Dorsett works on rapport
Chemistry with Brady might net expanded role
With just 14 days until the Patriots’ 2018 opener against Houston, there’s still plenty of uncertainty surrounding the team’s wide receiver situation.
Malcolm Mitchell, Kenny Britt and Jordan Matthews couldn’t stay healthy. Eric Decker has yet to be targeted by Tom Brady through two games of preseason play. Julian Edelman’s performance-enhancing drug suspension will keep him sidelined for the first four games of the year.
That leaves the Patriots with only two receivers on the roster who caught a pass from Brady last season. One is Chris Hogan, who is entering his third year in Foxboro and caught 34 passes with five touchdowns (plus another nine catches and two TDs in the playoffs) in 2017.
The other is Phillip Dorsett, just wrapping up his first training camp in Foxboro after he was acquired from Indianapolis less than a week before the start of the 2017 season.
“(Phil) has had an opportunity to start at the beginning this year — the offseason program, OTAs, the beginning of training camp,” coach Bill Belichick said yesterday. “It’s a lot different than at this time last year when he wasn’t even on our team . . . . He’s way ahead of that.”
Dorsett didn’t produce much in his first season with the Pats, catching just 14 passes for 244 yards in 17 games (regular season and playoffs combined). But with all the roster turnover and injury problems at receiver this offseason, Dorsett is one of the only familiar targets Brady will have for
the first month of the year.
He showed signs of progress in his production and chemistry with Brady in the Patriots’ 25-14 loss against Carolina Friday night. Brady targeted Dorsett four times, and the former Colts first-rounder caught all of them for 36 yards.
The most encouraging play came on fourth-and-3 late in the second quarter. With the Patriots in Panthers’ territory, Brady hit Dorsett on a hook route for 6 yards to move the chains. Stephen Gostkowski capped the drive with a field goal.
It was a fast-developing play, the type Edelman is know for, and one that can only happen if the quarterback and receiver are on the same page.
“Well, the timing in the passing game between the quarterback and all the receivers, tight ends and running backs is obviously critical,” Belichick said. “Sometimes just one split second makes the difference between a completion or a big play and a bad play. It’s something they all work on.”
The play was a sign of a developing rapport with Brady.
“That’s how you’ve got to earn the trust of the coaches and your teammates, to just get out there and do it in real life circumstances and play clocks and situations and signals,” Brady said Friday.
Dorsett has played on the outside and in the slot throughout his career, which works in his favor as the Pats try to solidify their receiver depth chart. Just as important as his versatility is his availability. Dorsett’s been healthy and has missed virtually no practice throughout camp, save for an injury scare in the team’s final practice before playing Philadelphia (he was able to play in the game two days later).
The lineup is not set in stone, but Dorsett has put himself in position to play a big role early in the season.
“We still have a long way to go, a lot of work to do, but he works hard at it,” Belichick said. “He’s a smart guy that can play multiple positions, and he’s been out there every day working hard.”
‘He works hard at it. He’s a smart guy that can play multiple positions.’
— PATS COACH BILL BELICHICK On wide receiver Phillip Dorsett