JuJu Smith-Schuster: Bill O’Brien made his decision to join Patriots a ‘no-brainer’
"To bring Mike [Gesicki] and all those other guys, those key pieces, it’s kind of like, ‘wow’”.
FOXBOROUGH — As JuJu Smith-Schuster reeled in a top-tapping catch in the end zone, Mac Jones — finger pointed in the air — rushed in to celebrate with his new wide receiver.
Their revelry included a celebratory dance, a gesture that Smith-Schuster hopes becomes routine during the 2023 season.
“Honestly, Mac pulls up, we just make up new dances as we go,” Smith-Schuster said following Wednesday’s practice. “And that was just one of many.”
Both Jones and Smith-Schuster had plenty to celebrate on Wednesday.
For the first time during Patriots training camp, Jones and the Patriots’ offense delivered a definitive knockout punch against the team’s defensive personnel, with Bill O’Brien’s revamped system leading to a varied aerial attack during a competitive, padded practice.
Both Jones and Bailey Zappe completed 25 of their 29 passing attempts on Wednesday, with Jones hitting eight different players for receptions. Smith-Schuster, a familiar presence out of the slot so far during camp, was tied with Hunter Henry with three catches on throws from Jones.
Wednesday’s results were a welcome change from the first week of camp, where New England’s defense regularly thwarted any offensive momentum on red-zone drills and other passing sequences.
But over a week since full-squad practices began, it’s clear that O’Brien’s efforts to right the ship of a dysfunctional Patriots offense are yielding positive results.
For Smith-Schuster, O’Brien’s arrival as New England’s new offensive coordinator played a key role in why he decided to sign a three-year, $33 million contract with the team back in March.
“When they got Bill O’Brien, it was kind of like a no-brainer, just because I know how this system is and how it works and how he works the offense,” Smith-Schuster said of what prompted him to sign in Foxborough. “[Bill] Belichick, as he is as the head coach, to bring [O’Brien] in and to bring Mike [Gesicki] and all those other guys, those key pieces, it’s kind of like, ‘wow’”.
After the first few practices primarily saw Jones settle for short-yardage gains and checkdowns, the Patriots’ top signal caller has started to open up things over the last few days. Since Sunday’s practice, Jones has completed 38 of 49 passes, good for a completion percentage of 78 percent.
“That dude, man, he’s a spark,” Smith-Schuster said of Jones. “He’s a spark of our offense, it starts with him and we kind of all just feed off of it and then once that’s going, the O-line to the running backs, the receivers, the tight ends — like we’re all just pouring in and when he’s having fun, we’re having fun.”
Mac Jones’s own growth under O’Brien’s tutelage will likely determine just how high this team’s ceiling can be in 2023. But Jones’s supporting cast has also stepped up so far during camp.
Henry has served as a dependable safety blanket in red-zone situations, but Smith-Schuster’s elusiveness out of the slot has given Jones extra options when asked to operate with little time and space in the end zone.
DeVante Parker’s size and athleticism has allowed him to haul in some “jump-ball” catches during competitive practices, while additional contributors like rookie Demario Douglas have seen their stock rise thanks to crisp route-running and stop-and-start explosiveness.
Of course, New England will need to continue to build off of Wednesday’s practice, and anticipate some push-back from a stout defensive unit. Other expected players like Kendrick Bourne and Tyquan Thornton need to show more during drills.
Gains made in practice will also need to translate to game situations against opposing rosters, starting with New England’s preseason opener against the Texans on Aug. 10.
But so far, Smith-Schuster likes what he sees from an offensive grouping that is just scratching the surface of their potential during the early days of August.
“It takes time. There’s always room to improve,” Smith-Schuster said of New England’s offense. “And I would say last week, the past days or weeks we’ve been installing new plays, and we’re finally being able to go out there and pretty much know what we know. And we’ve mastered it.
“So this week was kind of like a review week where we’re stacking good days going into next week and the following weeks … we have to keep dialing in and mastering these plays.”
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