Patriots
Former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick had his weekly appearance on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show” on Monday – touching on quite a few topics, including Drake Mayes' preseason, the Patriots' recent free agency woes, and more.
Here are some highlights from Belichick's recent ESPN appearance.
Belichick doesn't care about Drake Mayes' preseason play
Count Belichick as the newest in an extended line of NFL coaches and former players to supply their opinions on the continued quarterback competition between Drake Maye and Jacoby Brissett in New England.
And while others like Devin McCourty and Dan Orlovsky tended to give attention to Maye's talent (or lack thereof) because the principal reason why New England shouldn't let its rookie start in Week 1, Belichick as a substitute emphasized that preseason performance shouldn't really play that big a task within the Patriots' decision on who starts on Sept. 8 against the Bengals.
“First of all, I don't think you really know how anyone is going to play in the preseason, especially at the quarterback position,” Belichick said. “Looking at it from the other side of the ball, the strategies are generally so simple. Most of the time, it's very simple strategies. You try to evaluate your players. You try to get them to play the good fundamentals that they know how to do. You don't hide anything. You just want the defensive players to be ready to react quickly and make plays. …
“I feel if you happen to come out of the preseason and say, 'This guy is playing very well, that guy is playing very well,' I wouldn't put loads of emphasis on that. I might put more emphasis on what they do in practice after which let's see what happens in the primary three or 4 games of the regular season when opponents goal certain players based on what they think they’ll and might't do to them after which let's see how they play.”
Jerod Mayo himself noted on Monday that Maye has “outperformed” Brissett in the Patriots' three preseason games. But even if the stats are in Maye's favor, New England may rely more on Brissett's experience – and the need to keep Maye away from a porous O-line – as major factors in going with the veteran QB in Week 1.
“This is ‘Taxachusetts’”
The Patriots have struggled to lure top free agents to Foxborough in recent times as New England did not land offseason targets like DeAndre Hopkins and Calvin Ridley.
Admittedly, it's so much harder to persuade players to sign with New England when Gillette Stadium doesn't have already got personnel like Tom Brady or Belichick.
However, Belichick also said Monday that Massachusetts' state income tax also poses a barrier to New England's inability to outbid other NFL teams – especially in states without an income tax like Florida.
“This is Taxachusetts,” Belichick said. “Virtually every player, even the practice squad, even the minimum-qualified players, are pretty close to $1 million. Once you hit the $1 million mark, you start paying more taxes in Massachusetts.”
“It's just another thing you have to deal with when negotiating up there. It's not like Tennessee or Florida or Nevada. Some of those teams don't collect state income tax. That hits you pretty hard with the agents.”
While Massachusetts tax rates might make it harder to sell the Patriots in comparison with other NFL franchises, the lackluster performance on the sector over the past few years can also be making itself felt in Foxborough because it heads into several quiet offseasons – especially with Brandon Aiyuk reportedly turning down an enormous contract offer from the Patriots.
Belichick confused by Falcons' approach to Judon
It was no big surprise that Matthew Judon was ultimately traded from the Patriots to Atlanta despite the continued contract crisis.
But after the Falcons gave up a third-round pick to lure the star pass rusher from New England, they surprised many by not terminating Judon's current contract but as a substitute granting him a brand new contract for the long run.
“They (Falcons) don’t know anything about me as a football player or as a person,” Judon said Marc Raimond of ESPNi to play in the ultimate yr of his current contract in 2024. “You know my resume so far. I can't really demand or ask for something that I haven't worked for. I'm going to work for it.”
Atlanta's interesting approach to Judon also confused Belichick, who signed Judon to a four-year deal in New England within the 2021 offseason.
“I'm pretty surprised Atlanta didn't extend Judon's contract,” Belichick said. “I think he's pretty undervalued for his contract given how it was designed there.”
“It was a pretty complicated situation. But generally in situations like that, I've tried not to extend the player's contract – which of course you can do and sometimes you do – but I think Judon is 31, 32 or something. Extending that is a little different, so you put an incentive and give him a chance – maybe he has a good year and earns some money through incentives. There are a lot of different ways to handle that.”
Belichick's pointed comments about Atlanta may not come as a surprise, considering the 72-year-old coach was considered a finalist for the Falcons' head coaching job last season before the team ultimately hired Raheem Morris.
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