Branch-ing out
Source: DT’s absence due to son’s birth
FOXBORO — Patriots defensive tackle Alan Branch returned to Gillette Stadium yesterday after stepping away for a few days for the birth of his third child and first boy.
Branch said he will be good to go Saturday night when the Pats face the Texans in the divisional round of the playoffs at Gillette.
“Everything is great,” Branch said. “You know I can’t say anything with Bill ( Belichick’s rules). You know that question is just going into the air. I can’t say anything.”
Branch missed last Thursday’s practice — the Pats’ final workout of the playoff bye week — and Tuesday’s workout. The team wasn’t obligated to release an injury report until yesterday and Branch wasn’t listed, so there was a period when his status was unclear. But a source told the Herald that Branch’s wife Ashley gave birth to their son.
Branch had a terrific regular season and has been termed the team’s best defensive lineman by Belichick, so his availability Saturday is paramount. He had 11 tackles for a loss or no gain against the run, nearly twice as many as anyone else on the Patriots, and 1.5 sacks, eight pressures, a forced fumble, a blocked field goal and two batted passes.
Now, Branch has a little extra motivation to play well against the Texans.
“I can’t wait,” Branch said. “It’s a playoff game against a good team. I’m ready to go out there with my boys and try to play the best ball we can.”
Recovery plan works
The playoff bye was integral for some of the Patriots’ most important players, as it allowed linebacker Dont’a Hightower (knee) and tight end Martellus Bennett (ankle, shoulder) ample recovery time to be removed from the injury report.
Hightower missed Weeks 2 and 3 with a knee injury suffered in the opener and reappeared on the injury report in Week 15. The Pats chose to sit him in Week 16 against the Jets. Bennett had been listed with the ankle injury since going down in Week 5 against the Browns.
Slot receiver Danny Amendola was listed as a full participant at yesterday’s practice. He missed the final four regular-season games with an ankle injury and returned to practice last week.
And quarterback Tom Brady, who took a day off last week to rest his thigh, was also listed as a full participant. It’s the third time since 2011 that Brady rested during the playoff bye. There was never any question over his game availability. . . .
Brady remarked that defensive lineman Jadeveon Clowney, who was a non-factor when the Texans came to Foxboro in Week 3, has his attention.
“He’s obviously had so much promise since he came into the league and he’s really shown everybody why he was picked (No. 1) overall,” Brady said yesterday on a conference call with Houston media. “He’s obviously got all of the size, but the speed, the quickness, and how hard he is playing. He’s chasing guys down from behind and making plays.”
Set up helps Floyd
Wide receiver Michael Floyd has enjoyed the remoteness of Foxboro and the demands of the Pats’ system.
Floyd, who joined the Patriots last month after the Cardinals released him due to a DUI arrest, had nothing but positive things to say about his first four weeks with the team.
“I like it,” Floyd said. “It’s the kind of place for me. Not too many (extra curricular) things to do around here, and actually I like the culture that the team brings, the chemistry of the guys. It’s good for me.
“It’s great to be strictly focused on the playbook and getting to learn this offense for sure. That takes up most of my time, really.”
Floyd provided an interesting response when asked if there can be pressure on players who become overnight millionaires upon entering the league.
“I kind of act like I’m broke, so that’s how I am,” Floyd said. “There are obviously different things that you can do. Where I stay at right now is the place for me, and I can really actually just focus in on football and I can get to work in less than three minutes. I like it.”
Obviously, that’s all been a plus in learning a complex offensive system.
“I think it’s just a different attitude here, a different feeling,” Floyd said. “Being the new guy coming in, you’ve got to be up on everything, on your toes and just making sure whatever they throw at you, you’re right on top of it, and you’re focused and you’re ready whenever your time is called.”
Bennett evenhanded
Bennett has made some of the most entertaining remarks of the season in his weekly media sessions. Yesterday’s best take came as he explained that he always keeps calm, no matter the circumstances.
“When I first got here, a lot of people thought I was weird because no matter what was going on in the game, I just had the same facial expression throughout the whole time,” he said. “I know sometime Tom would be yelling, and I would just look at Tom and he’d be like, ‘What the hell is going on with this guy?’ I’m just even-keeled throughout the whole game.”