Jones’ fire draws praise from Pats in desert
TUCSON — Ross Douglas loves Mac Jones’s fire.
Having played college football at Michigan and Rutgers before launching his coaching career, Douglas appreciates a passionate quarterback, which has become Jones’s trademark over the last few weeks.
“Oh, yeah, definitely. I mean, why wouldn’t you? Any time the quarterback plays with emotion — football’s an emotional game, man — a lot of times things like that might spark the team,” said Douglas, who works with the Patriots’ receivers. “I don’t see a problem with it. I’ll tell you this, you’d rather take the guy who would do that than the guy that you’ve got to kick in the [rear] a little bit to get going. So, we’ll take that any day of the week.”
Douglas’s words echoed those of other coaches.
Quarterbacks coach Joe Judge said things aren’t always as they seem when cameras focus in.
“I’ve said before, I don’t know if I want to coach a player who’s not passionate about the game and, look, in the heat of the game, it’s really a lot of emotions,” he said. “A lot of things get misconstrued sometimes in terms of what’s going on on the sideline. There’s a lot of times where we’re looking at each other as any coach and any player would, where it looks like you’re shouting at each other.
“Hey, look, it’s loud down there. You’re passionate trying to get a point across, you’re trying to communicate something. So, I think Mac’s done a really good job leading this team. He did a lot of things [Monday] on the sideline, really conveyed a lot of messages that [coach Bill Belichick] kind of spread throughout the week of practice. And you could hear Mac reiterating those and communicating those throughout the game.”
Jones displayed even more leadership when he brought the players together at the close of Wednesday’s practice to remind them that, just because they’re away from home for a week, business still must be taken care of.
“I’m not going to lie to you, obviously we’re chasing a result this week [against the Raiders]. You ask what’s going to make this a successful week, it’s going to be winning the game,” said Matthew Slater. “But I think in order to do that, it’s going to be about preparation, and Mac said it — trying to keep our routine as close to normal as possible. Whether it’s on the practice field, in the meeting room, or recovering . . . We’re not on vacation, and it’s easy to fall into that when you’re away from home. So, hopefully we do all those things and they translate to the game on Sunday.”
Meyers doesn’t practice
The Patriots’ injury report had two changes Thursday, with receiver Jakobi Meyers (concussion) not practicing after having limited participation Wednesday, and long snapper Joe Cardona (ankle) upgraded from limited to full participation.
Running back Rhamondre Stevenson (ankle), receiver DeVante Parker (concussion), offensive tackle Isaiah Wynn (foot), and cornerback Jack Jones (knee) did not practice for the second straight day.
Defensive tackle Christian Barmore (knee), cornerback Jalen Mills (groin), running back Damien Harris (thigh), and offensive tackle Yodny Cajuste (calf/back) were limited.
Mac Jones didn’t sound overly concerned if some of the team’s top skill players won’t be available against Las Vegas.
“At the end of the day, we’ve got a good group,” he said. “There’s no dropoff.”
Judon gets a little testy
Patriots linebacker Matthew Judon received an unwelcome text message, which he shared on Twitter: He’d been selected for a performance-enhancing substance test. He offered a message of his own for the league and the players association.
“Dear @NFLPA @NFL leave me the F alone please. It’s no way this is random. I take melatonin to sleep sometimes. The rest is just vibes,” Judon tweeted.
Judon estimates he’s been tested 810 times this season, more often than any previous year of his career.
“It is what it is,” he said. “There’s nothing in my body, so we’re all right.”
Asked why he thinks there’s been an uptick, Judon didn’t have an answer.
“Who knows. It really don’t matter,” he said. “If I don’t take it, I’m going to get in trouble, so I’m just going to cry about it and take it.”
In his second season with the Patriots, Judon, 30, is tied for the league lead with 14.5 sacks. He signed as a free agent in 2021 after five seasons with the Ravens.
In 2018, the league and the Players Association agreed to a policy on performance-enhancing substances that states, “Players may not, in the absence of a valid therapeutic use exemption, have prohibited substances in their systems or supply or facilitate the distribution of prohibited substances to other Players.”
All players are tested at least once a year, with 10 players on each team tested each week, according to the agreement.
“By means of a computer program, the independent administrator will randomly select the players to be tested from the club’s active roster, practice squad list, and reserve list who are not otherwise subject to ongoing reasonable cause testing for performanceenhancing substances,” the agreement states.
Added Judon, “It’s just something that the NFL does, and it’s random. I don’t think we have that many J names, so I guess mine gets called all the time.”
Interested observer
University of Arizona coach Jedd Fisch, who was the Patriots’ quarterbacks coach in 2020, was on hand to watch the team practice inside the stadium. Fisch was memorably nicknamed “Coach Jedi” by Cam Newton
. . . With Cardona at less than 100 percent earlier in the week, the Patriots worked out long snapper Tucker Addington. Cardona has never missed a game in his eight-year career, playing in 139 straight . . . The Patriots are third in the NFL with 45 sacks, trailing the Eagles (49) and Cowboys (48). They’re on pace for 58, which would tie the 1977 team for second most in franchise history. The Patriots had 66 in 1963. The most New England has had under Belichick is 49 in 2015.