FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — A quick hitter of thoughts and notes around the New England Patriots and NFL:
1. Coaches fly with Eagles: Most Patriots coaches did not attend the NFL combine this year, joining a growing number of teams that are looking for more productive ways for coaches to spend their time. One example of how the Patriots did so last week was the defensive staff visiting Boston College’s spring practice.
Third-year BC coach Jeff Hafley, whose career includes stints as a defensive backs assistant with the Buccaneers (2012-13), Browns (2014-15) and 49ers (2016-18), was asked the question: What does a day look like when the New England staff visits?
Hafley, 42, provided background on how BC’s defensive coordinator, Tem Lukabu, has a longtime connection with Patriots outside linebackers coach/playcaller Steve Belichick from their time together at Rutgers. And Hafley also spent the 2011 season at Rutgers when Belichick was a long-snapper.
“Tem said they had been in touch and wanted to come by and watch practice. I said, ‘Yeah, of course.’ They got here early in the morning. Steven popped in — shoot, he was probably here before 7 o’clock in the morning. It was good to catch up with him. When I was in the NFL, we talked a lot — common opponents, thoughts, ideas — and picked each other’s brains. But since I got here [in 2020], because of COVID, it’s kind of like ‘I haven’t seen anybody.’ So it was good to reconnect with him.
“Then they all came into our team meeting, and also our position meetings — linebacker coach sat in linebacker meetings, DB coach sat in DB meeting. Then they came to watch practice, and when we watched film as a defensive staff, like everybody else does after practice, they watched with us and asked us some questions and shared some ideas.”
There are benefits for both Hafley’s staff — which includes a significant number of coaches with NFL experience — and the Patriots.
“You have the college game definitely trickling into the NFL. A lot of stuff we’re defending, they’re starting to see. There’s give and take from both leagues,” Hafley said.
“That is cool, because to me, the sign of a good coach is no matter if I go and learn from a high school, college or NFL coach, you’re learning football and seeing how things are done differently. Maybe they pick up one thing they liked when watching practice. Or when we’re watching tape, we say, ‘Hey, how do you play this?’ Or they say, ‘We’re having issues with this, what would you guys do?’
“It’s good to have good football coaches bouncing ideas off each other. It’s guys with no egos who walk in and say, ‘Hey, I like that drill, I want to do it.’ … In the spring, I’ll get a chance to go out there and pick their brains. It sets up a good relationship, which we should have being so close. Why not help each other out as much as we can?”
2. Hafley on Patriots’ D: Hafley’s expertise has been with defensive backs — not a surprise given his prior background with Greg Schiano — and he was asked what stands out to him about New England’s defense.
“I’ve always respected the way they play ‘man’ [coverage]. The way they teach it. How patient they are at the line of scrimmage. They get their hands on people at the line of scrimmage. They play and understand leverage — and know where their help is — probably as good as anyone. They do a lot of different things, but they’re always on point. They always seem to know the strengths and weaknesses of the guy they’re matched up against and take things away that people do really well. And they adjust.”
3. Bailey’s pay bump: Patriots punter Jake Bailey would have been scheduled to earn a base salary of $965,000 this season, but due to his 2020 Pro Bowl selection, he qualifies for a proven performance bonus that ups his salary to $3.98 million. In terms of average salary per year, it makes Bailey the NFL’s highest-paid punter and sparks a question of how Bill Belichick views the contract from a value perspective. Bailey wasn’t as effective in 2021, but part of that might have been due to a knee injury. It wouldn’t be surprising to learn the sides are exploring the possibility of an extension, something that wouldn’t have been as time-sensitive had Bailey not earned the proven performance bonus.
4. Magic ‘8’ ball: “There’s nobody better than Coach Belichick at that ‘Middle 8.’ I wasn’t there long, but I can remember some real dialogue about that.” That’s what Minnesota Vikings first-year head coach Kevin O’Connell — a 2008 Patriots third-round draft choice as a quarterback out of San Diego State — told ESPN national writer Kevin Seifert at the NFL combine. The “Middle 8” is the final four minutes of the first half, and the first four minutes of the second half, and O’Connell’s reference to Belichick long-ago highlighting that as an area where games are won/lost reflects Belichick’s continued game-management influence in NFL circles.
5. Bolden’s fit: Sometimes a player’s fit in the Patriots’ system seems so obvious, it’s a surprise when it doesn’t happen. Receiver Hunter Renfrow (Raiders, fifth round, 2019) is one example. This year it’s Alabama slot receiver Slade Bolden, who said at the combine that he models his game against Julian Edelman. That got a chuckle out of Edelman, too.
https://t.co/tV1RR6mhog pic.twitter.com/5pN8xvqNo7
— Julian Edelman (@Edelman11) March 2, 2022
6. Slater’s presence: Longtime special teams captain Matthew Slater was a regular at Gillette Stadium leading into the Pro Bowl, as he prepared to play in the game. And he has remained so since. While there is no definitive word from him, Slater’s actions seem to indicate he hopes to return to the Patriots for a 15th season in 2022.
7. Princeton pride: Steve Verbit, who enters his 37th season as an assistant with Princeton’s football program, relayed that the coaching staff opened a meeting last week by talking about alum Matt Groh and his promotion to Patriots director of player personnel. Groh was a backup quarterback for the Tigers who didn’t play but left a mark on the program nonetheless (Class of 2003).
“There is such a sense of pride. That was a huge topic of discussion as we began our meeting, and we talked about why,” Verbit said. “You hear people talk about teammates, or special friends, and they’ll say ‘they’re the right guy.’ That’s who he was. He understood that everything matters, and had a different-type attitude, taking great pride in his preparation, and the way he approached everything on a daily basis really earned him the respect of his teammates. … We have a 12-member staff and every single one of us had a smile as wide as can be when we talked about Matt.”
8. Return of red? Something for fans to possibly look forward to in 2022 — the Patriots donning their red throwback jerseys for one game for the first time since 2012. The team hasn’t officially announced any plans at this point, but changes in NFL equipment rules regarding helmets (old rules only allowed one helmet for a season) have strengthened the possibility.
9. BC trio at combine: Offensive linemen Zion Johnson and Alec Lindstrom and linebacker Isaiah Graham-Mobley were BC’s three players invited to the combine. Hafley was asked what he’d tell an NFL coach about each of them.
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Johnson — “A complete home run. He can play multiple positions. He’s almost like a too-good-to-be-true type kid — the nicest, hardest-working human being out there. Strong. Big. In my opinion, he’s a first-round pick who should play football for a long time.”
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Lindstrom — “He’s worked himself into a guy who I think will play in the league for a long time. When I first got here, I thought he was doing it with heart and grit — he’s one of the toughest kids out there, and so smart — but what he did by coming back [in 2021] was transform his body. Now he has the strength behind him.”
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Graham-Mobley – “He’s what everybody wants at linebacker. Long, rangy. Aggressive. Smart. If he could have stayed healthy, look out. His speed, you’re not going to beat him to the perimeter. He can play man, zone and blitz.”
10. Did you know? The Patriots have drafted 23 players from Boston College in their history, with the most recent the late Ron Brace in 2009. The 23 players — of which 14 came from 1960 to 1974 — tie with Michigan as the most of any college.