Patriots Bill Belichick on Bill O’Brien, Mac Jones Relationship: ‘Teaching Process’
FOXBORO — Following what coach Bill Belichick described as a “big day” of practice just one day earlier, the New England Patriots returned to the practice fields adjacent to Gillette Stadium on Tuesday as organized team activities near their conclusion.
Despite announcing his intention to “tempo things down” a bit on the field for the week’s second session, Belichick did address the need to keep their foot on the accelerator in the coaches room.
“Its a teaching process for all of us,” Belichick told reporters on Tuesday. “ From the players, [to the] coaching staff … We have to get back into coaching and teaching. We all have stuff to work on.”
One of the key takeaways from the Patriots offseason workout program to date has been the emergence of coordinator Bill O’Brien as the team’s alpha presence on offense. By all accounts, O’Brien has been given significant control over the Patriots offense, both on the field and in the meeting rooms. In fact, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reported earlier in the week that both he and quarterback Mac Jones have been operating as a tandem from which notable improvement is expected in 2023.
“My understanding is Jones has spent his time with O’Brien, with Belichick mostly delegating all things offense to his new/old coordinator, in a siloed-off model that feels, to those there, much more like how things were when Josh McDaniels was around a couple of years ago.”
O'Brien has essentially been charged with the duty of repairing what had become a fractured offense under previous offensive play caller Matt Patricia. In Patricia’s lone season at the command post, the Pats offense regressed from one showing significant promise (in 2021) to a subpar unit dwelling among the NFL's bottom teams. The 2022 iteration of Patriots finished 7th-worst in total yards while scoring only 21.4 points per game, earning them the 17th spot in the NFL.
For the majority of the season, Jones struggled to maintain his presence in the pocket, often finding himself under duress. Teams having the most success against him were those who deployed strategically placed blitzes from the second and third level of the defense. The pressure confused Jones, causing him to open at the top of his drop in the wrong direction, leading to suspect decision-making.
With inadequate protection from the team’s offensive line, Jones has had insufficient time to operate. As a result, he has had little-to-no choice but to take short-yardage check downs, especially with the Pats opponents’ perimeter corners taking away his preferred routes and targets. Unsurprisingly, Jones ranked in the bottom 10 of NFL quarterbacks in terms of completion percentage and positive plays when pressured. He finished the season with 2,997 yards, 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
For all of the discussion surrounding the Patriots need to change their passing game, O’Brien’s presence seems to indicate a return to a timing-based scheme, predicated on completions from quick, accurate throws while using the run to facilitate play-action passes. During his time at Alabama, Jones was quite proficient at running this type of offense. It is also where O’Brien, shines as well. Based on the limited observations made during New England’s team sessions thus far,
[T]he other thing that’s obvious is the impact new coordinator Bill O’Brien is having on Jones and the offense,” Breer included in his report. “The Patriots practice I saw (which again, I’ve heard mirrors the ones closed to the media), moved efficiently, with the offense looking crisp and put together and Jones clearly looking like the team’s best quarterback.”
Though there is still a great amount to be seen on the field between now and the start of the 2023 regular season, New England’s offense is showing an efficiency seldom, if ever seen in 2022. It is a point not lost on Belichick — yet perhaps more importantly, quite evidence to Jones.
“It’s I think the communication is the most important part, and trust — I think it all starts with that when you’re with a new coach, and he’s done a great job in controlling the room.” Jones at old reporters last Thursday. “I feel like everyone’s on the same page. We’ve just got to continue to do it. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. We know that, and he’s obviously had great experience in the NFL and at Alabama, where I was at, so there’s a lot of good stuff that we’ve talked about. I’m just looking forward to working with him.”
While it is far too early to speculate as to whether the working relationship between coaches and quarterback translate to success on the field, the changes already appear to be for the better in Foxboro.
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