NE reportedly loses two days of OTAs for violation
Mike Florio and Chris Simms discuss the impact of losing 20% of OTAs, after the Patriots reportedly violated offseason rules, and examine how it speaks to the level of urgency in New England.
Video Transcript
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- A little trouble for the New England Patriots. According to Mike Rice of espn.com, the Patriots have lost two days of OTAs for violating the rules of the offseason program. We don't know yet what they did. We just know the consequence. Two days gone. I assume there will be an announcement at some point with some sort of information as to what it is the Patriots did to get themselves into hot water and lose those two days. It could be they had impermissible contact with players before the program began.
- Right.
- It could be there was impermissible involvement with coaches in phase one because phase one is just strength and conditioning.
- Right.
- It could be a variety of things. There are many different ways you can violate the rules. They got busted and they lost 20% of their total allotment of OTA practices because of it.
- Yeah. Hey, that's a big deal. We know that. They're a team that's trying to improve on what they've been the last few years. There's pressure on them. So is that important? Yes. But if I would bet-- if it was a betting man, I would think it's one of those things right there that, yeah, they were on the field in phase one, maybe cheating the system a little bit or what the current rules are.
But what I find more-- and this is where the NFL is weird, like, I would think that one of the players on the Patriots called and tattletaled on the Patriots too. That's the world we're in right now as far as the NFL and the NFLPA there. But yeah, something like that you explain must have happened.
- Bottom line, somebody's pushing the envelope, and somebody was willing to take the risk.
- Yeah.
- And it speaks to the level of urgency that exists to turn this around. It goes back to what Robert Kraft said at the league meetings in Arizona in late March. I think he made it as plain as he could for anybody willing to read between the lines. Bill Belichick cannot survive another bad season. Or if he does, he will survive it just barely. He needs to turn this thing around, and maybe their zeal to turn it around got him in trouble. And my guess is, Chris, scale of 1 to 10 how pissed off he is about this, 12, 13, 14, 15 maybe.
- Yeah, right. I would think so. They got some young players on the offense. They want to get Mac Jones and the offense going again, and this is the time you can work and get some of those kinks out. For sure, Mike.
