Some news and notes on this Wednesday:
Jackson Staying Behind
Defensive back J.C. Jackson is apparently not heading to Germany. According to Ian Rapoport, Jackson will stay behind, with the club making the call to hopefully have him “in a better place” after the bye week.
This comes on the heels of Sunday’s game against Washington, where both Jackson and teammate Jack Jones were both on the sideline during the early part of the game.
Patriots defensive back coach Mike Pellegrino spoke to reporters on Tuesday and was asked about the situation with both players, and it sounds like there was indeed some trouble ahead of Sunday.
“Things happen, I just put the guys out there that I felt like were ready to go in that moment,” said Pellegrino. “Everybody knows what they need to do to play, so I’ll just kind of leave it at that.”
“I’m not trying to create a narrative. I trust all my guys. They all went in and played, right? So I’ve said this from, I think, week one. If they’re at the game, that means they’re ready, they’re prepared, and they’re ready to go into the game.”
According to Pellegrino, it sounds like it was his decision, not Bill Belichick’s, when it came to those players.
“I have faith in all my guys to go out there and execute the game plan and do a great job. Really just did what I thought was best in that moment.”
Patriots Offensive Line Coach to Miss Time
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick spoke to the media and was asked about offensive line coach Adrian Klemm, who was noticeably absent on Tuesday.
Belichick confirmed Wednesday that Klemm will be “out for a little while,” citing health reasons.
When pressed, Belichick wouldn’t elaborate.
“I mean, you’re trying to get me to violate HIPPA laws and thought kind of thing?” said Belichick. “I’m not going to comment on somebody’s personal medical status. I appreciate the question, but I’m just not going to do that. I don’t think that’s the right thing to do. I’m not even sure if I’m allowed to do it. So I’ll just skip over that one.”
Belichick did confirm that Klemm’s absence wasn’t due to any other circumstances.
“It’s health,” said Belichick. “I’ll confirm that.”
As for who will handle Klemm’s duties while he’s out, Belichick said it would be discussed internally among the rest of his staff, but that assistant offensive line coach Billy Yates will “be a part of that.”
Mac Needs to Slow Down
Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien spoke to the media on Tuesday and he was asked an interesting question by Patriots.com’s Evan Lazar, who noted that looking at the film, it appeared that Mac Jones was moving through his reads a little too fast.
O’Brien admitted that there was some truth to that, but also noted that the goal has been to try and find some additional consistency on offense, which he believes is something that’s still missing.
“I think there’s some truth to that,” said O’Brien. “I think that it kind of goes under the umbrella of what it’s been for most of the year for us is inconsistency. So it’s not just about one guy. You can really say that about, obviously, the whole offense and so we just need to be more consistent, whether it’s coaching it better, or executing it better.”
“Really, it’s not just Mac, it’s every position. I think that we’re striving for that consistency, we still haven’t really found it, and we’re still working hard to get it. There’s a lot of football left, and hopefully, we can find it, starting this weekend.”
“But that’s really what it falls under. There were times on Sunday where, Mac, like, the touchdown pass to Hunter was just a beautiful play, and then other times where, yeah, maybe he was a little bit sped up, and we’ve got to do a better job of coaching it up and working with him. But at the end of the day, we all just have to strive for more consistency.”
O’Brien was also asked if Jones at least made the right reads based on his own review, and it was interesting that his mind immediately went to some of their third-down opportunities Sunday.
Two of those involved a couple of deep throws, one of which was a dropped ball by Jalen Reagor, while the other was an underthrown ball to Rhamdondre Stevenson. O’Brien admitted that the goal Sunday was to get into better third-down situations and he added that the Commanders did a good job bringing some blitzes, which he said involved some downfield throws.
“The Commanders did a good job of all-out blitz on a couple of them, sometimes that involves some downfield throws,” said O’Brien. “So we just, again, all of us just have to do a better job. I mean, that’s really what it comes down to.”
“It comes down to 6-8 plays, I say this every week and you either make those plays, or you don’t make those plays. You either make a good decision from a coaching standpoint or you don’t and we just have to continue to try to make the right decisions and execute at a high level on a more consistent basis than we are right now.”
O’Brien Backs Thornton
Second-year receiver Tyquan Thornton had a tough showing on Sunday, with he and Mac Jones unable to get much going after they connected on just one of four targets against Washington.
One of those plays came early in the game where Jones missed him badly on a 4th-and-3 pass while overshooting him, while another misfire came where Thornton didn’t get his head around on a third-down play later on.
O’Brien referenced both of those moments Tuesday and said that part of Thornton’s problems continue to be about his health, which is what’s keeping him from getting the experience he needs for him to develop.
“Look, Tyquan … the 4th and 3, he was open, he ran a good route the beginning of the game,” said O’Brien. “There was a third down later in the game where he didn’t win on the route. He has not played a lot of football because of injury. So when you don’t play a lot of football, it’s hard, and he’s got to continue to work, and he will.”
He added that he believes in the former Baylor standout, and that the improvement will come as Thornton gets more opportunities.
“He’s a great guy, he works very, very, hard and he just hasn’t had a lot of opportunities. I’m not making an excuse for him, I’m just telling you, he hasn’t been out on the field a lot. You know, shoulder [injury], whatever it is, he’s had a couple injuries over the course of his young career, and he just needs a ton of experience, and that comes on the practice field and obviously in the game. Tyquan works very hard and I think he’ll be able to do that.”
Odds and Ends
With Jackson set to be out, Belichick had some praise for Shaun Wade, who started Sunday’s game and has played well in recent weeks when he’s been called on in New England’s secondary. “Shaun’s been consistent. Practiced well. He’s been consistent. He’s taken advantage of his opportunities,” said Belichick. “He’s strung together a couple of good weeks. Every week is its own week, so I don’t know. But, yeah, he’s trending the right way.” … When asked about when the club started preparing for this week, Belichick noted that it’s something they’ve been planning for since it was announced on the schedule. The club is expected to fly out on Thursday, giving them Friday and Saturday to acclimate ahead of Sunday’s game, which he said is how they previously handled their last trip to London. … Belichick said today and tomorrow will be the most important part of this week. “Just minimize the Friday installation, try to get things in today and tomorrow,” he said. “Friday’s more of a review day. Friday and Saturday are more review days, get adjusted days, and then compete. Most everything will be in by Thursday afternoon.”
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
