The defensive coaches took centerstage on Thursday at Gillette Stadium as the Patriots continued to ramp up their preparations to open the season in Cincinnati against the Bengals.
"It's been good, we've been trying to just build on our preparation throughout the week," said defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington in his first official press conference under his new title. "That's one of the things we harp on is just being prepared. So treating every day like yesterday was our early-down day, today is third-down day, tomorrow is the next day as far as red area... [we're] just trying to win each day and focus on those areas and then trying to improve pretty much on what our roles and our responsibility is supposed to be."
Covington needed no introduction to the potent offensive pieces that the Bengals possess, instead focusing on his own players and how he can best prepare them for what is sure to be a hostile environment both on and off the field in Cincinnati.
"Every week is gonna be a tough week, we know that," said Covington. "We're gonna say that right now. Every single week there's gonna be this player, this player, this player, this player. All right, so that's the job for us defensively. And so our mindset is to prepare, understand their strengths, understand their weaknesses and then try to play our defense accordingly to help us win. So we understand the matchups. We understand the different things that they have and they do a lot of things well, and so for us, we know we have to do a lot of things well in order to defeat them."
The Bengals are now an experienced team that knows what they want to do and how they want to do it. It starts with the big three of Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, but runs through the rest of their roster on both sides of the ball.
With the Patriots defense missing some of their key pass rush pieces from recent seasons, the challenge seems even tougher on paper. Covington stressed it would take a group effort with everyone playing their respective roles, boosting the overall effectiveness of the entire defensive unit.
"We're going to win because we play well as a team and we play good team defense and we play with fundamentals and we play aggressive and we do what we're supposed to do," said Covington. "That's why you're gonna win and that's how we've done it really in the past too and it's not just like, all right, this one person is going to make us win or lose."
Most of all, the new defensive coordinator seemed excited to tackle the challenge of his first regular season game. After spending the summer practicing play calling in his backyard, Covington will now realize a lifelong dream as he puts his own imprint on a Patriots defense that has been long respected around the league as one of the toughest to play against, no matter who they're rolling onto the field.
"I've always dreamed of doing this," said Covington. "So like this is it, we're here now. So you know, it's not like, 'What's gonna happen?' Like nah, I've been dreaming on this, been waiting on this. So like for me, I think we're making sure like today we're gonna go out there and practice, make sure our players execute the right way because we gotta put them in the right position, we gotta give them the right information, but I can't go out there on the white lines. We can call the plays and put them in the right position and hopefully, they go out there and do their job and that's where we got to make sure they're prepared in every aspect of the game to go out there and play fast, play physical and play aggressive."
Brian Belichick Talks Safeties
Despite numerous changes in New England this offseason at least a couple of things have remained the same. One is Brian Belichick coaching the safeties and another is that his position group will be among the key engines for the defense this season, led by Kyle Dugger and Jabrill Peppers. Both Dugger and Peppers signed long-term contract extensions this offseason, as the duo figure to be franchise cornerstones for years to come.
Peppers was honored earlier this week by being elected captain and Belichick expressed how much the fiery veteran has meant to the defense as he's developed into his third season with the team.
"[Jabrill] has really taken ownership of everything on the defense," said Belichick. "Learning a lot of different roles and setting the tone for the defensive back group, and the defensive group as a whole, asking a lot of questions that keep people accountable for things. The best thing about being around Pep every day is the energy he brings to everything he does... meetings, walkthroughs, practice obviously. And being on the field, no one brings more energy to the field and competitiveness, urgency, all that."
Peppers and Dugger aren't alone, as new addition Jaylinn Hawkins earned a spot on the team by showing the kind of aggressiveness and versatility that embody everything the safety group has stood for going back over two decades. After stops in Atlanta and Los Angeles, the new safety seems like a good complementary fit for the room.
"[Jaylinn]'s been excellent as a free agent," said Belichick. "That's not an easy position to come in, learn a whole new defense, fit in with the group who's established and has leadership on the team. I couldn't have asked for any more from a free agent coming in. It's been awesome, [he's] getting to know the guys, building trust, communicating with me, the players, all the coaches. I couldn't ask for more, and he's a great person, great player, great teammate. So we're really lucky to have him."
Practice Notes
Practice attendance remained the same on Thursday as it was on Wednesday, with Sidy Sow the lone player from the 53-man roster not spotted. Vederian Lowe continues to progress back into the lineup as signs are pointing toward him being potentially available for Sunday's game. As coach Mayo has indicated there should be plenty of rotation going on along the offensive line no matter who's healthy. Outside of David Andrews and Michael Onwenu, who are likely to put in wire-to-wire efforts, players like Nick Leverett, Michael Jordan, Layden Robinson and potentially Lowe should all see some snaps.
Quotes of Note
Jahlani Tavai on the team's one-day-at-a-time focus:
"I'm excited. I know everybody in this building right now is ready to start the new era. So yeah, right now we're just worried about third-down situations, that's what we've had on our game plan today, and that's how far we've made it so far. So we're excited and just ready to get after the day."
Outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins on the Bengals offense:
"They got a stone-cold killer at quarterback that you know is going to make the right read all the time. He can make all the throws. Really good offensive line. They got some new pieces, but it's a good group that works well together. These receivers are dangerous. I mean, take either one of them, you got an elite receiver. You got two of them together, right? That's something that every team in the league is going to be accounting for. It's just a really well-rounded, good passing attack. They have a good complimentary run game that benefits from that passing attack. And then you give credit to Zach Taylor, he's built that offense up for a long time now, where they have, I mean, you look everywhere, they can create problems for a defense."
Cornerbacks coach Mike Pellegrino on team celebrations:
"Bill used to say this all the time, you work so hard during the week to go out there and make plays. You deserve the right to be excited to go when you make a play to show that you're excited to celebrate with your teammates, right?"
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