Patriots QB Shares Encouraging Update On Bill O’Brien’s Offense

FOXBORO, Mass. — How’s the integration process going for Bill O’Brien’s new Patriots offense?

Even better than expected, according to one New England quarterback.

Second-year backup Bailey Zappe said the Patriots are ahead of schedule on their installation of O’Brien’s scheme.

“The install has been doing good,” Zappe said Monday after the Patriots’ 11th training camp practice. “We’re way ahead of (where) we thought we were going to be. We’re really deep in into red zone, third down, open-field stuff. So I think we’ve just got to keep stacking days and continue just improving on the plays we have in right now. I’m sure there’s more plays to be done, but I would say we’re about 80%.”

Head coach Bill Belichick shared a similar assessment before practice.

“We’ve got most everything in that we’re going to do,” Belichick said. “We’ve been through every situation on a practice field. We covered most of them in the stadium (last Friday) night. I mean, there’s always more to do, (but) we’ve covered all of the situations. We haven’t covered every single play we’re going to run, but we’re pretty far along.”

The Patriots are relying on O’Brien, their offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, to resurrect a unit that cratered under the direction of Matt Patricia and Joe Judge last season. So far, the results have been mostly positive. New England’s offense has looked far cleaner and more professional than it did last summer (though the play of its injury-depleted O-line has left much to be desired) and players have raved about O’Brien’s impact.

Fans will get their first look at O’Brien’s system in action when the Patriots host the Houston Texans on Thursday night in their preseason opener, though he’ll surely keep some aspects under wraps until the regular season begins.

Veteran starters typically play sparingly in Week 1 of the preseason, so top quarterback Mac Jones likely will have a light workload, if he suits up at all. Expect to see a lot of Zappe, Trace McSorley and possibly undrafted rookie Malik Cunningham behind center against Houston.