Belichick focused on Jets’ Mosley
Bill Belichick delivered an ultimate compliment to C.J. Mosley.
It was quick and it was powerful, which is similar to how Mosley plays middle linebacker for the Jets.
“[There’s] no reason to take him off the field,” Belichick said Thursday, wrapping up a scouting report of New York’s leading tackler with 70.
“He’s as good a linebacker as we’ve faced in all areas. There’s a lot of linebackers that don’t have the coverage skill that he has, both man and zone. A lot of that is instincts and awareness,” said Belichick. “But he reads and diagnoses plays very quickly. Screens, draws, misdirection plays, things like that. The degree-of-difficulty plays, he really plays those well.”
Mosley, an eight-year veteran, has been a disruptive tackling machine since entering the NFL with the Ravens.
Since 2014, he is the lone NFLer to collect 800-plus tackles, 10-plus sacks, 10-plus interceptions, and have 100 career starts. The 6-foot-2-inch, 250pounder has reached double digits in tackles five times this season and has at least seven tackles in 22 straight games, the longest active streak in the league.
“He’s [a] very active player sideline to sideline,” said Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson. “He’s a great tackler and he’s great at reading plays out.’’
Mosley is in the second season of a career resurgence. He missed all but two games in
2019 because of injury, and then opted out of the 2020 season because of COVID-19 concerns.
Belichick indicated that Mosley has been a focal point of New England’s film study and preparation, and will continue to be so right through the final whistle on Sunday.
“He’s got good playing strength and explosion. Just a really smart football player. Controls their front [and] he just makes right decisions on almost every play,” said the coach. “Runs, play-actions, misdirections, tempoing, and leveraging on the ball. He’s a solid tackler. He gets the runner [and] gets the guy down. He’s a hard guy to get out of position. You have to be really careful throwing the ball around him. You have to block him in the running game or you’re not going to go very far. So, he’s a guy we have to control.”
Dugger out
Safety Kyle Dugger, who suffered an ankle injury in Monday night’s loss to the Bears, was downgraded to out for Sunday’s game.
Also on Saturday, the Patriots activated offensive lineman Yodny Cajuste to the 53-man roster from injured reserve, placed Chasen Hines on IR, and activated fellow rookie offensive lineman Kody Russey to the active roster.
Bears’ Pennel fined
According to a league source, Bears defensive lineman Mike Pennel was fined $6,222 for his illegal blindside blast on David Andrews during an interception return on Monday night. The Patriots center will miss Sunday’s game as he remains in concussion protocol.
Sense of urgency
Stevenson on what he saw from Mac Jones in practice leading up to the Jets: “I would say just like everybody else on our team, the urgency to get a W.” . . . Reminded that the Patriots have won a dozen straight against the Jets, Jakobi Meyers warned: “Those 12 games aren’t going to help us win this next one. That’s a good team we’re about to play and we’re going to have to be ready for them.” . . . Former Jets offensive tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson will be inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor at halftime. A true ironman, Ferguson never missed a game or practice in his 10-year career, digging in for 10,707 of a possible 10,708 snaps . . . The forecast in East Rutherford, N.J., calls for sunshine, but it will still be a Blackout Day at MetLife. The Jets are debuting a new stealth black helmet to go with their alternate stealth black uniforms. According to the club, the helmets are inspired by stealth fighter jets and feature a matte finish with a chrome green facemask.