New England Patriots officially settle on offensive play-caller

On Sunday morning, it was reported by Ian Rapoport that Matt Patricia would take over the offensive play-calling duties for the New England Patriots.  What was mostly known during the offseason has essentially become an official designation, as senior football advisor Matt Patricia will be calling the plays on offense for the New England Patriots.

Matt Patricia becoming the offensive play-caller shouldn’t be a surprise, but perhaps if anything, it should make Patriots’ fans worry.  The offense largely did not have a good offseason.  Players all across the offense were inconsistent, and the unit never seemed to get going.

I suppose at this moment, there isn’t really anyone else who’d be able to come in and handle these duties.  Could Bill Belichick end up taking over these duties at some point if things go south with Patricia?  Possibly.

Patricia’s first challenge is the Miami Dolphins’ defense, which had the 6th best scoring defense as recently as 2020.  The Patriots do have some bodies on the offensive side that should create some mismatches for the Miami defense, but is Matt Patricia skilled enough as a play-caller to take advantage of them?  Only time will tell.

Luckily for the Patriots, Mac Jones has put a ton of time and effort in during this offseason to take his game to the next level.  He surely recognizes that he doesn’t have the physical abilities that some of the other young and talented quarterbacks have, so expect him to master things like timing, anticipation, mechanics, and overall knowledge of the offense and how to read defenses with the best of them.

This is a very crucial season for the Patriots and for the future direction of their franchise.  Putting the play-calling in the hands of a defensive coach doesn’t seem ideal, but only time will tell.