New England Patriots arrive in West Palm Beach looking for a good dose of heat, humidity

WEST PALM BEACH -- Bill Belichick has plenty to be concerned about starting his 29th year as a head coach in the NFL, including a new offense that has looked disjointed while going through its growing pains and an opponent that's beaten him three straight times and now has renewed optimism with a new coach.

So hoping to take one worry off his plate, Belichick opted to move the New England Patriots headquarters to West Palm Beach for three days for the purpose of putting his team though a few days of practices in sauna-like conditions.

"Welcome to Florida," Belichick said, forcing a smile as he stepped up to the microphones Wednesday with the temperature hovering around 92 degrees and a heat index of triple figures.

In other words, exactly what he wanted five days before kicking off the season in steamy Hard Rock Stadium against what has become his nemesis, the Miami Dolphins.

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The Patriots arrived Tuesday and will spend three days on the Rinker Athletic Complex, home to Palm Beach Atlantic University. The organization started exploring options when the schedule was released and landed in a spot about 60 miles north of Hard Rock Stadium.

We've been away for a week during the season multiple times the last few years," Belichick said. "It worked out. It can be a good experience. I think this will."

Only if the Patriots figure out a way to win at a venue in which they have lost seven of their last nine games.

Linebacker Matthew Judon asked what he believes spending five days in South Florida - as opposed to Foxboro, Mass., where Wednesday's high was 70 degrees - will accomplish.

"Hopefully," he said, "get acclimated to the weather."

Heat and humidity both present at Hard Rock Stadium

It's the heat and the humidity.

But ending a three game losing streak to a team that has not won a postseason game in more than two decades (while the Patriots were winning six Super Bowls) will come down to more than making sure there is enough shade on the sidelines and players are properly hydrated.

The Patriots are in Year 3 A.B. (After Brady) and results have been underwhelming - one sub-.500 season and last season when they limped into the playoffs before being embarrassed by Buffalo.

Now, after quarterback Mac Jones exceeded everyone's expectation in his rookie year (even with the late season fade) and the Patriots won 10 games, Belichick decided to rip up the offense after losing offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who now is the head coach in Las Vegas.

And it has not gone well. The Patriots were 28th in scoring and 16th in total offense during the preseason. Jones had a passer rating of 60.0 after going 13 of 21 with no touchdowns and an interception. Inept offensive play became a theme of the preseason.

Adding to the confusion, Belichick did not name an OC and has senior advisor/OL coach Matt Patricia and QB coach Joe Judge as the de-facto coordinators.

Jones, though, believes progress is being made.

"He's done a great job just explaining everything to me from his standpoint of view," Jones said about Belichick. "He's seen a lot of football. He's very good about understanding about how to see it through my eyes but also how he sees it. He's a really smart guy, we're both smart, and we both can come together and come to a conclusion that this is why you want to do this play. He explains it. I got to go execute it."

Mac Jones, Patriots offense on the hot seat

Still, the Patriots continue to search for an offensive identity, not ideal days away from the season opener against a team whose defense became its strength by the end of the 2021 season.

"The uncertainty has to clear itself up," Jones said. "There's just a mentality, it's all about getting in the right spot and having confidence in one another. We've done that. It's not going to be a perfect clean picture right off the bat when something's new but I feel like we've made really good strides in practice, in the games even when you really watch the tape you see how close we are."

Belichick has plenty of tape of the Dolphins' success against his team, though. Miami swept the season series last year; its lone win the first two months of the season was at New England.

"It's a new year," Judon said.

What cannot be found on tape is a team led by Mike McDaniel. When McDaniel and Belichick meet at midfield Sunday, they'll represent 433 regular season games and 290 regular season wins combined.

None belonging to the Dolphins head coach.

But Belichick does have film on McDaniel's offense from his five years with the 49ers, four as the run game coordinator and one as the offensive coordinator.

"It's always different on opening day," Belichick said when asked if preparing for a first-year coach is any different. "Opening day, new season we'll see what that brings.

"It certainly looks like from preseason the kicking game is similar to (the past), the defense is similar. Mike's influence on the offense is definitely 49ers flavor."

Tom D'Angelo is a journalist at the Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at tdangelo@pbpost.com. 

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: New England Patriots in South Florida preparing for Miami Dolphins