‘Stop the run to have some fun’
New DT Godchaux looking to fortify league’s worst rush D
FOXBORO — The lowest point of last season for the Patriots’ run defense, the NFL’s most porous and problematic, was Week 15.
The Pats got steamrolled by Miami, then the worst rushing offense in the league that nonetheless totaled 250 rushing yards behind backup running backs Salvon Ahmed and Matt Breida. Their performance was an insult to the greater injury the Patriots suffered that day, officially getting knocked out of postseason contention.
To fix his leaky defense, Bill Belichick turned to a former Dolphin.
New Pats nose tackle Davon Godchaux signed a two-year, $15 million deal in free agency last March. He was the team’s second addition at the start of the legal tampering period after tight end Jonnu Smith. Godchaux missed most of the 2020 season due to a torn bicep, but ranked among the NFL’s top run defenders in 2019.
Run defense has been a focus of the 6-foot-3, 311pounder’s dating back to college.
“It’s the most important thing. I always like to say, stop the run to have some fun,” Godchaux said Wednesday. “Everybody wants the pass rush. Everybody wants to get sacks. I mean, you really got to stop the run.”
Godchaux shared he picked up the saying from his former position coach in college, Ed Orgeron, now the headman at LSU. Godchaux was a fifth-round pick out of LSU in 2017 and has since started 42 of 52 games in the pros. He’s hung around the league because of his ability to plug gaps and hold firm at the line of scrimmage at multiple positions.
The Pats also signed runfirst defensive linemen Henry Anderson, Carl Davis and Montravius Adams in free agency, and retained former defensive captain Lawrence Guy. The Patriots released Adams last week, confident in their new depth at defensive tackle. The only deeper position in their front seven should be edge rusher, a group Godchaux hopes to help feature starting Sunday against his old team.
“Stop the run to allow my teammates and me to have some fun on third down. That’s the key, that’s the motto,” Godchaux said. “You’re not going to be a tough team if you don’t stop the run. No matter who you are.”
Five captains named
The Mac Jones era has arrived in New England, but the rookie quarterback isn’t a front-and-center leader just yet.
The Patriots announced five team captains Wednesday in safety Devin McCourty, linebacker Dont’a Hightower, center David Andrews, running back James White and core special teamer Matthew Slater. All five have previous experience serving as captains, and were selected after a team vote.
“It’s a huge honor. … I don’t take it lightly,” Andrews said. “Happy and excited to be in this locker room.”
McCourty and Slater were honored for the 11th straight season. Andrews is in his fifth season as a captain, and White is entering his fourth. Hightower replaces defensive tackle Guy and fellow linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley, who were selected last year for the first time. This will be Hightower’s fourth season as a captain, after 2016, 2017 and 2019.
Hightower opted out last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He is expected to start the team’s season opener Sunday against Miami.
Stevenson practices
Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson was a full participant in practice Wednesday, despite suffering a reported dislocated thumb last week.
The fourth-round rookie stretched, carried a football and ran through individual drills over the first 15 minutes. All other players on the active roster and practice squad were present for the second straight practice.
Last Thursday, practicesquad corner D’Angelo Ross was the only player absent.
Veteran running back Brandon Bolden shed his noncontact jersey for the first time Wednesday. With Bolden improving, the Pats are likely to have healthy scratches for their season opener Sunday against the Dolphins.
The Athletic first reported Stevenson’s injury.
Family reunion
Devin and Jason McCourty shared the Patriots’ locker room for three seasons, before Jason signed with Miami as a free agent last spring.
On Sunday, the NFL’s most famous twins will reunite as opponents. Jason joked to Dolphins reporters earlier this week he would be more excited to return to Foxboro if it meant he could see Devin’s kids instead, while adding he expects plenty of brotherly trash talk on game day.
“He has an arrogance just from his years of a lot of winning,” Jason said. “He’s developed that. It will be a lot of fun on Sunday.”
During his own press conference Wednesday, Devin echoed similar sentiments, saying he’s excited for kickoff.
“Any time, just being together and living out this dream, we know it’s dwindling down,” he said, “so I think Sunday’s going to be a lot of fun.”
But Devin has a strict rule for visiting family: “They all know nobody’s coming to my house in Dolphin gear.”
Newton teases tell-all
You haven’t heard the last from Cam Newton.
Newton teased an upcoming tell-all video Wednesday on Instagram, saying he will not be retiring. The video is scheduled to post Friday.
“I have a lot of things I need to get off my chest,” Newton said in the 18-second clip. “This is not a retirement speech, and I have a lot of football still in me.”
The Patriots released Newton shortly before the NFL’s roster cut deadline last week. The 32-year-old lost a position battle to firstround rookie quarterback Jones. Belichick wouldn’t mention Newton by name the day after cutting him, but opened up in a more recent interview about his former starting quarterback.
“I have nothing but positive thoughts and feelings for Cam. He came in here, he worked hard. He gave us everything he had,” Belichick said Tuesday on WEEI’s The Greg Hill Show. “Right now, our future is going to be Mac (Jones) at quarterback, and that is where we’re going to go.”