Some notes and details of Friday’s video conferences with New England Patriots players and coaches:
– Sixth-round draft recruit Mike Onwenu, our choice for the Patriots’ first-term MVP, began impressing co-offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo months before the season began.
“When we were doing out-of-season zoom montages and we can just paint remotely, here’s a newbie that I get a text message from at 10:30 PM and he asks me anything,” recalls Bricillo. “I love to smile and show it to my wife, because it’s anything I obviously knew I was watching a movie at 10:30. We had the Zoom montage the next morning, and that first query we were going to answer. It’s running. with him, and that’s what you want to do. In this sector, you can do more. “
This willingness to be informed has helped Onwenu, who played almost exclusively as a right guard in Michigan, expand the versatility needed to start games with the right, left and right guards, as he has this season. week 10 begins as the third best-rated offensive lineman in Pro Football Focus.
“Mike is what we saw in the evaluation process,” Bricillo said of the 350-pound recruit. “It’s a kind of lunch bucket that shows up and does its job, does it quietly and listens. You can say he’s a serious guy who takes it seriously to be a professional.
“The vets were speaking today at one (one) meeting. (Your fellow O-Line coach) Cole (Popovich) told veterans a little what this game means (against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday), and I saw Mike sitting there listening very conscientiously to what the vets had to say. And you can see that in his room. Nothing is perfect. Lots of area to grow for Mike, and he knows it. He’d be the first to tell her. But he’s a guy who shows up every day to paint, and it’s a laugh to paint with him. “
– Special Team Coordinator Cam Achord and Special Captain Matthew Slater praised veteran kicker Nick Folk, whose 51-yard boxing purpose expired Monday night, gave New England a 30-27 victory over the New York Jets.
“Nick is the professional you like to have on your team,” Achord said. “It brings this experienced leadership, a solid approach. When you send it there, you just feel that feeling. You know it’s happening, which is smart, feeling like going out. “
People missed a workout last week due to a back injury and it was considered questionable for Monday’s game. Kick-off player Jake Bailey practiced shooting exercises in the warm-up area as a precautionary measure.
People downplayed the after-game, but Slater called it a “serious situation. “
“Anyone with back disorders knows it’s not fun,” Slater said. “So he showed a lot of tenacity, intellectual tenacity, physical tenacity and proism last week, but he did it all the time he was here. So I appreciate it, I appreciate what you did last week. We’re lucky to have a guy like that here and I think we can all look at him and be informed of what it’s like to be a professional football player because, in fact, he embodies all those things. “
Folk, 36, lost cash targets in weeks 1 and 2 and an additional point in Week 3, but has been very good since then, going 10 against 10 with cash targets and 5-on-5 with additional problems over New England. Last five games.
“I can’t say enough about Nick, ” said Slater. ” And I was lucky enough to be with very, very intelligent specialists in my day. I played with Stephen (Gostkowski) for a long time. And Nick’s as professional as I’ve played with. The way he approaches his profession, the way he approaches technique, the way he approaches to take care of himself. You have a plan and implement it the right way. a professional thanks to Nick. “