Offensive Coordinator Alex Van Pelt: "Experience is vital." | Patriots Press Conference

how you doing good how are you good thanks let me just start with a thought on where you're' seeing the offense grow from day one of Camp to where you guys are now yeah I think we made big strides offensively you know there's a lot of new teaching a lot of obviously the systems new the verbiage is new uh some of the techniques we're teaching are new and you're really starting to see it pay off I thought in the last few practices last last week or so um some of the stuff showed up in our game um where we feel like we're going to have a a pretty decent unit how have you seen Drake uh kind of improve throughout this camp and as to where he is now yeah he's taking steps forward every single day you that's the big thing there's no regression um he's taken what he's U learned from the previous practices and implying it to the next practice he's been really impressive last few weeks especially how is your experience in the league so far helped you with this whole process not just on the field but on the coaching staff in general yeah I mean I think the experience is is is vital you know I've been doing this for a long time and seen a lot of issues seen a lot of problems um you know solved a lot of those as well so I think he just gives you a foundation of you know I've seen a lot of football over the course of whatever it's been years that uh it definitely pays off um as a coach yeah EX for you to start kind of absolutely you know I had a a great coaching staff those guys are they're exceptional you know I lean on those guys all the time but uh to be able to stand in front of the group and run it um as your offense as our offense um it's special it's different I haven't had that opportunity in quite a while and it's uh it's fun how decision when it comes to playing Drake May depends on the guys around him speciically offensive line um some not all um you know obviously we we got to get them out there and and watch him play so um we' obviously like to get him out there with the first group if we can and see him operate with the first offense your system do you feel like you're able to run through Drake at this point as opposed to tailoring the off to him in his skill set um yeah there's certain things would do with Drake that maybe wouldn't do with jacobe so there is a little bit of element of that but um you know we we our system is our system and uh you know he's he he fits it as well as jacobe very well you mentioned that it would be nice to see Drake with the first team offense what's holding you back from that right now um Jobe you know right now he's our starting quarterback so um you know the good news is this week we'll get to play everybody you know we're still in the in the evaluation process we have one more preseason game and our guys are going to play so we have another chance to evaluate is there still a chance for to be the point start I'm sure I you know coach said it's open competition obviously we have one more game to go that I'm sure there's a chance um you know but I think you as you go in there's still a process of how you bring a rookie quarterback along um you know so I think that's important to remember as well which talked about your plan with Drake a lot um and he hasn't really given a lot of specifics on what the plan was for Drake this summer how would you describe your plan for Dr yeah I think it's just to bring him along um you know there's there's certain things in this offense that you know jacobe haven't played in this offense understand some of the tools that you can use to get you out of certain situations uh pressure situations things like that that that Drake is still learning so um you know but he has really been impressive the last few weeks of practice end in the game and he you know he's moving in the right direction for sure but again um you know a rookie quarterback coming in and playing you know obviously we have uh jacobe has tons of experience not just in the NFL but in this system and I've you know we've won games with him in Cleveland so I really understand I feel comfortable with his understanding but again Drake is really uh is pushing a lot of great I mean he's he puts the work in you know that's that's one area I i' check that box off you know you could call a Long play with multiple options and cans and you know multiple snap counts and he spits it out very easily what would have to do to you know earn that starting job like what do you need to see from him these final two practices I mean you just operate the offense um understand the issues and and have the answers for the issues that arise Alex what's your concern level with offensive line and how things might not be settled yeah I mean that's work in progress as well you know we're really still evaluating you know you'll see different lineups uh each practice you'll see guys switch sides go from guard to tackle right tackle to left tackle we're trying to find the best Five Guys maybe not the best five players but the best five guys that work together as a unit right now and that's still a work in progress hopefully this game will solidify that for us goer of the game last week I I didn't do much I was wondering how you've seen his development in that area and also is that like a prerequisite for him to start in regular season games for him to be able to operate from under Center yeah I mean in our system we go under Center obviously our Run game is a big part of what we do and that starts from under Center I think he's adapted well um it's it's foreign to him as he got here but right now it looks seamless we did have an exchange issue uh from a snap under Center that we have to clean up but um you know it's it's been smooth so far we saw V Daran l practice early yesterday do you have any update on him and whether yeah I'm I'm not going to talk about injured players right now um you know hopefully he'll be back as soon as can the decision to the decision to play Drake only snaps in the opener why did you make that decision and at this point do you regret it would you no I don't regret it at all I I think that was our our plan going in the whole time we've not stepped off of our plan we had a plan going in we're going to get him started and then you know add to the workload as the weeks progress but no definitely not what are some of the things about starting working quarterback that us on the outside may not understand when it comes into your decision yeah I mean that's the hardest position in sports as as a quarterback and especially for a rookie guy uh coming in and and not seeing all the defense that they're going to see in the NFL it's tough It's hard to transition in and it takes a little bit of time so I think we're you know going to be as patient as we can with that process early on you were talking about leading the offensive room having an opportunity to do that You' had maybe a little bit in the past but not really the full right about I'm curious your journey and having this opportunity like it took a a while Rel how much meaningful is that to you and how much is there like almost like a chip on your yeah no no chip on my shoulder whatsoever you know I I I thought I brought value to the Cleveland Browns as the offensive coordinator maybe not the play caller but a lot of the uh you know the way we did things was was based on what I believed in um having the opportunity here to fully game plan um again it's it's very collaborative with our staff I mean there's guys that um you know that have their areas of expertise and they're going to have a big say in how we what we do offensive schematically um but it's great to have that opportunity to stand in front of the room and be responsible ultimately on Sundays for play calling you ever wonder like how that whole process works like 30y olds who just pop up there after a couple years and then there's others who takes double digit yeah I was fortunate enough to get thrown into the fire in in 2009 with the bills where I called the whole season so exactly so um those experiences helped me tremendously going back reflecting on what I did wrong in the you know in that year so you know just continue growth as a coach several players said this week Alex that they felt like Drake turned a corner in that preseason game the way he played the way he commanded everything did you see that from him and then seemed like his confidence grew in practice even out here it definitely I think he made a big jump last week from the game in through practice he's had really good couple days of practice um you know the the footwork and the timing you start to see it pay off and some of those throws especially the third down uh conversion to Baker um you know we reped that in practice and it showed up in the game and it's it's what it's supposed to look like so he's making stri what have been your early impressions of jayen of Jaylen he's a competitor um you know he's unbelievable ball skills he's tough he does the Dirty Work in the Run game um really smart player as well really really happy with where he is right now yes first team what do you like so much about him especially in that looks like the exr yeah no his his ability one to to separate is is special um his speed down the field his ability to run away from coverage and man coverage all those things and he's really been tough at the catch point point this year so he's getting stronger in that regard um you know hopefully to see him shine here in this next game number right in this off I know it's an important position sure yeah no it's it's critical position and da has been outstanding um you know he's taken the coaching the leadership role that he plays for that offensive line group and the offens in whole um you know Nick has done a great job stepping in um and playing the center spot lately and you know he's we don't really miss a beat there I know when when Da missed a few days Nick came in and rolled with the ones and it looked looked like it should Al quarterback there's been a lot of talk about Drake but with Jobe the way he's played the last couple weeks concern there and how much do you weigh right now the totality sure I mean it it looks different sometimes than what you see um things happened differently in the game um we had a route that wasn't run correctly before the interception that would have hopefully wed walked into the end zone forest and we're not even talking about it right now so things come up in the course of the game U you know the first throw to Hooper um we had a chance there to convert that big third down and we didn't so it's it's a matter of inches it's a matter of everybody being on the same page and doing the right thing all the time but uh you know he's he's a solid guy he's a solid leader um he puts the work in he's been great with Drake and the other quarterbacks in the room from a mentor standpoint and really happy with what he's done for us two more questions how much flexibility do you have in your off kind ofor quarterback uh Drake said last week U that you know you go over plays with him or plays that he likes or things that he likes do you have that kind of flexibility kind of shave things to his strength or and absolutely again it's a toughest position in sports in my opinion so for me to put something on the call sheet that the quarterback doesn't feel comfortable with should not happen so we go through the lists each week we take each player's favorites and then I'm going to try to call those plays when those guys get into the game so they're they're you know it's very collaborative I I weigh a lot on how they feel about the game plan and what plays that they like um you know so we'll get the rankings from each player and you know generally I go right down that list of their rankings you know the worst thing in the world is to have a quarterback get a play that he does not like come through the headset there's just no confidence in the execution of it so we try to eliminate those early last question it seems like last penties were a bit of an issue but this week only one in the G cleared up what that and how do you feel like your group is handing this off you know that's part of growth as an offense you know we're multiple with our snap counts so we challenge those guys um it helps them in the long run with the pass rush um you know we made strides that was a definite area of emphasis going into to the last game was our operation not just at the lant of scrimmage but coming from the sideline communicating Personnel groupings and be an excellent pre- snap you know I think if we could control our pre- snap penalties and be good with our operation at least gives us a chance to get going thanks guys okay thanks guys appreciate it