Jerod Mayo is making a curious decision for training camp in his first season as the New England Patriots head coach. Many eyes will be focused on news coming from their training camp this summer. These will be the first non-offseason Patriots practices not led by Bill Belichick since 1999.
The Biggest decision for Jerod Mayo’s staff
The big battle in training camp will be between veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett and the No. 3 pick in the draft, Drake Maye. Brissett will head into training camp as the QB1, but a strong performance by Maye could allow the former North Carolina standout to start in Week 1. However, Brissett was the better quarterback during OTAs, and many analysts believe it’s in Maye’s best interest to sit this season.
The second biggest decision for Mayo’s staff will be who Brissett or Maye will throw to. The Patriots have a plethora of talent on defense, but the receiver corps and offensive line have been issues for New England in recent seasons.
Mayo will add an extra element to their competition at training camp–heat.
The New England Patriots will practice later in the morning
According to Mike Reiss of ESPN, Mayo will have the Patriots start their practices later in the morning than they had at the end of Belichick’s tenure:
One example of how Mayo is putting his own stamp on the Patriots is what time they plan to practice in training camp — 11 a.m. ET. Under Belichick in his final stretch of seasons, the team practiced at 9:30 a.m. Perhaps now there is a little more time for meetings before practice, and temperatures will rise a bit and test the team’s conditioning.
Heat exhaustion?
The heat will test the players’ conditioning and mental acuity. Heat exhaustion is a real thing. The Patriots staff and roster will battle higher temperatures in late July and August. They might have to deal with being a little more tired after practices, carrying over their fatigue into later meetings or the next day.
