Can Matt Patricia Impact Eagles’ Plan vs. Patriots?
When the New England Patriots take the field at Gillette Stadium on Sunday afternoon, they'll look out and see a familiar face - Matt Patricia. He’s now, however, a senior defensive assistant for the Philadelphia Eagles, the Patriots' Week 1 foe.
Patricia, who rose to stardom as New England's defensive coordinator prior to taking over as head coach of the Detroit Lions and ultimately returning to the Patriots to call offensive plays last season, was hired by the Eagles just days before the NFL Draft.
After spending 16 non-consecutive years under coach Bill Belichick, Patricia unceremoniously departed New England this spring, as his contract expired and neither side appeared overly interested in a reunion.
The Patriots' offense struggled under Patricia last year, ranking seventh worst in the league in yards and putting up just the 17th-most points.
But Patricia's time working with the offense only added to his understanding of New England's personnel ... and entering this Sunday's matchup, Eagles defensive coordinator Sean Desai has capitalized on his experience.
“Heavily," Desai said, when discussing the role Patricia will play in game planning. "Matt has a lot of insight, especially in terms of the people there, the actual personal attributes of guys we’re playing against, because some of them we haven’t seen much off the preseason tape.
"He’s been great, a tremendous resource.”
Patricia's value in Philadelphia has extended beyond the defensive staff, as coach Nick Sirianni stressed how beneficial his presence has been thus far.
Sirianni singled out general coaching philosophies and schematics as the two biggest areas Patricia has influenced him in - and reiterated Desai's thoughts that having the inside knowledge of the Patriots' personnel can be quite helpful.
“You try to turn over every stone you possibly can looking for answers and different things,” Sirianni said. “Anybody that's been around Coach Belichick, you're always asking questions. Of course, you're going to look for every advantage you can get, and that's what we're doing this week.”
The Patriots will host Patricia and the Eagles in the season opener at 4:25 p.m. Sunday.
