Dante Scarnecchia says it's too soon to panic about Patriots' offense
BOSTON -- For the past two weeks in Foxboro, the top story has been the clunky, disjointed and uninspiring performance from the offense on the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium.
Some of that learning curve was to be expected, though the extent to which the offense has struggled thus far has raised the concern level in the region.
Dante Scarnecchia, who's been through a few training camps himself, says it's not yet time to sound any alarms.
Speaking with the Boston Herald's Karen Guregian, the retired offensive line coach said that it's far too early in the summer for panic to set in.
"I would say this, in fairness to everyone: I just think this is the wrong time to evaluate it," Scarnecchia told Guregian. "The pads have come on, but they're not playing real football yet. Whenever they play the Giants [on Thursday night], we'll have a better idea where this thing is. Even at that point, it's not totally fair to say they can't [do it]. I think there's a [three-game] process at hand, where we'll have a better idea where this thing is going. ... What doesn't look good in training camp early, has no bearing on anything."
Scarnecchia experienced just about everything there is to experience during his 48 seasons of coaching, 34 of which were with the Patriots and 19 of which were as New England's offensive line coach. So his opinion on the state of the Patriots' offense in early August carries plenty of weight.
He also put his faith in Matt Patricia, who has experience as a defensive coordinator and a head coach but in his first year running an offense and serving as offensive line coach.
"I think it's a heavy load to ask of someone. I'm not going to refute that and say it's not," Scarnecchia told Guregian. "But there are guys who are very, very capable, and have minds that are so strong they can take things on like that. We can all make this judgment on Matt right now, but we don't know. He's been a coordinator. So he knows what it takes."
