The Patriots may have finished sixth in the league in points scored last season. But NFL coaches apparently weren’t spending late nights trying to devise ways to stop them.
NBC Sports Boston’s Phil Perry relayed some intel from coaches at last week’s NFL Combine on the latest “Patriots Talk” podcast. One of the themes that routinely came up was the simplicity of the Patriots’ offense.
“Teams were not threatened by the Patriots going outside or deep,” Perry said. “They were a very easy offense — easy offense, they were a top 10 offense in terms of points scored, so they were efficient — but they were a relatively easy offense to defend. You knew they were gonna run the ball, you knew they were gonna throw short. You knew typically when they were at their best, they’re going to throw over the middle.”
The Patriots employed more conservative game plans last season, opting on several occasions to run out the clock at the end of halves and seldom opening up the playbook for Mac Jones. When Jones was trusted to spread them out, the Patriots were usually already trailing, like in their losing effort against the Colts.
Jones completed 67.6 percent of his passes for 3,801 yards, 22 touchdowns and 13 picks.
“They’re easy to plan for,” Perry said. “There’s nobody on their offense who you say, ‘We’ve got to make sure we’ve got a safety over the top on this guy.’”
The Patriots may be trying to change that. They’ve reportedly done “excessive work” on an array of receivers, including Allen Robinson and Robby Anderson, and could pursue Tyler Lockett if the Seahawks make him available.
New England also met with a slew of wideouts at the NFL Combine.
Those reports and actions indicate Bill Belichick knows his offense was too predictable last season, too. Adding more talent is the most surefire way to change that, along with hiring an actual offensive coordinator.
At this point, it seems like the former is more probable than the latter.
