Patriots offense struggling with fundamentals in padded practices

After three straight plays of what would've been zero yards in a real game, Jerod Mayo made the Patriots' entire offense run a lap.

The offense came out of the huddle for a fourth play, but appeared to line up wrong, as Mayo stopped the play before they could run it. Projected starting quarterback Jacoby Brissett had an animated reaction to the pre-snap miscue. All 45 offensive players and all offensive coaches took a jog around the practice field for their troubles.

It was the second straight day that Mayo made the entire offense run a lap over pre-snap problems. On Monday, during the first padded practice of the summer, rookies Joe Milton and Javon Baker couldn't connect on a pass, which capped a rough stretch for both Milton and fellow rookie Drake Maye, leading to the first lap for the whole offense.

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Individual players haven't been safe from the dreaded lap, either. Tackle Chukwuma Okorafor, rookie guard Layden Robinson, and running back Rhamondre Stevenson have all had to run laps for committing false starts, going back to Sunday. But the full-group punishments are the most draining.

"It's just accountability, just doing the right thing every play, even when we're tired," Stevenson said after practice Tuesday. "When we fail to do that, there's consequences."

In a trait passed down to Mayo from his predecessor, Bill Belichick, laps have been the head coach's way of telling the offense that simple pre-snap mistakes are unacceptable. And it's been one of Mayo's methods of dispelling the notion that he's a "player's coach," a label with often-negative connotations.

"Look, they can say whatever they want to say," Mayo said during an interview with Kay Adams for FanDuel TV. "For me, it's about accountability, it's about these guys being professionals. It's not about setting a bunch of rules ... you're a professional, take ownership of your career, and let's go out here and ball out, and if you as an individual play well, then your respective side of the ball is going to play well, and that leads to the team playing well. I challenge the guys with that."

The pre-snap problems with the Patriots offense are particularly frustrating in 2024, because they've been an issue since at least 2022, when Matt Patricia coordinated the unit and coached the O-line. The line, quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, and tight ends are almost entirely new, as are the offensive coaches. But similar issues remain.

It's only six days of open practices training camp, with seven more to go, and there's still the entire preseason to come. So, the Patriots have plenty of time to iron out their pre-snap woes. But it's clear at this point what's going to happen at practice if they can't.

“We just kept jumping offsides,” tight end Austin Hooper said Monday. “We aren’t figuring it out by just talking to each other. Let’s run until we figure it out. So, we’ll be a cross-country team, or we’ll be a football team. I’d rather be a football team."

Silver lining: when the Patriots' starting offense has lined up properly and snapped the ball, they've looked at times like a representative NFL unit, capable of making plays down the field - a rare sight from the offense of the past two seasons. Brissett has been easily the best QB on the field, and Maye's development, while a bigger long-term concern, is becoming a side piece to the story of 2024, as Brissett tightens his grip on the starting job.

Brissett and tight end Hunter Henry connected for the best play of the day during a red zone 11-on-11 period, as the quarterback threaded the needle to Henry in the end zone over safety Joshuah Bledsoe for a "touchdown." That play pumped up the rest of the offense watching from the sidelines. It certainly beat running another lap.

As for the line, Brissett mostly had a clean pocket, with two total pressures charted on 11 dropbacks. It's the pass-catchers that let the unit down post-snap. Brissett finished 5-of-10 passing, but two were dropped - wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster had the most egregious drop of the day, bobbling it off his hands after getting wide open on an out route - and another was a catchable ball for Hooper that Bledsoe broke up.

Maye and the backups aren't off the hook, in fact it's worse. Maye finished 4-of-10 in 11-on-11, while facing three total pressures and dealing with erratic snapping by center Atonio Mafi. Maye's four completions were all in the short area of the field. Oh, and he and running back Kevin Harris botched a handoff, as Harris appeared to straight-up drop the ball behind the line. Cornerback Marco Wilson scooped it up and ran it back.

The third overall pick in the 2024 draft has looked unsure of himself at times, hesitating and pump-faking in lieu of going for a play down the field. The mere fact he's repping exclusively with the 2's is a sign that he's a long way from learning the Patriots offense and how to "play the position" at the NFL level.

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But ultimately, it's pre-snap where the Patriots offense has had the biggest problems. Mayo agrees, based on when he's made the guys take laps. It remains to be seen whether that disciplinary style will lead to progress.

Because after three straight days of cross-country, we're still waiting for 100% football.

Matt Dolloff is a writer and digital content producer for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read all of his articles here.