How Patriots Wideout Reacted To Sauce Gardner’s Apparent Dig At Offense

FOXBORO, Mass. — Judging from JuJu Smith-Schuster’s reaction, Sauce Gardner’s comments on Wednesday didn’t quite reach the level of bulletin board material.

Gardner, the New York Jets’ superstar top corner, was asked for his thoughts on New England’s offense ahead of the two teams’ matchup at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. He pointed out that obvious — that the Patriots offense was too simple the first two weeks — but wisely covered his tracks before sounding overly dismissive.

“They don’t really have a complex offense,” Gardner told reporters in New York. “It’s pretty simple for the quarterback to get. The gap scheme, everything is really simple. But they excel at it. What they try to do is get other people to mess up and make mistakes. They just do everything right.”

Smith-Schuster was informed of Gardner’s comments shortly after they went viral and then asked for his response.

“Obviously, we try to run our plays the most perfect,” Smith-Schuster said after Wednesday’s Patriots practice. “Not every play is perfect. There is times where we may mess up on something. But I guess what he’s saying is, you know, somewhat (true). … We do go 100% full speed. We try to make less mistakes than them. And we try to capitalize on those.”

Here's JuJu Smith-Schuster responding to Gardner's comments about the Patriots offense: https://t.co/AWtgZym3vR pic.twitter.com/9DElql3dVL

— Dakota Randall (@DakRandall) September 20, 2023

Ultimately, Gardner is right: The Patriots offense wasn’t complex in Weeks 1 and 2. Nearly all of Mac Jones’ passes came out of shotgun formation, and New England’s running game largely was nonexistent. There’s been no play-action to speak of.

But that’s not how they want to play — as Bill O’Brien alluded to Tuesday morning. New England has been forced to work around a patchwork offensive line that can block neither the run nor the pass.

The good news is that left tackle Trent Brown returned to practice Wednesday, potentially setting up the season debut of the Patriots’ ideal O-line combination. If those pieces fall into place and play well Sunday, Gardner might wind up eating his words.