As the New England Patriots look to win a third straight game, this time over the New York Jets, they seem to be getting a bit healthier. That includes the possibility that star wide receiver A.J. Brown returns as soon as this week.
The question of Brown’s return, for the time being, remains up in the air. That can be a challenge for offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who needs to know who he’ll have on the field when putting together his game plan. That’s why he’s putting together multiple game plans.
Per Mark Daniels, on Thursday McDaniels explained that he’s prepared for both a scenario where Brown plays. They’re also ready for a scenario where he misses another week.
“Those guys have done a tremendous job studying their responsibilities,” McDaniels said.
In the one half of a game that Brown was able to play this season, the passing game went right through him. He took up attention from the secondary and his loss was felt for weeks once he went down with the high-ankle sprain.
Even if Brown plays, another challenge McDaniels needs to consider is just how healthy he really is. That means the Patriots will probably keep Brown on a “pitch count,” easing him back onto the field.
The Latest on New England Patriots Wide Receiver A.J. Brown
This is the first week that A.J. Brown will be able to return for the Patriots, after going on IR. That doesn’t inherently mean he has to return, though.
What the Patriots did do was open Brown’s 21-day practice window. That gives them 21 days to officially activate him from IR. However, he can now practice with the team. He did just that on Thursday, October 15th. There, he was limited.
Brown was happy to be back out there with the team. However, he did admit that it’s “still up in the air” if he’s able to play on Sunday.
“There’s no need to sulk about anything. It’s still a blessing. I’m going to repeat, this is my favorite team… Regardless of if I’m out there on the field, everything is a blessing,” Brown said.
There is certainly an argument to push Brown back quickly. He’s your best receiver and adds an entirely new dimension to the offense. That’s the same reason why you might also want to be careful with him, to avoid aggravating an injury. In particular, with the offense hitting its stride the past two weeks.
Patriots OC Josh McDaniels Recently Garnered Praise
Early in the season, there had been criticism of the Patriots offense to go around. That included plenty of fingers pointed at Josh McDaniels.
Luckily, the Patriots have turned things around a bit on that side of the ball. Now, McDaniels is garnering plenty of praise. That includes from Dan Orlovsky of ESPN.
“Giving credit to Josh McDaniels here,” Orlovsky said. “I loved the way he used a bunch of four-by-one formations. Four on one side, one on the other. One, for protection. Two, they ran the same concept out of a bunch of different looks called dagger… So, Josh McDaniels [was] using kind of a somewhat similar formation, but [in] different ways to get to it… I think it just allowed Drake [Maye] to be explosive down the field in the past game.”
NFL fans can be temperamental. So, it’ll be interesting to see if that praise of McDaniels holds up in the coming weeks.
Patriots OC Josh McDaniels on Game Planning for Potential A.J. Brown Return