The Boston Globe - 27.08.2019

D2 Sports The Boston Globe TUESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2019

A must for receivers:

Pass the test of Tom

dence that he was 0 for 3 target-
ing undrafted rookie Jakobi
Meyers against Carolina.

2. One of the justifications
   for fewer reps for the starters
   this preseason is the work that’s
   done in joint practices.
   Belichick is a pioneer of the
   practice of joint practices,
   which have become more prev-
   alent with the current collective
   bargaining agreement eliminat-
   ing traditional two-a-days.
   This preseason, the Patriots
   enjoyed productive sessions
   with the Detroit Lions and the
   Tennessee Titans. There is
   some talk that joint practices
   could replace preseason games.
   Good luck with that. Joint prac-
   tices are a supplement to, not a
   replacement for, preseason
   games.
   Not to go all Allen Iverson
   on you, but we’re still talking
   about practice... practice. It’s
   not the same as a game, and it
   never will be.
   You hear that coaches enjoy
   the joint practice because it’s a
   controlled environment, and
   the sessions are scripted to
   maximize the time. Well, games
   aren’t controlled or scripted.
   They’re competitive chaos. In
   that crucible, what works in
   practice doesn’t always trans-
   late to the games when the
   players play faster and try hard-
   er. Preseason-game injuries are
   the worst. But preseason games
   remain a necessary evil to pre-
   pare for the real games.


3. Fear not, the Patriots de-
   fensive coaching staff is going
   to be just fine, despite the off-
   season defec-
   tions. One of
   the primary
   questions fac-
   ing the Patri-
   ots is how
   their rebuilt
   coaching staff
   responds fol-
   lowing a brain
   drain. New
   England lost
   quality coach-
   es, chief
   among them
   de facto defen-
   sive coordinator Brian Flores.
   Former Patriots linebacker and
   neophyte inside linebackers
   coach Jerod Mayo looks like a
   natural with a headset. He also
   seems to have a good rapport
   with Patriots secondary/safeties
   coach Steve Belichick, son of
   Bill.
   Fortunately, the creativity
   and aggressiveness in the de-
   fense didn’t depart with Flores.
   On the sack that injured Cam
   Newton’s foot, Adam Butler
   was the only player with his
   hand down at the snap of the
   ball as the Patriots aligned with
   seven defensive backs. They
   sent six rushers, blitzing line-
   backer Dont’a Hightower and
   defensive backs Jason Mc-
   Courty and Terrence Brooks.
   Kyle Van Noy’s sack on Caro-
   lina’s second possession also
   was well schemed. Coach Mayo
   presented a six-man front with
   safety Devin McCourty on the
   line of scrimmage. McCourty
   stayed home and the confused
   Panthers double-teamed rookie
   Byron Cowart with center Matt
   Paradis. That got Van Noy a
   one-on-one matchup on the
   edge with tight end Chris Man-
   hertz. Game over.


4. Sorry, but I’m not as bull-
   ish on the wide receiving corps
   as some, even with Julian Edel-
   man, Josh Gordon, and De-
   maryius Thomas now all active
   and practicing. There are still
   caveats attached to this corps
   outside of Edelman, whose
   odometer is creeping up. We all
   know the history of rookie wide
   receivers with Brady (Deion
   Branch is the only rookie to re-
   cord 40 or more catches), and
   first-round pick N’Keal Harry

uGASPER
Continued from Page D1

has missed two-plus weeks

nursing a hamstring injury.

The veteran guys all have

mileage, injury, or availability

concerns. Thomas has earned

rave reviews, but he’s 31 and

has torn both Achilles’ tendons,

including the left one last De-

cember. Gordon is a brilliant

talent, but his addiction issues

have proven much tougher to

shake than opposing defenders.

The Patriots are going to

throw a lot of wide receivers

against the wall and see who

sticks. It’s doubtful all these

guys hit or survive the season.

5. Speaking of receivers, it
   was notable that Brady openly
   politicked for Phillip Dorsett
   following the third preseason
   game, saying he has a lot of
   trust in the wide receiver and
   ticking off all of his coachable
   qualities. “I love playing with
   Phil,” Brady said. It was a not-
   so-subtle message as the roster
   reductions approach Saturday.
   It was also reminiscent of
   last season when following a
   loss to the Lions, Brady cam-
   paigned for more James White
   in the offense at a time when
   the Patriots were trying to
   force-feed Sony Michel into the
   mix as a true dual-threat back.
   Michel was a nonfactor in the
   passing game the rest of the
   way.
   It’s not often that Brady
   speaks his mind so bluntly, but
   when he does, there’s a motive
   and a message behind it.


6. It feels like the Patriots are
   all in on rookie quarterback
   Jarrett Stidham as Brady’s
   backup. In the second pre-
   season game, Belichick made
   sure to put
   him in an ad-
   verse situation
   by inserting
   him into the
   game when
   the Patriots
   had the ball at
   their own 2-
   yard line.
   Then he got all
   the post-Brady
   snaps against
   Carolina.
   The rookie
   looks the part
   with his physique and “first-
   round-arm talent,” as Raiders
   GM Mike Mayock would say.
   But he has been fortunate to
   have only one turnover this pre-
   season (a fumble). Plus, he pos-
   sesses a tendency to be a tad
   tardy and throw some hospital
   balls that could get receivers
   hurt.
   That being said, with the
   surfeit of talent in the second-
   ary, a dearth of depth at offen-
   sive tackle and tight end, and
   the need for redundancy at re-
   ceiver, Stidham has shown
   enough to roll the dice.
   The Patriots can sever ties
   with veteran backup Brian Hoy-
   er and redistribute a roster
   spot.
   Extra points: Don’t panic be-
   cause it’s only preseason, but
   the Patriots need to tighten it
   up when it comes to penalties.
   They forfeited a few chunk
   plays, including a 30-yard run
   by Michel, because of flags last
   Thursday. In three preseason
   games, they’ve been whistled
   for 34 penalties for 314 yards.
   Last year, they were the fourth-
   least penalized team in the
   league with 93 penalties for 744
   yards, the second-fewest penal-
   ty yards in the league... Stid-
   ham has thrown for the third-
   most yards in the NFL during
   the preseason (506)...Inhis
   preseason debut, Michel looked
   more like the big-play back he
   was at Georgia, instead of the
   guy who ran like a thorough-
   bred with blinders on last sea-
   son... It’s going to be fun to
   watch Michael Bennett practice
   his craft. Bennett’s sack against
   Paradis was a pass-rushing
   piece of art.

Chungwon’ttalkaboutcharge

By Jim McBride

GLOBE STAFF

FOXBOROUGH —Patrick

Chungwas sticking to football.

The Patriots safety met

with the me-

dia Monday

for the first

time since he

was indicted on a felony

charge of cocaine possession

in New Hampshire last week.

“If you want to talk some

football, we can talk some

football,’’ said Chung, who en-

tered a not guilty plea on Mon-

day and waived his arraign-

ment, which had been sched-

uled for Wednesday. “I’m here

to get ready for the Giants.’’

When asked if it’s been dif-

ficult to stay focused on foot-

ball, Chung remained on

point.

“I just come to work, and I

play,’’ he said. “I go to meet-

ings, get in the playbook, and

get back. I’m coming off an in-

jury, so I’m trying to get back.’’

Chung broke his arm in Su-

per Bowl LIII and also had

shoulder surgery in the offsea-

son to fix a lingering problem.

He’s practiced most of the

summer with a red non-con-

tact jersey but got to shed that

on Sunday.

“It’s a little hard to practice

with a red jersey on in pads, so

it feels good to get out there

and be able to get a little phys-

ical and use my body a little

bit,’’ he said. “So, it’s been

good. I feel good. I’m out of

the red jersey, so that’s a step

in the right direction.’’

Chung said wasn’t sure if

he’d play against the Giants

Thursday (“That’sBill

[Belichick’s] decision,” he

said) and wasn’t quite ready to

commit to being ready for the

Week 1 opener against the

Steelers Sept. 8.

“I don’t know. Right now,

I’m just trying to get right,’’ he

said. “That’s a while from now.

We still have a game before the

Steelers. So, right now, I’m just

trying to get the rust off and

get going.’’

Thomaspraised

JoshMcDanielswelcomed

back three projected top re-

ceivers in the last week inJu-

lianEdelman,Demaryius

Thomas,andJoshGordon.

It was a welcome boost for

the offensive coordinator, who

also has worked with a bunch

of younger receivers this sum-

mer inN’KealHarry,Jakobi

Meyers,GunnerOlszewski,

andBraxtonBerrios.

“Was I excited that those

guys are back? Yeah, for them

and for us,’’ McDaniels said

Monday. “They’re excited to be

back on the field and not in a

rehab situation. Certainly,

we’re excited to have them on

the field, doing the things that

they can do and trying to work

back in and gain consistency

as an offense.’’

McDaniels, who worked

with Thomas when both were

in Denver, raved about his im-

pact on the team, even though

he was just activated last

week.

“He’s a great guy, a great

teammate, works extremely

hard, worked hard on his re-

hab all year, and has been a

great influence on our entire

offensive group, not just the

receivers,’’ said McDaniels.

“This guy’s got a lot of knowl-

edge and he’s played in a lot of

important games and he’s won

a lot of big games and made a

lot of great plays.

“He’s a pretty decorated

player, it’s great to have him

back out there and now it’s

just about continuing to put

one day in front of the next

andtrytobuildcontinuityand

rhythm.’’

DTPennelreleased

The Patriots continued to

pare the roster in advance of

Saturday’s cutdown day, re-

leasing veteran defensive tack-

leMikePennelJr.

A sixth-year veteran, Pennel

had tumbled down the depth

chart behindLawrenceGuy,

DannyShelton,AdamButler,

and rookieByronCowart.

Guy has been a steady in-

side force for two seasons and

Shelton has had an outstand-

ing spring and summer.

Butler provides great inside

pocket pressure in sub-packag-

es, and Cowart has really

surged the last few weeks.

Additionally, defensive end

MichaelBennettshifted inside

in some sub-packages against

Carolina on last Thursday and

that likely will be the case dur-

ing the regular season as well.

Callingtheshots?

JerodMayowouldn’t budge

when asked if he’s calling the

defensive plays this season.

“Every day is different, this is

Coach Belichick’s defense, this

is his team, so whatever the

team needs me to do, I’m will-

ing to do.’’ Does that include

calling plays? “That’s one of

those questions you’ve got to

ask coach.’’... Full attendance

was a challenge at practice but

tight endsBenWatson(con-

cussion protocol) andLance

Kendricksandrunningback

DamienHarrisweren’t spot-

ted. Kendricks and Harris suf-

fered undisclosed injuries

against the Panthers... On

defense, edge rushersDerek

RiversandShiliqueCalhoun

weren’t seen... The team

waivedrunningbackRobert

Martina day after he was

signed... ReceiverMaurice

Harrisand defensive end

KeiontaDavis, who were

waived Sunday with injury

designations, went unclaimed

and reverted back to the club’s

injuredreservelist.Theycould

be released with an injury set-

tlement if they become healthy

enough to play this season.

Ben Volin of the Globe staff

contributed.

PATRIOTS

NOTEBOOK

JIM DAVIS/GLOBE STAFF

Patrick Chung (right), with Jason McCourty at his side, shed his red non-contact jersey for the first time this summer.

JIM DAVIS/GLOBE STAFF

The Patriots’ Tom Brady,

pliability obvious, reaches

the end point during this

exercise at practice Monday.

Luck retiring is a courageous move

rarely hear. When he said,

“The last four years of my life

I’ve been in this cycle of injury,

pain, rehab, injury, pain rehab,

and it’s been unceasing, unre-

lenting, both in season and off-

season and I felt stuck in it,”

his conclusion became obvi-

ous.

“The only way I see out is to

no longer play football,” he

said. “It’s taken my joy of this

game away and... [pausing to

choke back tears] sorry. I’ve

been stuck in this process, I ha-

ven’t been able to live the life I

want to live, it’s taken the joy

out of this game. And after

2016, when I played in pain, I

made a vow to myself I would

not go down that path again.

The only way forward for me is

to remove myself from foot-

ball.

“I came to the proverbial

fork in the road, and I made a

vow to myself if I ever did

again, I’d choose me, in a

sense.”

For that, I think we should

applaud him, and outside of

the emotionally stunted dopes

who booed Luck in the heat of

their postgame shock Satur-

day, I am not alone. When the

Patriots returned to practice

Sunday, Luck’s decision was

still buzzing through the locker

uSULLIVAN

Continued from Page D1

room, carrying an undercur-

rent of support and under-

standing not simply for what

Luck is doing, but for how dif-

ficult his fellow players know it

must have been to do it. That is

a brand of bravery they all can

admire.

“As a player in the league, I

appreciate it,” 11-year veteran

Jason McCourty said. “Because

for all of us, it’s very, very hard

to walk away, whether we’re in

our prime, whether we’re

washed up and barely can get

from Point A to Point B.

“Mentally it’s hard to get to

a sport you’ve been playing

since you were a kid to say

goodbye. You love it. You’ve

done it for so long. It’s a part of

your routine. It’s a part of you.”

But it’s not all of you. And

with Luck standing up to say

that out loud, he can have such

a positive impact on others. I

get the risk to football, a game

struggling to keep its youth

participation numbers up even

as its television ratings contin-

ue to soar.

I understand there could be

future players who see what

Luck did and choose basket-

ball, baseball, or soccer in-

stead, looking for less contact.

But Luck was adamant that

he has no resentment toward

the game, actually thanking it.

“In a philosophical sense, I

want to thank football for so

many wonderful moments in

my life, the pressure, circum-

stances, environment that

forced me to grow in so many

meaningful ways,” he said.

“It’s the greatest team sport

in the world. I certainly feel

like I’ve gotten my fair chance,

and I’m very grateful for every

snap I got to take.”

That he is choosing to take

no more (though who knows

what might happen in his fu-

ture?) is notable, bringing to

mind recent shocking retire-

ments by Barry Sanders or Cal-

vin Johnson, or for older gen-

erations, Jim Brown or Sandy

Koufax, athletes in their prime

no longer willing to pay the

price to stay there. That he is

met in equal parts by support

and surprise is reflective of our

changing attitudes.

“I think as the culture shifts

and we are educated more on

our physical health, the long-

term effects of the game on our

bodies, another thing that has

gained a lot of traction is the

awareness around mental

health,” said Patriots special

teamer Matthew Slater, “and I

think there’s certainly been a

shift from the time I came into

the league until now in terms

of guys retiring maybe what

some would consider at a

young age.

“I think that’s good. I think

perspective is important, and I

think at the end of the day, you

have to realize this is just foot-

ball, just a job, it’s not life or

death.

“If you’re dealing with pain

day after day after day, month

after month after month, year

after year after year, it’s going

to have an effect on you.”

Luck feels the pain.

An ongoing ankle/calf inju-

ry is only his latest malady. He

has torn cartilage in his ribs,

sustained a partial tear in his

abdomen, suffered a lacerated

kidney, been diagnosed with at

least one concussion, and, of

course, the shoulder surgery.

That list is why Patriots backup

quarterback Brian Hoyer used

the car-crash analogy.

“Not only that, but the men-

tal stress,” Hoyer said. “We’re

fortunate to do what we do, no

doubt about that, but we sign

up for a lot of mental, physical

stresses. You can’t put yourself

in our shoes, but if he sat down

and decided that’s what best

for him and future of his fami-

ly, that should be celebrated.”

Cue the applause.

Tara Sullivan is a Globe

columnist. She can be reached

at [email protected].

Follow her on Twitter

@Globe_Tara.

Andrewshospitalized,

treatedforbloodclots

missed a week of practice in
the altitude of Colorado
Springs after a win in Denver.
The Patriots won both games
Karras started, including a vic-
tory over the Raiders in Mexico
City.
Karras has also played right

uANDREWS
Continued from Page D1

guard – including two starts

last season – and will be aided

by playing between established

guards Joe Thuney on the left

and Shaq Mason on the right.

Jim McBride can be reached at

[email protected].

Follow him on Twitter

@globejimmcbride.