Jeremiah Pharms Jr. might've been under the radar entering the 2024 season but coming off a breakout game against the Bears in which head coach Jerod Mayo said he brought a "spark" while delivering a team-leading three run stuffs as well as the first sack of his career, Pharms is suddenly a player that the Patriots could be counting on down the final stretch of the season.
"[I'm] just proud of the kid, like no one's ever given him a chance," said defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery on Thursday when asked about Pharms. "You know the way he works, the way he goes about his business. He's a professional. You ask him to do something, he tries like hell to do it, exactly how you ask him to do it. And you know what, he went out on the field and did exactly what we talked about, doing things we worked on in practice, showed up in the game, and he just works every single day. So I'm happy for the kid, because he always goes about his business the way you want him to as a coach, which is awesome."
Pharms started to pop last summer when Christian Barmore exited with a blood clots diagnosis and the need for a defensive lineman to step up appeared. After suddenly flashing in the preseason game against the Eagles, head coach Jerod Mayo credited the energy and attitude that Pharms was bringing on a consistent basis.
"He's always trying to help no matter what you ask him to do," said Mayo this past summer during training camp. "He just loves football, whether it's playing offense, defensive line, on the practice team. Like, whatever it is, this guy's going to give you a hundred percent, so I appreciate him."
The relentless worker isn't getting bogged down with his best NFL game, in fact, he was quickly moving on before his best plays were even over.
"That was one week, and I kind of got over that Monday morning, because I know, just take it week by week," said Pharms in the Patriots locker room on Thursday. "As you can see, when I was on the field, when I made a play, I didn't [celebrate] because I was too focused on the next play. I don't take any play for granted."
That short-term focus has served Pharms well this season. After short stints in the Champions Indoor Football League as well as the USFL, Pharms joined the Patriots practice squad for the 2022 season, even spending some time on the offensive side of the ball as he searched for any foothold.
Last year, Pharms was promoted to the active roster in November after getting three gameday practice squad promotions earlier in the year. In all, he played in 12 games and logged 90 defensive snaps.
In 2024 he's seen his playing time rise significantly, playing in every game except against the Jaguars, netting 38 percent of the defensive snaps on the season.
"The more you play at this level, the more opportunities you get, and the more you get on the field, the more you feel like you belong, and the more comfortable you get with a standpoint of believing I belong, and that's all he's done, is every chance he's gotten from preseason," said Montgomery. "He's just hungry. Kid was in the building this morning at five o'clock watching film with me. Like that's just him every Thursday morning, he's at my desk at 5 am watching film. No one else is around. No one knows. He didn't say anything to anybody else you know. He wants to be here in the worst way, and he works every day, like he's getting cut tomorrow."
"Every time I get in, I just focus on doing my job and I know if I do my job, plays will come," said Pharms. "I don't chase plays. You know, that's not what this defense is about. This defense is a great defense when we play together."
That defense played great together against the Bears, holding them to a season-best three points. Now the only question is if Pharms can continue to make the kind of impact he did in Chicago.
"I don't want to go backward," said Pharms. "So whatever it takes to keep going forward, whether that's waking up at 5am or staying later and leaving at 8 pm, I'll do that whatever is necessary."
Barmore Back
The biggest news of the day was the return of Christian Barmore to the practice field which created a noticeable surge of energy from his teammates. While everyone will now be waiting with anticipation for Barmore's return to the game field, defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington cautioned patience."
"Manage expectations, said Covington. "It's a blessing to be out there on the field. That's what the focus needs to be on. It's a blessing to be out there on the field. Let's go out there and do what you can do... That's the first step, and then go from there. Let's take it one day at a time, one week at a time, one game at a time, and that's really the story."
Barmore is expected to be available to the media on Friday.
AVP Looking for Consistency
Alex Van Pelt liked the strides his offense made against the Bears after a down performance in Tennessee. Now Van Pelt feels like he has a good sense of the team and their personnel, it's just a matter of finding the consistency week in and week out.
"I think the thing when you form an identity, if you don't make your own identity, people make it for you," said Van Pelt. "So our biggest thing with our identity is consistency. We've had ups and downs. We took a step back last week. We took a step forward in this past game. So i think we just need more consistency. Overall, I think we know who we are. I think we know the formula to win games. We just have to do it at a consistent level."
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