus rejecting rejecting the notion that the Pats rookie was simply trying to complete the tackle. In fact, Burns even seemed to endorse a bit of vigilante justice as suitable payback.
It should be clearly noted that physical retaliation of any kind is highly unlikely to occur, especially towards quarterbacks, who are essentially shielded from contact during training camp practices. Yet, it remains unclear whether there has been a cooling of the heat between Burns and Jones. As a result, these practices may get a bit chippy on the Gillette Stadium practice fields…which could make for some interesting late-summer theater.
In the final analysis, the action on the field will provide greater chance for meaningful player evaluation. Although the sessions must be assessed using common sense, they may yield some of the most realistic game simulations they team has seen.
No one knows this fact better than Belichick, In fact, it is a topic he addressed in the summer of 2021.
“We have an opportunity to work with another team that helps players playing against different players, but it also helps us see different schemes,” Belichick said. “The way another team does something is different than the way we do it, so it’s a great opportunity… to see things quickly, without knowing exactly what’s coming as a coach, figure it out, explain it to the players if it needs to be explained, and then make the right adjustment to handle it.”
With Monday’s practice expected to take on a more relaxed setting, the pads will be on for the Panthers’ arrival on Tuesday. As a result, business is about to pick up in Foxboro.
