Shortly after sidestepping a question about Malcolm Butler, Bill Belichick heaped praise on a much lesser-known New England Patriots cornerback: second-year pro Jonathan Jones.
Jones made a name for himself as a special teams standout last season but rarely contributes on the defensive side of the ball. He did just that Sunday, however, coming up with two key pass breakups in the Patriots’ 36-20 win over the New Orleans Saints.
The No. 4 man on New England’s cornerback depth chart, Jones saw his playing time increase after Eric Rowe left the game with a groin injury. He ripped a would-be touchdown pass out of Ted Ginn Jr.’s hands on third down midway through the second quarter, then slapped away a deep bomb to Brandon Coleman late in the third.
Had the pass to Ginn been completed, the Saints would have trimmed the Patriots’ lead to 20-17. Instead, they settled for a field goal, and New England reeled off 16 consecutive points to put the game away.
When asked about those two plays during a conference call Tuesday morning, Belichick was remarkably effusive in his praise of the young cornerback.
“I saw on both those plays, the technique that he used to finish the play, the final reception point, was excellent,” Belichick said. “Perfect. It was textbook technique — what we teach all of our players to do. But it was a great illustration of Jonathan doing it and having two big plays, two very productive plays.
“Those are good examples for us to show not only him but all the other players in terms of playing those types of passes and finishing in the situation that he was in.”
Earlier in the call, Belichick responded to a question about Butler by saying: “I don’t think anybody’s performance this season is really where it needs to be or where it will be.” Butler lost his starting job to Eric Rowe and allowed a touchdown Sunday.
Thumbnail photo via Chuck Cook/USA TODAY Sports Images
