Now goal is to avoid post-bye blues
The Patriots completely hit the skids after their Week 14 bye last season, going 1-3 to close out the year before being blown out by Buffalo in the playoffs.
As the team heads into their bye week this year, with a 5-4 record, Bill Belichick doesn’t want to see a repeat of last year’s fade.
He’s hoping they can improve on some areas they’ve come up short during the first nine games. He targeted consistency as one of the primary objectives to avoid any post-bye week blues.
“We’ve had good moments and bad moments over the course of the season. I think the big thing has been (having) consistency,” Belichick said during his Monday video call with reporters. “That’s shown up a little bit in all three phases of the game so between the coaching staff and the players, just a consistent performance play in and play out, week in and week out. I think that’s really the biggest challenge for us moving forward.”
Under the consistency umbrella, Patriots quarterback Mac Jones pointed to improvement on the early downs as being something the offense needs work on during the break.
“First and second downs is a big part of the NFL. I think really good teams are good on first and second down,” Jones said following the team’s 26-3 win over the Colts on Sunday. “Third down, they’re in a better spot and convert more. You want to be above whatever percentage mark we set, and we’ve got to be better and extend drives that way. Every drive can’t seem like it’s so hard to get yards. “
Iron man Brown
While Trent Brown has had a few rough patches during the first nine games, he’s the least of Matt Patricia’s
worries on the offensive line.
Thus far, the massive left tackle has played every snap for the Patriots this season. And based on his past history dealing with injuries that have kept him out for extended periods, that’s an important change.
During a videoconference Monday, Brown said he made some changes to his strength and conditioning regime during the offseason, and so far, it’s paid off.
“I did focus on lifting and diet more this offseason just so I could be available and healthy to play all 17, and hopefully more,” said Brown, who was moved from right to back to left tackle prior to the season starting. “I also told myself, ‘I know my team needs me, but I gotta be out there for me as well.’
‘I hate missing time ‘cuz I know the type of impact I can have when I’m available,” he went on. “So I just try to make sure I’m available.”
Brown has had some struggles, most notably against the Chicago Bears, where he committed four penalties and had a tough time defending Robert
Quinn, but for the most part has been dependable holding down his post.
Both left guard Cole Strange and right tackle Isaiah Wynn have had problems, especially of late.
Brown said he’s doing his best to encourage Strange, the Patriots’ 2022 firstround pick.
“I try to keep him levelheaded, and not get into his head about what’s going on,” said Brown. “Everybody’s going to have some bad plays here and there. You just have to do what you do, play your game, and not let anything else deter you or discourage you.”
Returner Jones shines
Rookie Marcus Jones has really emerged as a returner, providing the Patriots offense with good field position almost every time he touches the ball.
Against the Colts Sunday, he had a 23-yard punt return in the second quarter to set up the offense at the Colts 43. That led to a Nick Folk field goal in the 26-3 win.
A 32-yard kickoff return by Jones in the third quarter following an Indy field led to another score by the Patriots.
Special teams captain Matthew Slater isn’t surprised by how much impact Jones has had, saying Monday the rookie has been one of the team’s better players in terms of production, consistency and ball security.
Slater said Jones has some “dynamic tools” in his tool belt, namely speed, quickness, acceleration, contact balance and vision and he uses those every time he touches the ball.
Asked to compare Jones with past returners such as Julian Edelman, Wes Welker and Danny Amendola, Slater, who’s blocked for all of them, said along with making the first guy miss, they all had something in common.
“The common thread all those guys have shared, they’re all daredevils. They don’t have any fear,” said Slater. “When gunners are bearing down full speed ready to take their heads off, they remain cool and calm under pressure, and he certainly has that. He has a great deal of confidence the first guy down there is not going to tackle him and usually that’s the case.
“Marcus is not afraid,” he went on. “Julian, Wes and Danny (Amendola) were just flat-out crazy. Marcus is not as crazy as them, but they all didn’t have any fear. I think that’s a big part of the reason why all those guys — I’ll add Gunner
(Olszewski) to that list, he’s crazy, too — they don’t have any fear. They want to take chances within reason to try and make plays.”
Belichick lauds Brady
With a 15-yard pass to running back Leonard Fournette in the second-quarter of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, Tom Brady made history.
He became the first NFL quarterback to eclipse 100,000 career passing yards in the regular season and postseason combined.
The accomplishment was applauded by Belichick during his weekly appearance on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” on Monday morning.
“That’s a tremendous accomplishment by Tom,” Belichick said of the former Patriots quarterback, who has been in Tampa Bay the past three seasons. “A real credit to everything about him, his longevity, his accuracy, consistency, just doing so many things right in the passing game for so long.”
It took Brady 374 games to reach the mark, many of those (326 games) played with the Patriots over the course of 20 seasons.
“It’s a phenomenal accomplishment. I’m really happy for him. Nobody deserves it more than he does,” Belichick said of the 45-year-old quarterback with whom he won six championships and appeared in nine Super Bowls. “He’s worked extremely hard, just very good at what he does. That’s an amazing stat.”