Belichick praises Dugger’s development
Young defensive back ‘soaks it all in’
Bill Belichick gushed about Kyle Pitts in almost an excessive manner earlier this week, calling the Falcons rookie tight end an NFL superstar and putting him in the same breath as Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez.
Then, he almost completely silenced him in the Patriots’ 25- 0 stomping of the Falcons on Thursday night.
And to do so, the Patriots coach employed his own budding defensive star to shut Pitts down. Second-year safety Kyle Dugger wasn’t the only defender to match up with the tight end, but he was a big reason why Pitts finished with only three catches for 29 yards on five targets.
As Dugger continues his rapid development, Thursday provided the latest example. The safety set the tone early with an impressive play on Pitts on the Falcons’ first drive. As Atlanta faced third-and-9 from their own 5, Dugger was given the responsibility of single coverage on Pitts. Matt Ryan targeted his athletic tight end on a slant, but Dugger had him blanketed and reached in for a pass breakup to force a punt.
Dugger finished with seven tackles and that pass breakup in the victory, which came four days after he produced a momentumshifting interception in the Patriots’ win over the Browns. The safety now has a team-best 71 tackles in 11 games this season to go along with four passes defended and three interceptions. It’s clear Dugger has only gotten more and more comfortable in his second season, and the Patriots defense has been the benefits.
“I’d put everything down there,” Belichick said of Dugger’s improvements. “He’s a good athlete. He’s a smart kid. He learns a lot. He’s playing with some experienced players, especially with Devin (McCourty) and (Adrian) Phillips, but other guys in the secondary, other guys at linebacker, too, (Dont’a) Hightower, Kyle (Van Noy), Jamie (Collins), (Ja’whaun) Bentley and those guys. He’s in there with a lot of experienced players. I’m sure he’s learned a lot about every
thing; keys, matchups, run force, pass coverage, blitzing. He soaks it all in.”
Defensive pride
The Patriots defense seems to be creating something of an identity in stopping opponents in short yardage situations. They had multiple stops in Thursday’s win, including on back-to-back plays on third-and-1 and fourthand-1 late in the third quarter as they stuffed the Falcons and forced a turnover on downs.
Belichick noted that it’s an area the Pats have greatly improved in from last year, but more importantly, it’s resonated as one of the defense’s core strengths throughout the season.
“I think it’s a real mentality and source of pride for the defense that we’re going to fight for every yard, every inch, and make you earn it,” Belichick said. “When you make goalline stops or short-yardage stops, we’ve had a couple examples of that this year, it not only gives you a confidence, just as a defense, as a unit, you say to yourself, ‘We’re going to fight for every yard, and they’re going to have to earn it.’
“Like I said, we’ve done that a few times this year, but I think the players take a lot of pride in it. The goal-line stand in the Dallas game, the stops last night, those are real building blocks for that. It’s an area we weren’t really good at last year, so it’s good to see that improve some, too.”
A unique bond
There seems to be a tightness within this Patriots team that could be stronger than previous seasons. With a slew of new players acquired via free agency and the draft who have come in and taken significant roles, there was no guarantee that the team would gel together smoothly. But their chemistry, especially on defense, has been evident in this five-game winning streak, which the players have noted.
Belichick said they always try to evaluate how new players would fit into their new teams both on and off the field, but it’s not a one size fits all. They’ve been fortunate that the relationships have evolved in a positive way.
“The relationship with the players is always a very special one,” Belichick said. “It’s not something, as a coach, that you can orchestrate. I think it just has to happen. Hopefully, you put players together that will be able to form those kinds of relationships, trust, camaraderie, and all those things, but it’s not anything you can legislate. It just kind of has to happen. I’m glad it’s happening, and I’m glad they do have that feeling because I do think there’s a chemistry that goes with communication, anticipation, knowing what the other guy’s doing and him knowing what you’re doing and being able to play aggressively with all that. It’s a good thing.
“I’m glad they feel that way, and I’m glad that’s developing. It takes time. It takes some success. It’s not something you can talk about, and it magically happens. You need to back it up with some results that reinforce what you’re doing, what they’re feeling.”