Patriots Practicing Out West: Savvy Strategy?

The New England Patriots will practice at the University of Arizona, before heading to Paradise, NV for their Week 15 matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders.

To paraphrase The Beatles’ 1969 hit, Get Back, the New England Patriots left their home FOR Tucson, Arizona … and some practice-field grass.

However, will the strategy get the Patriots back to where they once belonged? … namely, the postseason?

To prepare for their Week 15 matchup with old friend Josh McDaniels and the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium, the Pats are electing to stay out west to practice, rather than return home to the friendly confines of Gillette Stadium in Foxboro.

For the next three days (Dec. 14-16) the Patriots will set up shop on the campus of the University of Arizona located in Tucson. The school is a mere two-hour drive from State Farm Stadium in Glendale; the site of their 27-13 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Monday night.

Logistically, the move makes a great deal of sense for New England. In addition to avoiding two lengthy, cross-country flights, the university offers suitable accommodations, as well as familiarity.

The Wildcats football program has several ties to the Patriots organization.

Head coach Jedd Fisch served as the team’s quarterbacks coach during the 2020 season, leaving in December to accept Arizona’s head coaching position. Former Pats wide receiver Darren Andrews is also on Fisch’s staff as an offensive analyst. Patriots Hall of Farmer, and Arizona alumnus Tedy Bruschi, also serves as senior advisor to the head coach.

Current Pats kicker Nick Folk (2003-06) and practice squad running back J.J. Taylor (2016-19) are both products of the Arizona program. Lastly, Arizona is also the alma mater of legendary Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, who played for the Wildcats from 2007-2009.

However, it should be noted that New England’s decision was more strategic than nostalgic. The time spent practicing by the team in Tucson will have a critical focus on strategy, execution and team-building. They will not only need to sound in all three aspects to defeat the Raiders on Sunday, but also will require these skills to make a successful run to the postseason.

Precedence has been set for New England with similar road trips of the past. In 2014, the team turned a pair of back-to-back road games in early December into a two-week venture away from Massachusetts. The Pats dropped their Week 13 matchup with the Green Bay Packers 26-21 at Lambeau Field. Ironically, then-Packer — and current Raiders wideout — Davante Adams led the team with catches for 121 yards. New England would bounce back in the second road game, defeating the San Diego Chargers 23-14 in Week 14 at Qualcomm Stadium.

The Pats also employed the strategy in the pandemic-plagued season of 2020, when participating in consecutive road games at SoFi Stadium against Los Angeles’ pair of teams. The Pats resounding won the opener 45-0 over the Chargers, but fell to the Rams 24-3 in the second leg of the week-to-week double-header.

While 1-1 splits can hardly be considered a resounding success, the trips forged a recognition and camaraderie within the respective teams. In fact, the 2014 squad was able to parlay their progress into a playoff run, which culminated in a championship victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX.

Patriots safety and team captain Devin McCourty was a member of the 2014 team, and recently recalled the manner in which he and his teammates bonded both on and off the field.

“You go back to being almost in college, sometimes,” McCourty told reporters last Friday. “CIt’s meetings, practice, back to the dorm with the guys, going over the same stuff you did in practice, watching film together,” McCourty said. “It’s just you [all], no distractions.”

New England’s most recent inductee into the Patriots Hall of Fame, Vince Wilfork, also fondly recollected his experience with the Pats practice strategy.

“Being in San Diego [in 2014] gave us the chance to bond,” said Wilfork. “We watched extra film, we hung out, we talked football. Everybody prepared well. We had three good practices.”

While the 2022 Patriots are admittedly incomparable to the 2014 team, this group of Patriots hopes to capture the type of growth required to remain in the playoff race. McCourty was clear that this is best, and possibly last, chance to do so.

“It’s a great opportunity, going here — to be as prepared as possible,” McCourty said. “It’s that time of the year where you want to do anything possible to give yourself the best chance to win, and I think that’s what we have to do.”

Earlier this year, the Pats attempted to acclimate to the heat and humidity of South Florida by heading to the region a few days early for their season-opener with the Miami Dolphins on Sept. 11. Alas, it did not work. The Pats lost to the Dolphins 20-7 at Hard Rock Stadium.

With temperatures expected to remain in the 50s and 60s, the Pats will not have to worry about elements being an issue. As such, they remain optimistic that their early arrival in the west will yield more positive results in Week 15 … and beyond.

The process begins on Wednesday as the Pats hit the practice field for the first of three sessions at the University of Arizona. 

Kickoff between the Pats and Raiders is set for 4:05 p.m. ET on Sunday, Dec. 18. 

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Follow Mike D’Abate on Twitter @mdabateNFL and Listen/Subscribe to his daily podcast: Locked On Patriots

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