Brady hopes attitude is right
PATRIOTS NOTEBOOK
FOXBORO — Tom Brady sounds about as curious as everyone else.
The Patriots can say all the right things, practice the right way and have the best intentions all week as they prepare to win their first game of the season Sunday against the Saints.
The only thing that will matter is their performance in the game.
“We’ll see,” Brady said. “Sunday is the important day.”
Shortly after losing to the Chiefs, 42-27, Brady called out the Patriots’ lack of a winning attitude. It was surprising because he brought it up unsolicited and then expounded when further pressed.
And yesterday, when asked if their attitude is in the right place this week, Brady merely responded, “I hope so.”
That’s how Brady typically answers questions about the Patriots’ readiness for an upcoming game, so this shouldn’t be viewed as a code-red situation. Plus, Brady doesn’t need to reward anyone for a positive attitude on a Wednesday, just like the Patriots don’t earn any credit for playing three quarters against the Chiefs.
They didn’t finish in the opener. They absolutely must finish this week of preparation and again during the game.
“Obviously, what we did the other night is not good enough by any means, in any particular phase of the game, at any position,” Brady said. “When you get out-scored by 21 points or out-gained by 200 yards in the fourth quarter, there’s a lot of things that need adjusting. Hopefully, we can identify those things as quickly as possible and gain confidence in what we’re doing, so we can go out there and execute well and play well against a very good team.
“This team isn’t going to make it easy on us. We have to go earn it, just like the last team. There’s not a bunch of easy plays out there. There’s no magic play you can call. You’ve just got to make no excuse and go make the play. We’re all going to be challenged with that opportunity.”
In a lot of ways, the 40-year-old quarterback sounds like Bill Belichick, and they both set absurdly high standards for everyone in the building, which they’ve earned the right to do. So in terms of delivering a message, there’s no point in tiptoeing around it.
“When you get beat the way we got beat, I think that sat with everyone for a very long time,” Brady said. “We’re going to have to go do something about it. I mean, no one else can do it for us. We’re the only guys in the locker room. No one else is putting on the uniform. It’s only us. It’s up to us to go do something about it, so that’s what we have to be able to do.”
Injury updates
The status of three key veterans are up in the air.
Linebacker Dont’a Hightower (sprained knee), slot receiver Danny Amendola (concussion, knee) and special teams captain Matthew Slater (hamstring) are question marks after the first practice of the week. Hightower and Amendola didn’t participate to any extent, while Slater departed for the conditioning field after the early stretching period.
Amendola’s absence was the bigger concern because it indicated he still is in the early stages of the concussion protocol. This is the seventh day he has been monitored for the head injury.
Hightower has dealt with similar knee issues in the past, and the Patriots often have chosen to rest him during practice. It’s certainly possible the Patriots won’t know until later in the week whether Hightower can play Sunday against the Saints.
Slater has dealt with a hamstring injury for a month and has yet to play in a game.
Safety Devin McCourty (groin) and right tackle Marcus Cannon (ankle) were limited yesterday. Cannon was injured early against the Chiefs when it appeared someone stepped on him, but he never came off the field.
On the plus side, linebacker Harvey Langi (concussion) was removed from the injury report after missing the season opener. He’d likely start for Hightower if the captain can’t go.
Rookie tackle Tony Garcia, who is on the non-football illness list and is out for the season, was present in the stretching line along with Keionta Davis and Andrew Jelks. Davis and Jelks have taken part in this routine for a while, but this was Garcia’s first appearance since leaving the joint practice last month with the Jaguars.
The Patriots also signed rookie cornerback Ryan Lewis to the practice squad.
Under the hood
Saints quarterback Drew Brees admittedly doesn’t know much about wide receiver Austin Carr just yet. The Saints claimed Carr off waivers from the Patriots in Week 1, presumably to fill in during Willie Snead’s threegame suspension, but the popular preseason rookie was inactive for their season opener against the Vikings.
It’s possible Carr could make his debut Sunday against his original team if he develops quickly enough. But to Brees, that remains an unknown.
“I like his attitude,” Brees said. “I think he’s got some ability to play a lot of different places for us. We’ll see how that evolves.”