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J
abrill Peppers met with the media for the first time as a member of the New England Patriots on Tuesday and he seems surprised by Joe Judge’s role in the coaching staff.
Besides Bill Belichick being the Patriots’ head coach, not a lot is known about New England’s coaching staff. Matt Patricia, Joe Judge, and Nick Caley will be involved in the offense but not much is known about their specific roles.
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In the introductory press conference, Peppers said that while he is a little surprised to see Judge on the offensive side of the ball, he leaned towards that position with the New York Giants.
“But back in New York he kind of leaned toward the offense and favored them a little bit more. So it’s not too much of a surprise to me,” Peppers said via NESN. “But it will be interesting to see what he does on the offensive side because usually I know him as the head guy and the special teams guru. So, it will be interesting to see him on that side and talk a little smack to him.”
Mutual Respect
Judge’s tenure as head coach of the Giants didn’t end up going too well. In two seasons, New York went 10-23 under the 40-year-old.
While his stint as head coach was a failure, Peppers said that he enjoyed playing for Judge and he played a part in the safety coming to New England.
I love Joe (Judge), Peppers said via NESN. “He came back to New England, and I wanted to come join him. So now we’re here, and I’m just excited to learn from some of the best coaches in the game.”
Peppers was a captain in both of the seasons that Judge was the Giants’ head coach. Even though the team wasn’t successful, he said that he has a good relationship with the coach.
“Me and Joe, we have a great relationship,” said Peppers. “So obviously, I wanted to continue that… Overall, just the culture, man, and wanting to come learn from the best coaches in the game. They like a three-safety look, they know how to use multiples, and I’m already familiar with the system, so I thought it was a no-brainer.”
A Familiar Feeling
With Peppers and Judge working together while in New York, it shouldn’t be that hard for the safety to adjust to New England. Peppers also told the media that Judge brought some of what he learned with the Patriots to the Giants.
“I definitely think that some of the things he learned here or he saw here, he implemented there,” Peppers said via Masslive. “So I don’t think it’ll be too much of a culture shock for me. Even just watching the workouts that the guys are doing while I’m in the building, there’s some carryover from when we were in New York.”
It will be interesting to see how Peppers is used in New England. The former first-round pick is used to playing all over the field as he played 383 snaps in the box, 264 in the slot, 143 at free safety, 77 on the defensive line, and 44 as a wide cornerback in recent seasons, per Pro Football Focus. Peppers’ best season came in 2020 when he racked up 91 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and an interception.
But the safety can also be used as a punt returner if the Patriots want to utilize him on special teams as well. Peppers has 117 returns in his career consisting of both punt and kick returns.
So while Peppers is a bit surprised to see Judge coaching up the offense, the safety seems confident that he and the coach will do well in their new roles with the Patriots.
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