Joe Judge is under heavy scrutiny after the NFL penalized the New England Patriots for OTA violations.
According to ProFootballTalk, the league punished the Patriots by stripping them of two OTA sessions. The league also fined head coach Bill Belichick $50,000, according to Greg Bedard. But as it turns out, Judge might be at the center of this Patriots controversy.
Bedard wrote in the Boston Sports Journal that Judge was the one who held the meeting that led to the violations. His special teams meeting went for 15 minutes, which ultimately pushed the team over the four-hour threshold.
Zack Cox of NESN, who transcribed Bedard’s article, tweeted, “(The NFLPA alleged) ‘that Patriots’ Special Teams Coach Joe Judge directed special teams players to be at the Club’s facility longer than the maximum of four hours permitted during Phase Two of the Club’s program.”
So while Belichick was fined and the team faces a stiff penalty, Joe Judge is alleged to have created the Patriots’ issues. This is not the first time that Judge has ever faced heavy scrutiny. He was skewered often during his tenure as the head coach of the New York Giants.
Now, though, he’s certainly gotten on the wrong side of the coin again. This time for an error that didn’t need to happen considering the rules in place. And considering that, it makes it all the more brutal.
[Boston Sports Journal, Zack Cox]