The New England Patriots have chosen to go with a communal effort on offense. Matt Patricia has had a hand in calling plays, although the team has not named an official offensive coordinator.
Patricia does have a bit of prior experience on the offensive side of the football, having been an offensive assistant in 2004. He called the offensive plays for the entirety of Friday night’s game after splitting the duties with Joe Judge in last week’s preseason opener against the New York Giants.
Quarterback Mac Jones was impressed with Patricia’s abilities and believes the coach can lead him to success in the future, as transcribed by Zack Cox of NESN.com.
“I think Matt, he’s done a great job,” said Jones. “He’s one of the most brilliant people I’ve ever been around in terms of football knowledge. Between all 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, he’s just growing each week and making sure that we can stack good days together.
“He’s very easy to talk to on the sideline, very easy, laid-back kind of type coach but he demands a lot, and I respect that about him. Hopefully we can grow for a long time.”
Patricia and the offense will get one final tune-up before regular-season action. The Patriots will take on the Las Vegas Raiders on Friday, as they face a familiar face in head coach Josh McDaniels, the team’s former longtime offensive coordinator.
Consistency offensively will be important, as Jones looks to grow in his second season and help the Patriots take the next step.