Some news and notes for this morning:
Belichick Upbeat Ahead of Sunday
Belichick spoke to the media Friday morning, and while he admitted he’s “running on fumes,” he says he and his team will make the most of this unique opportunity of being in Germany as they continue getting settled.
That will hopefully include playing their best game on Sunday, with the team trying to improve on its current 2-7 record.
“It’s obviously a unique experience,” said Belichick. “It’s great for our team, our players, our staff. It’s a great experience. We’ve played a lot of NFL games, this is one that will be a little bit different, just like Mexico City and London were. It’s a good opportunity for our team, I think we’ll just make the most of it and enjoy it.”
“Obviously, focus on playing well. Regaining our focus and preparation here the next couple days and go out there and hopefully play our best game of the year on Sunday. That’s our goal.”
Belichick said that they handled the preparation ahead of Sunday similar to how they did previously in games in London. He said that they got most of the work in back at Gillette Stadium before they left, which he explained worked well for them previously.
“Well, I think the overall preparation at home, not trying to bring all of our stuff here, but trying to do the majority of the groundwork at home and cover all the things,” said Belichick. “Then come here today and review it – today and then tomorrow – and then play the game.”
“It felt like that was the most efficient way for us. But, it could be different for other teams, I don’t know. I don’t need to comment on that. For us, we felt like it was the best way for us to operate. We’ve done it that way before, I think everybody is very comfortable with it.”
Despite rumors circulating about his future, it seems like Belichick is at least in good spirits ahead of Sunday’s game. He added that even at 71 years old, things haven’t changed, and he’s still enjoying himself.
“I enjoy it. I enjoy all aspects of it,” said Belichick. “The preparation, the team building, the competitiveness on Sundays, the guys that I work with, you know, the staff, the players, it’s a great environment, the ownership. Everybody works together to try to work towards a common goal. Honestly, it beats working. I enjoy it.”
Patriots Leave Brown Behind
It appears that the Patriots will be without left tackle Trent Brown for the second-straight week, with the veteran being left behind in New England ahead of Sunday’s game against Indianapolis in Frankfurt, Germany.
Brown missed last week due to his ankle injury, with Brown also reportedly dealing with a personal issue. Head coach Bill Belichick confirmed his absence during his press conference on Friday, which will likely see Conor McDermott again fill in at left tackle as he did last Sunday against Washington.
McDermott played 100% of Sunday’s snaps against the Commanders and did a solid job, with Mac Jones seeing good protection while the Patriots also managed to put up over 100 yards rushing, including averaging 3.5 yards per carry when running to the left side.
Jackson Set to Return After the Bye?
Patriots defensive back J.C. Jackson was another player who didn’t make the trip this week, with the club opting to leave him behind following issues last Sunday that saw him sit during the early part of that contest.
Jackson ultimately ended up playing in 68% of the snaps in last Sunday’s game against the Commanders, but he reportedly was late to the team hotel the night before and it sounds like he and the coaching staff weren’t able to put things behind them following the contest.
Whether or not that factored into his absence this week hasn’t officially been reported, but it appears things may have escalated, and Jackson was reportedly sat down to allow for a “metal reset,” according to Mike Garafolo.
Belichick confirmed on Friday that, “I think he’ll be available.” adding, “I won’t get into it.” when asked to comment on the defensive back’s situation.
If/when he returns, it wouldn’t be until after the bye week, with the Patriots’ next game after this Sunday set for November 26th against the Giants.
Odds and Ends
One player who did make the trip is receiver Kayshon Boutte, who wasn’t elevated ahead of last week’s game but it sounds like that might change this week. Belichick said Friday that he hasn’t made a decision on that just yet, but continued to praise Boutte’s progress. “We’ll see how all that goes,” said Belichick. “Kayshon has had a good couple of weeks here. It’s definitely trending in the right direction, so that’s been good. ” … DeVante Parker was also ruled out and remained in New England. That likely increases Boutte’s chances of playing, despite the fact he wasn’t active Sunday. Jalen Reagor was the player who got a bigger opportunity last week. He was in on 77% of the plays on Sunday but caught just one pass on six targets … Last week saw the scoreboard in Frankfurt get hit by a punt, with Belichick being asked if they’ll do anything to prepare for that. He said he wasn’t too worried about it, and should that come into play this weekend, they have it covered. “No, that’s actually something that has come up in a couple of our games before, where the ball has hit an object – whether it’s a scoreboard, or it could be the wire that the camera goes on or something like that, and you just replay the play,” explained Belichick. “That’s all covered. We’ll see whether that happens or not, but I don’t think it’s really that big of a factor for us. If the kicker or punter hits it, then we’ll re-play the play.”
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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.
