The New England Patriots like to play rather coy when it comes to keep injuries under wraps, but now the team might have taken it a step further.
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Want to know who the player is down on the field during practice? There’s a good chance you aren’t going to figure it out considering the Patriots are the only NFL team not to have their players wear numbers on their practice jersey.
Actually, as much grief as the Patriots are given for their abnormal tactics, the lack of a number reportedly has nothing to do with identifying injured players but rather its an effort for players and coaches to become more familiar with each other.
“We’re learning a lot of different names and faces right now,” offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said. “We want our teammates to learn who the other people in the huddle are. I think it’s great for the quarterbacks to do that but also for the skill players, the different groups of linemen, the different centers. There are a lot of different people working with one another during the course of practice that really lends itself to us becoming a team. That’s what we’re really focused on.”
It’s certainly an interesting take, but do we believe it? Given it’s the Patriots (who did wear numbers last season), there’s always the raising of an eyebrow.
In fairness, a few other teams employ similar tactics like the Oakland Raiders who don’t practice with a logo on their helmet (Houston Texans have followed suit) while other teams employ numbers on a jersey, but do not put a name (cost saving measure, silly as that sounds).