Patriots News 7-28, Defense Shines, Offense Taking Small Steps
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Good morning. Here are your Patriots news and notes for July 28. The Patriots have completed their first three training camp practices (unpadded) at the practice fields at Gillette Stadium. And there haven’t been any surprises thus far.
We’ll discuss the details below, but it shouldn’t be surprising that the defense has had the upper hand in the first few days of training camp. Jerod Mayo has earned the confidence of some of his veteran players, who have said he makes it easy to buy in. That is an encouraging sign.
The Patriots announced the training camp dates that are open to the public, and you can find those on the Patriots website. However, remember that dates and times are subject to change, so check with the site for any updates before making the trek down Route 1.
Jerod Mayo: The Patriots’ head coach is earning some respect from his veteran players, who credit the first-year coach with making it easier for them to buy into Mayo’s coaching.
This is a good thing, but the question remains, “Will it account for wins come September?” That won’t be answered until then, but having the veterans believe in the coach and the system is an important step.
Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald spoke with several veterans, including Calvin Anderson, Hunter Henry, and Keion White, to get their thoughts on Mayo.
“He puts an emphasis on relationships, and I think that helps the team culture,” Anderson said. “I don’t know how other head coaches are, but Mayo walks around knowing his guys. So you walk around, you feel like you have a personal relationship with him. It makes it so much easier to buy in.”
Henry praised Mayo’s leadership, and he has gone on record as saying that he likes hard coaching. He re-signed with the Patriots this spring, which speaks for itself.
Mayo is also demanding, expecting each player to show his best at all times, something that resonates with Keion White, the all-business edge player who said that Mayo has high expectations but treats his players like adults.
Jabrill Peppers: The Patriots have signed another core veteran to a contract extension. Peppers, who should have been a Pro Bowler last year, was signed to a three-year $24 million extension worth up to $30 million. Field Yates of ESPN first reported the news.
I can confirm it,” Jerod Mayo told the assembled media on Friday. “I will say this,, I’ll confirm it. I am very happy for Peppers, his family, our team, and the organization. He really embodies everything that we want on the field. He’s very selfless; he’s out there flying around all the time, and it’s good to get that deal done.”
Peppers is one of the players who found a new life in Foxborough under the Belichick regime. His signing didn’t move the needle much at the time but has paid very good dividends. His toughness and versatility (he can play in the box, deep safety, in the slot, or as a dime linebacker) are off the charts.
Judon/Godchaux Contracts: While the team has locked up several veterans to contract extensions, two key members of the defense are still waiting for theirs. Matthew Judon is in the last year of a contract that will pay him $6 million in 2024. Neither player is happy with their contract status. Judon expressed his frustration earlier last week.
“As much as everyone wants to see me stay around here for a long time, it’s really not up to me,” Judon said. “I’d pay myself a lot of money and stay around here for a long time, but it’s not up to me. You got to ask those guys making decisions, and they’re trying to do what’s best for the team — rightfully so and understandably.”
Godchaux expressed his displeasure on Friday about his contract. He is in the final year of his deal, which does not include any guaranteed money. “It’s frustrating playing out here with no guaranteed money. I consider myself one of the dominant run players in the league,” he said. “I just want some respect.”
He will receive $7.15 million in 2024, provided he stays healthy. He can also earn an additional $1 million in bonuses for being on the active game-day roster. He hasn’t missed a game in three years
“There’s been a lot of back-and-forth, but it’s not even ground right now. It hasn’t been a standstill process,” Godchaux said. I would love to retire here. I have a lot more years in me. In this system, I feel like I can play a long time. Obviously, Vince [Wilfork] played a long time, and I feel like I can play as long as him, even longer.”
Patriots 4th & 2 Podcast: Two weeks ago, we recorded a late-night podcast to prepare for training camp. We discussed our best memories from training camp, as he, Russ Goldman, and I would sit together at every session and try to take everything in. There were too many great moments to list them all. Please check it out.
I was a guest on my “Patriot paisan”, Mike D’Abate’s “Locked On Patriots” show on SI, and we discussed contract news and the early days of training camp.
Russ Francis/Chuck Fairbanks: The former Patriot tight end and head coach should be in the Patriots team Hall of Fame, and the fact that Francis isn’t in is an absolute travesty. Francis and the Raiders’ Dave Casper changed the game with how teams used the tight end position. This will be discussed in our Sunday posts until it happens. Casper is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Francis’ numbers stand up well against Casper’s, yet he isn’t even in the team’s HOF.
The Patriots’ first three days of training camp showed what we saw in a continuation of spring workouts. The defense is ahead of the offense at this juncture, and this shouldn’t send shockwaves through the fan base.
The team has a new coaching staff, especially on the offensive side of the ball. The new Offensive Coordinator, Alex Van Pelt, has several new players, including three new quarterbacks and several new receivers. It is an entirely new system, and it is going to take time for the players to find their roles in it.
Let’s not forget that the defense is pretty darn good, too. Many believe (including here) that the Patriots will have a top-10 defense this season, perhaps even a top-5 unit.
Despite losing arguably the greatest defensive mind the NFL has ever seen, the new head coach and defensive coordinator have been here for several years. Their philosophy hasn’t changed, and the staff remains intact. The players are nearly all the same, plus they are getting back their top two players, who suffered season-ending injuries in 2023.
And with no pads being worn, the running game is largely eliminated. AVP’s system relies on the running game to open up deep shots down the field. But the offense is based on rhythm and timing, and it is coming along…slowly.
However, there are legitimate concerns that bear monitoring as we move forward, as we’ll get to. Some of the other developments so far include:
Everyone wants to see Drake Maye, and why not? He was drafted to be the franchise QB for the next decade-plus. But the offense, for now, belongs to Jacoby Brissett.
Brissett has come as advertised; he is a steady, veteran presence who isn’t going to wow you with highlight-reel plays but makes few mistakes and is a great mentor to the other three young quarterbacks.
It doesn’t come as a surprise to watch Brissett be the first to cheer for Drake Maye when he makes a big play down the field. He knows that he’s mentoring the three guys who are there, especially Maye, to take his job. He knows Van Pelt’s offense, and eventually, the focus will be on HIS production, but not yet.
Drake Maye has been making steady progress, but like any rookie, there will be some peaks and valleys. The key is to learn from mistakes and not let them become a trend.
Maye threw a bad interception that Judon returned for a pick-six. He tried to go deep but decided to check down in the flat where Judon was waiting. But he put it behind him and then completed four in a row.
He has also thrown some deep throws that were some of camp’s early highlights. Deep passes to Jalen Reagor, Ja’Lynn Polk, and Hunter Henry on a skinny post are the kind of plays this offense needs, and was woefully short of in 2023.
Joe Milton showed off his cannon of a right arm when he launched a 60-yard plus bomb to Javon Baker. He’s still trying to improve his touch on the shorter and intermediate stuff. But the backflips after good plays speak to his athleticism.
Bailey Zappe was bumped into the fourth man in the rotation on Friday, but I wouldn’t read too much into that just yet. Zappe had a good reaction to that. “I don’t really get into ‘he got more than I did’ or anything like that. That’s left to the coaches. It’s based on the quality of those reps,” Zappe said. That’s the correct attitude, for sure.
The Patriots have been experimenting with different combinations on the O-line, trying to find their ‘best five’ and then attempting to maintain some continuity with it. The team is trying out many faces at right tackle, including Calvin Anderson, Caedan Wallace, and Vederian Lowe.
Of the three, Lowe struggled the most. In the second practice, he was beaten around the edge twice, once by safety Joshua Bledsoe and another by Keion White.
The biggest issues seem to be picking up free blitzers off the edge and protecting the QBs on the naked bootlegs that are a staple of Van Pelt’s offense. For a unit that has been the Achilles Heel of the offense for the past three years, there still doesn’t seem to be a solution…yet.
However, the team has six weeks to figure it out. First, they must settle on the best five offensive linemen and stick with them. I stick with my earlier lineup featuring LT Chuks Okorafor, LG Nick Leverett, C David Andrews, RG Mike Onwenu, and RT Caedan Wallace, with Calvin Anderson as the swing tackle.
Monday should be a good litmus test for the O-line. The pads should come on, and in 11-on-11s, the running game will be used. The defensive front seven will have to pay closer attention, which may open up those naked bootlegs.
They have six weeks to figure things out…let’s hope they use that time wisely.
It is nice to see the young receivers making some splash plays in training camp. While there have been issues with the group consistently getting separation, that can be attributed to the aforementioned lack of a running game or the fact that the Patriots’ defense is just that good.
But without Kendrick Bourne and Demario Douglas, the young receivers are seeing more reps, which is a good thing. Ja’Lynn Polk made a great catch on a 40-yard deep pass from Maye. Javon Baker likewise made a terrific catch on Milton’s cannon shot.
Don’t look now, but Tyquan Thornton has been putting some very good practices together. Perhaps the bulk he added this offseason and expanding his route tree were needed. Let’s see if he can stay healthy.
Kayshon Boutte was very active on Friday, catching seven passes. If the young players can continue to piece together solid practices, it is a good sign of things to come. But they still have a long way to go.
The defense hasn’t mentioned too much today, but the secondary is looking very strong with getting Christian Gonzalez and Marcus Jones back. Isaiah Bolden is looking right where he left off last summer before his injury.
One last thing that may interest a few but watching these massive paydays for Trevor Lawrence, Tua Tagovailoa, and Jordan Love, who have won nothing yet is astounding. You may remember a guy named Tom Brady, who took a below market deal every year he was a Patriot, so that the team could spend it on other players to help the team win. Nine Super Bowl appearances in New England, six Super Bowl wins. Caveat Emptor.
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“I feel good. I feel good about it. You know, obviously, Jacoby’s leading the way there at quarterback. He’s been in the scheme before, and he’s really displayed a lot of leadership.
“Not only in the quarterback room, but also just amongst the entire offense because he is familiar with the scheme. I’m happy where they are. They’re out here, they’re working hard, and that’s really all you can ask for. The progress will continue to go..”
Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo was asked if he is happy with the offense’s performance in the first few days of training camp.
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“Talent sets the floor; Character sets the ceiling.” Bill Belichick
Follow me on Twitter @SteveB7SFG or email me at [email protected]
Listen to our Patriots 4th and 2 podcasts on Apple and YouTube as Russ Goldman, Derek Havens, and myself from PatsFans.com discuss the latest Patriots news and game analysis.
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The Mayo ‘Buy in’ is a change and I think a good one. It seemed quite apparent that the new generation of players was not a great match any longer in BB’s patriot way militant fall-in-line operating modal. To me, that was likely a key factor as to why BB isn’t here any longer. Mayo’s impact will take time as relationships and team unity evolve. That likely does not happen in a snap of the fingers to be tangibly measured in Sept wins, but I trust Kraft’s conviction of having known Mayo was the guy, and that conviction was true… Read more »
Great article Steve. While Tom Curran is writing articles on “fan impatience of the offense”….this when pads aren’t even on yet (my gosh!), the smelling salts of reality is that if you holistically change the offensive scheme (AVP’s offense) and have new QBs, new WR, new tackles, it’s going to take well into the season till the dust settles and wrinkles slowly smooth out. It’s a needed change. So as long as you see progress, enjoy the ride. That change is NOT something you can install and perfect in a summer camp. Brisett – he played a year in AVPs… Read more »