More good news for offensive line
Onwenu comes off COVID-19 reserve
Another day, another bit of good news for the Patriots offensive line.
Starting left guard Mike Onwenu was activated off COVID-19 reserve and returned to practice Thursday. He did not appear on the team’s injury report. Ownenu was placed on COVID-19 reserve 10 days ago with left tackle Isaiah Wynn, who remains out.
PATRIOTS NOTEBOOK
His return followed the reappearance of right guard Shaq Mason on Wednesday, after Mason was sidelined all last week with an abdomen injury. Mason increased his participation at the start of practice, drilling with rookie quarterback Mac Jones and running back Damien Harris,
who’s dealing with hurt ribs. Mason and Harris were both limited, an improvement from Wednesday.
“It’s always good to have those guys back and have the whole group,” said Pats tight end Hunter Henry. “Those guys battled their tails off last week, being down and just throwing guys in different places all over the place. ... So it was good to have those guys back.”
While Onwenu returned, the Pats were also down backup offensive tackle Justin Herron. Herron replaced Wynn at left tackle during last week’s win at Houston and allowed just one hurry in 33 pass-blocking snaps. Rookie corner Shaun Wade was the only other player missing. Wade is recovering from a concussion he suffered last week.
It’s unknown whether Onwenu or Mason will play Sunday against the Cowboys. Last weekend, the Pats used interior backup Ted Karras and practice-squad veteran James Ferentz to replace them.
Jones impresses Cowboys HC
According to Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy, the Patriots’ offensive system has hardly changed around Mac Jones.
And that tells McCarthy everything he needs to know about how the rookie is progressing.
“I think he looks very, very comfortable, confident, in command of the offense,” McCarthy told reporters Thursday. “I think it doesn’t look like they’re holding anything back. He can make all the throws. So I think he’s off to an excellent start.”
The Cowboys are slated as 3.5-point favorites heading into Sunday’s showdown in Foxboro. On Wednesday, Bill Belichick said the Patriots must play their best game to defeat Dallas. Last week marked just the second time Jones and the offense have scored more than 20 points this season, while Dallas is averaging 34, second-most in the league.
If Jones leads the Pats to an upset win, he’ll likely claim several victories presnap, putting his playmakers in optimal positions to beat a fast and physical Cowboys defense.
“He’s definitely a young quarterback that is high on instinct and awareness. I think that definitely has transferred to the NFL,” McCarthy said. “I like the way he anticipates, and like I said earlier, for as young as he is in the process, he has excellent command of the offense.”
McCarthy added the Patriots continue to shift their identity week to week, a longstanding practice under Jones’ predecessor, Tom Brady; while last year they were a more limited, run-heavy team.
“You can see the coordination of how they game plan each week. If you take their offense over a five-week period, you see a tremendous amount of volume schematically,” he said. “But then as you watch them week to week, conceptually they do a very good job of targeting the matchups, and it’ll definitely be a challenge to our defensive scheme.”
Henry predicts Smith breakout
Over the past two weeks, Jones’ connection with star tight end Hunter Henry has come alive.
Henry caught six passes for 75 yards and a touchdown against the Texans last week, all season highs.
Now, it’s Jonnu Smith’s turn.
Henry believes it won’t be long before the other half of Patriots’ vaunted tight end duo also finds his chemistry with Jones. In fact, Henry predicts Smith, who also signed a lucrative free agent deal to join the Pats, will have a breakout soon.
“He’s going to come on,” Henry said Thursday. “I’m excited to see him break out.”
And this could very well be the week. The Cowboys are among the second-worst in the league defending tight ends, according to Football Outsiders’ popular efficiency metric, DVOA. So it’s reasonable to assume both of them should be targeted heavily by the rookie quarterback.
Smith had two catches for 27 yards against the Texans. Overall, he’s pulled in 15 receptions on 23 targets during the season. He’s also caught one touchdown pass.
The expectation was for Smith to be a game-changer. Thus far, it hasn’t happened.
Asked how Smith has handled his slow start, Henry couldn’t have been more complimentary.
“He’s been fantastic. He’s a stud, man. He’s fun to be around, works his tail off,” said Henry. “There’s a lot of competition in the room, always trying to compete with each other, and against our guys, and on the field. I think it’s a healthy room where we’re always trying to better ourselves, communicate better, so those things are continuing to improve.”
Henry says he’s been supportive, but believes Smith does a good job handling the adversity on his own.
“Man, he’s been doing this for awhile. Obviously, I’m going to be there and encourage him through some of those tough times. But the man, he’s done it for a while,” said Henry. “He knows what he’s doing.”
Ready for special teams trickery
Cowboys special teams coordinator John Fassel is regarded as one of the best at his profession — and the trickiest.
Pats special teams captain Matthew Slater said Thursday their upcoming game with Dallas will come down to alertness. While the Cowboys haven’t attempted a fake yet this season, they tried three last year, and Fassel always has something up his sleeve.
“I think it’s just gonna depend on how the game is going, how it declares itself, what the situation is, where the ball. I think when you look at coach (Fassel)’s past, he’s had some of the most creative fakes I’ve seen since I’ve been playing football,” Slater said. “And he’s executed a lot of them.”
Slater added the Patriots have been relying on core special teamer Cody Davis, who played for Fassel in 2016 and 2017 with the Rams, to help with their preparation.