Patriots Training Camp

By: Steve Atkinson

The start of Patriots training camp is on Wednesday. We’ll get to see how the offense under Josh McDaniels will look and how Mike Vrabel will lead as the head coach. It’s worth noting that they could have hired both Vrabel and McDaniels last year, but instead, they chose to use Jerod Mayo as a scapegoat and wasted a season with Drake Maye. Now, as he enters his second season, he has a top receiver, Stefon Diggs, who is coming off an ACL injury. Diggs appears to be ready for Wednesday and is pushing to play in week one.

Training Camp is always fun.

I don’t want to hear that Drake Maye needs to adjust to another offense. We went through the same situation with Mac Jones, who was hindered by Belichick and is now a backup with the 49ers. Maye should make a significant improvement in his second year with McDaniels’ offense—no excuses. Demario Douglas is likely the number two receiver, with Kendrick Bourne following him. However, having Diggs on the roster significantly enhances their offensive capabilities.

The offensive line remains a question mark, even with Christian Campbell on the team. Fortunately, they have a strong running game with Stevenson, and they drafted another running back as well.

On the defensive side of the ball, they look solid. They’ve improved since last season. Ben Jones, who worked with Vrabel in Tennessee, mentioned this to Mike Reiss..

You think he’s some hard-nosed tough guy that played with Belichick through those years and won those Super Bowls, but he is very detailed on how the body recovers. He puts together a plan with trainers, equipment guys, weight room.

“His whole goal is to win games, not to win camp. … I think that approach to it is a lot different from most everybody else. Most everybody else is, ‘We have to be a tough, physical team right away.’ He knows, ‘We want a tough team when it comes Week 1 through Week 18. We don’t need to beat everybody up early in camp.’

The Patriots need a head coach who has prior experience yet is still young enough to connect with the players. Mike Vrabel fits that description well, and his history with New England adds to his qualifications. He understands what it takes to be successful in this league. Even Bill Belichick acknowledges that Vrabel was the right choice. However, Belichick’s opinion may be influenced by the fact that Vrabel followed Jerod Mayo as a candidate. I suspect Belichick would have a different perspective if Vrabel had been hired before him. Now, the Patriots find themselves in yet another situation with a quarterback entering his second season. He must make significant progress this year..