Why are the Patriots starting involuntary practices a week late? – Toucher & Hardy
Why are the New England Patriots starting their involuntary practices a on April 8th, instead of April 1st?
Mike Reiss from ESPN.com addressed that question during the Toucher & Hardy radio program this morning. He was also asked whether Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo has control over team decisions.
Rob “Hardy” Poole wondered if Jerod Mayo truly has significant control over decisions regarding player picks and team direction, considering his role in the organization. He questioned Mayo’s authority in these matters, noting that while Mayo often speaks for the organization, he may not have full autonomy. Poole mentioned the structured nature of the Patriots and suggested that organizational decisions could override individual opinions.
Reiss agreed with Hardy’s point. He highlighted the importance of consensus within the organization, indicating that decisions are typically made collectively rather than by one person. Reiss also mentioned Mayo’s decision to delay the offseason program, explaining that it’s aimed at aligning the coaching staff’s messaging and avoiding confusion for the players.
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TRANSCRIPT:
Rob “Hardy” Poole: I wonder if sometimes when Mayo’s speaking, though, you know, he speaks with like an authority and, you know, things like the picks and the direction. If he’s doing it with full confidence that he has that much say in the matter, and I know he’s speaking for the organization, and that’s the position he’s put in in these moments. But there are a couple of times when he was talking about, you know, what they’re going to do and you know what they might decide. And I wonder, is it really in your control at all? I’m sure they give him a say on some of these things. But, you know, the way the Patriots are structured right now, I, I wouldn’t even fault the Patriots if they said, oh, no, will assemble the team, and then you just worry about coaching it.
ESPN’s Mike Reiss: Yeah. And I actually think that that’s true. Like what you said is true. It’s going to make the call, right? What they hope, what they hope is that when they get to that point that they’re all on board. And I think because what you don’t want to do as a personnel staff, if you’re Elliot Wolff, is give the coaching staff a player that they don’t want or they’re not excited about, because you’re almost going to write the story before the guy even gets here. Usually that’s not going to work out. So they’re figuring it out I and I’ll tell you, I think one really interesting thing that I thought he said yesterday to me was that they can actually start their voluntary offseason program on April 1st, but they’re not doing it until April 8th. And when I explained why, guys, it was twofold to me. One, he’s basically telling you like they’re trying to catch up, like they’re not ready to do it April 1st because they have so much ground that they need to catch up on. But two and I actually thought this was encouraging from a standpoint of trying, you know, what they’re trying to do is he wants to make sure they don’t send mixed messages to the players. You know, so he’s going to take that first week to make sure that all the coaches are operating on the same page.
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NICK GEMELLI is a Producer on Toucher & Hardy, weekday mornings 6-10AM on 985 The Sports Hub. He is also a contributor on 985thesportshub.com. Follow Nick on X (formerly Twitter) at @NickGemelli.
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