Alex Van Pelt might have said it with a smile but his admission was more concerning than commendable.
It served as a strike against the New England Patriots, who preached collaboration and communication ever since Eliot Wolf and Jerod Mayo took over Bill Belichick’s duties.
Van Pelt faced a series of questions about his latest wrinkle: getting cornerback Marcus Jones involved on offense. The first-year Patriots coordinator humorously shared Jones texted him about getting involved. Van Pelt initially didn’t know who was texting him so he spent a few minutes Googling who it might be.
“There was a guy who came by Green Bay for a cup of coffee and I’m like, ‘Why would he be texting me,'” Van Pelt told reporters at Gillette Stadium on Thursday, per a team-provided video. “And one of our coaches came up to me and said, ‘Marcus is trying to get ahold of you.'”
Harmless fun, right?
Van Pelt then revealed he was unaware Jones previously played offense. Van Pelt didn’t know until he received Jones’ text.
“That was the first it had come to my attention that he had played offensive plays and I’m glad that he did it,” said the smiling Van Pelt.
He didn’t know? He didn’t know!
The feel-good story quickly turned into a not-so-feel-good confession.
Neither Wolf nor Mayo told Van Pelt the previously punchless Patriots had a Swiss Army knife in Jones? The defensive staffers who survived Belichick’s exit didn’t mention it either? The offensive players? Sure, it wasn’t huge sample size from Jones but it nevertheless was a productive one. He’s electric with the ball in his hands, after all.
Jones played 19 offensive snaps the previous two seasons, 18 of those which came in 2022 before his injury-abbreviated 2023 campaign (two games). Jones averaged 19.5 yards per reception during those 18 offensive snaps and three of his four receptions went for first downs. He scored a touchdown on the other.
“He obviously brings a lot of juice,” Van Pelt said.
Sure does. That’s why one would’ve thought it was brought up in conversation. Especially in such a collaborative environment like One Patriot Place.
There’s blame to go around. Van Pelt clearly didn’t lock himself in a room and watch a ton of film from previous Patriots seasons. Fans might rather stick forks into their eyes, sure, but the offensive coordinator doesn’t have that same privilege. Some of the current team’s best offensive players — Rhamondre Stevenson, Hunter Henry, Kendrick Bourne — were on that offense. It might’ve benefited watching those players.
Is any of this earth-shattering news? No. But it’s still an oversight at the very least. It hurts the narrative that Wolf, Mayo and the coaching staff stressed all offseason.
