New England Patriots: Bill Belichick praises Josh McDaniels’ game plan
New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick praised offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels for the game plan he put together against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The New England Patriots didn’t have a great game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They had to work for every inch, but at the end of the game, they came out victorious. It was a hard-fought 19-14 win, as the Patriots were shorthanded heading into the game.
Hours before the game, it was announced that star tight end, Rob Gronkowski, would not play. Gronkowski popped up on the injury report Wednesday with a thigh injury. He made the flight to Tampa Bay but ended up not suiting up at all.
It put the Patriots in a tough bind. They needed a victory but were without their best offensive weapon. That put a lot of pressure on offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, but he was up for the task.
The Patriots were unsure of Gronkowski’s status less than three hours before kickoff. That didn’t stop McDaniels from putting together a winning game plan. Head coach Bill Belichick was complimentary of the game plan put together by McDaniels, praising the work that he did.
More from Patriots News
- What trading Mac Jones during the draft can do for the Patriots
- Early round Patriots draft picks you’ll hate now, love later
- Musket Fire Roundup: Our own final predictions for round 1
- Breaking down the Patriots’ options in the 2023 NFL Draft
- Special DraftKings Massachusetts Promo Code for NFL Draft – Get $150 on ANY $5 Bet
"“I think Josh [McDaniels] did a great job on that, as he always does. Josh had the game plan ready with or without him,” noted head coach Bill Belichick. “We played a lot of four wide receivers and some other personnel groups probably more than we would have played if Rob had been in the game."
With Gronkowski sidelined, the play calling was adjusted as well. Tom Brady threw a majority of his targets at only four players; Chris Hogan, Danny Amendola, Brandin Cooks and James White. A tight end was targeted only once, as Jacob Hollister was the target on a Brady pass that was knocked down by Gerald McCoy at the line of scrimmage.
Impressive Belichick is not an easy thing to do. However, McDaniels managed to do it with the game plan that he put into place that included multiple personnel groupings.
"“It’s one of the things Josh does a great job of, having some breadth to the offense with different personnel groups and different people and utilizing different combinations so that, if he needs to move from one to another, he can do that pretty easily. I thought he did a great job of that. I thought he called a great game and did a great job of handling the change of personnel as it evolved this week.”"
McDaniels is one of the best in the business when it comes to offensive coordinators. He proved that once again against the Buccaneers on a short week on Thursday Night Football.
Next: 4 Takeaways From Patriots vs Buccaneers Week 5
The Patriots have to feel good week in and week out that they will have a game plan in place that will help them get a victory.