FOXBORO — A comparatively highly-paid offseason addition allowed the Patriots’ protection to organize for one of the vital harmful gamers of their Week 1 slate barely early this summer time.
Quarterback/extensive receiver Malik Cunningham, who earned a team-record $200,000 in whole ensures as a part of his rookie free-agent contract, was taking reps underneath middle towards the Patriots’ beginning protection way back to Aug. 13.
In these snaps, the Patriots had been primarily calling designed runs — learn choice and in any other case — with Cunningham underneath middle. One idea for why Cunningham, who’s now on the observe squad, was seeing these reps was to organize the protection for when the Patriots performed quarterback Jalen Hurts and the Eagles within the season opener on Sunday.
Head coach Bill Belichick didn’t wish to get too carried away with the worth of Cunningham exhibiting the Patriots seems to be much like those Hurts would possibly give them, nonetheless.
“Yeah, I mean Malik’s got some good skills,” Belichick stated. “I believe it might be a stretch to check Malik Cunningham to Jalen Hurts now. I imply, we’re speaking a few man who was second in MVP voting final yr, or no matter he was. Athletically, there’s some similarities, however you’re speaking about arguably the perfect participant within the league, or one of many high two or three finest gamers within the league. Nobody has anyone that may be him, and in the event that they do, that man’s in all probability not enjoying on the scout workforce for that workforce anyway. I imply, it’s what it’s. We undergo that each week.
“Every team’s got a few good players, and some great players, and it’s hard to replicate those players. If you have one, your guy’s probably not on the scout team doing that for that guy anyway. You do the best you can. We’ll have somebody to try to simulate the best we can what Hurts does, but we don’t have anybody like Hurts, and probably, neither does anybody else.”
Still, it does assist to face off towards a participant in observe who can run and has expertise enjoying quarterback. And that’s what Cunningham, a quarterback his complete life earlier than coming to the Patriots’ OTAs and changing to extensive receiver, can supply over a participant like, say, defensive again Myles Bryant, who imitated then-Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson in observe forward of a 2020 matchup in Seattle.
And clearly, if Cunningham was as proficient as Hurts, he wouldn’t have been an undrafted free agent or aiding the workforce from the observe squad. But he did present some particular skill carrying the ball at occasions this summer time.
“It just helps to go against anybody that’s athletic running the ball,” Patriots edge defender Josh Uche stated Wednesday. “Working on your leverage, working on your fundamentals, tackling, all of that stuff. It definitely helps when you have somebody that’s not a pocket passer.”
Patriots security Jalen Mills wouldn’t “spill the beans” on whether or not Cunningham particularly is working the scout workforce (Cunningham is imitating Hurts in observe, in accordance with a supply).
He would say that the workforce’s scout-teamers have accomplished “a really, really good job” this week and that he discovered it worthwhile to face off towards Cunningham in coaching camp.
“He is a very talented guy,” Mills stated. “You saw him in the preseason game. Getting that look early can definitely be helpful, because you do got a guy who can take off and run with the ball at any point, and he can throw the ball, as well.”
The Patriots usually make use of pocket passers within the mould of Mac Jones or Tom Brady. So it’s distinctive to have an choice on the scout workforce who can imitate a participant like Hurts, who rushed for 760 yards with 13 touchdowns final season.
A scout-team participant’s main job is to duplicate an offense, not a participant, nonetheless.
“When you’ve got a person like Malik back there it does help out a lot because that’s what you’re going to see,” veteran security Adrian Phillips stated. “But I’d say it’s actually extra in regards to the ideas of what they do.
“We play so many running quarterbacks now that it is what it is. You can throw somebody back there and get the look. I feel like what we need to do is focus on the concepts of what they do and the RPOs and just the different little wrinkles that they have. I think that’s where we get the real advantage. Because Jalen, he’s a mobile quarterback 100%. But at the same time he makes a lot of great throws from the pocket.”
And that’s why Hurts is a beginning quarterback and Cunningham just isn’t. Hurts accomplished 66.5 p.c of his passes for 3,701 yards with 22 touchdowns and 6 interceptions whereas main the Eagles to a 14-1 file and NFC championship final season. Cunningham, at this level in his profession, just isn’t as proficient of a passer. So, it’s definitely doable that the Patriots are mixing in seems to be from Bailey Zappe or recently-signed QB Matt Corral to deal with Hurts’ passing reps.
Source: www.bostonherald.com