Bourne, Anderson spill beans on Jets
Ex-Niners WR, Jets DL share info on NY’s new staff, roster
Part of the Patriots’ ethos is to turn over every rock during their preparation, be it for games, the draft or free agency.
To ultimately, and consistently, be the readiest, hardest-working team in the NFL.
Coming off a loss to a divisional rival and with another on tap Sunday, the Pats have been taking every rock and flipping it over twice this week, sometimes even three times.
Pats wide receiver Kendrick Bourne shared Friday the coaching staff has asked for insights into the Jets’ new offensive system run by former 49ers assistant Mike LaFluer. Bourne played under LaFleur in San Francisco, where they worked together for four years. The Jets are now headed by former 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, who hired LaFleur to be his offensive coordinator last winter.
“(It’s) leverage and the angles those receivers take to get leverage and stuff like that,” Bourne said, describing the information he’s shared. “So giving them tips, and showing them landmarks that (the receivers) used to go to, stuff like that to kind of help them break on routes. So yeah, they’ve been asking me questions, and I’ve been helping them a little bit.”
Bourne isn’t the only new Patriot providing assistance. Former Jets defensive lineman Henry Anderson, who signed a modest free-agent deal after getting released in March, has been helping on the scouting side. Anderson practiced against New York’s offensive linemen for three years, and understands their strengths and weaknesses, which have been passed through the locker room as the Pats work for their first win of the season.
“Offensively it’s more of like me, just kind of knowing certain tendencies of guys that I’m playing against, stuff like that,” Anderson said. “Obviously the offensive coaching staff that was there is gone. It’s an all-new system, so it’s more so just knowledge of guys and how they play.”
Brown returns, questionable for Sunday
Patriots right tackle Trent Brown returned to practice Friday and was officially ruled as questionable for Sunday’s game at the Jets.
Brown missed practice Wednesday and Thursday with the calf injury he suffered in the team’s season opener last week. Tight end Jonnu Smith (hip) is also questionable, while linebacker Kyle Van Noy is out with the throat injury that kept him out of practice all week. Rookie kicker Quinn Nordin is also out due to an abdomen injury and will reportedly land on injured reserve.
Nordin’s absence should ensure another practicesquad promotion for veteran Nick Folk, who went 3-for-3 against Miami and also hit an extra point.
If Brown doesn’t play, new backup offensive tackle Yasir Durant could start at right tackle. The Pats acquired Durant in a trade with Kansas City on cutdown day, and he played 23 snaps in injury relief last Sunday. The second-year lineman, who played right guard and right tackle for the Chiefs, described his game this way on Friday: “I just consider myself cool and calm and collected type of player. I try not to get too big, I try not to get too low. Just even. That’s just how I try to be every day. That’s how I am as a person.”
Jackson excited to cover Jets’ Davis
New Jets wide receiver Corey Davis has a habit of smoking the Patriots.
In his first game against New England, Davis scored two touchdowns during a 2018 divisional-round playoff contest his Titans lost 3514. The following season, Davis torched Stephon Gilmore in the middle of Gilmore’s first All-Pro campaign. He finished with seven catches for 125 yards and one touchdown in a Tennessee blowout, despite Gilmore following him down to down.
With Gilmore out, the task of shadowing Davis may fall to J.C. Jackson.
“He’s a pretty good receiver. He’s their go-to guy. He’s a playmaker, man,” Jackson said Friday. “I can’t wait to guard him this week. And of course I have been talking to Stephon Gilmore about how he played him, what’s his favorite routes and stuff like that. So I try to add some of those tips to my game.”
In his Jets debut, Davis caught five passes for 97 yards and two touchdowns last week at Carolina.
Jets DC: Jones better than I wanted
Jeff Ulbrich is a Jets coach who’s a Patriots fan. Seriously.
Ulbrich, the Jets’ new defensive coordinator, showered Pats rookie quarterback Mac Jones with praise Thursday, calling him a challenge to face and saying Jones does not look like a rookie on tape.
“He was way better than I wanted him to be,” Ulbrich said. “You anticipate seeing a young, inexperienced quarterback making young, inexperienced quarterback-type of decisions. I didn’t see a whole lot of that.”
Jones went 29-of-39 for 281 yards and a touchdown in his NFL debut against Miami.
He completed better than 70% of his passes against the blitz and when under pressure. Jones was on track to lead his first successful comeback until running back Damien Harris fumbled the game away with minutes remaining.
During that comeback effort, he converted 66% of his third downs, while going 9-of-12 through the air.
“I think the film tells the story. You see a young guy with really uncommon poise sitting in the pocket. You talk about getting thrown in the fire, that’s Miami,” Ulbrich said via MassLive. “They’re not afraid of zero blitzing and they came after him. Three pressured him and they hit him. He got hit nine times. That’s unheard of and he still sat there in the pocket and delivered throws and made a lot of really good throws down the stretch.”
Pats giving Jones more than young Brady
Twenty years ago, former Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weis was busy grooming a young Tom Brady.
Brady made his first career start against the Colts, then a divisional opponent, just like Jones made his first start last week against an AFC East foe. After watching Jones’ debut, Weis was struck at how differently the two quarterbacks were handled.
Specifically how Jones, with a year’s less experience, executed more of the offense than Brady was even allowed to call.
“The way we played at that time, at least when Tommy first started the year, was very conservative,” Weis said on WEEI. “We were dinking and dunking. Everyone was saying, ‘The guy can’t throw the ball down the field’ because we weren’t throwing the ball down the field. Obviously, the Patriots now are doing a lot more of exposing Mac to everything than we did to Tommy at the start of the year,” Weis said.
“Now, by the end of the year, is running 2-minute to win the Super Bowl. Obviously, we went a long way from when he first went in there. But Mac and the Patriots are ahead of the curve, as far as all the stuff they are doing with him already in games where probably it took us half the season before we got there with Tommy.”