Though the New England Patriots’ players did not speak to the media Tuesday, head coach Bill Belichick and both of his coordinators did, holding their weekly conference calls with reporters.
Here are a few highlights from the calls:
— Only one Patriots player has played every defensive snap through three games this season: Kyle Van Noy, who’s served as the leader of New England’s linebacking corps with captain Dont’a Hightower sidelined.
Van Noy was a role player in the Patriots’ linebacker rotation last season after being traded from the Detroit Lions in late October. He played less than 60 percent of defensive snaps in six of his first 10 games with New England, including two of its three playoff games.
“When he first walked in the door for us, I think he was a guy who really cared about the game,” defensive coordinator Matt Patricia said. “A really competitive player, a guy that wanted to be out on the field, a guy that really just wanted to do anything he could to have a role and to be out there and make a difference and be impactful on this defense.
“I think that he had the opportunity now to go through an offseason and through training camp. He kind of established himself as a guy that can handle a lot of information, put himself in some different spots, a guy that can handle the communication part of it from the linebacker aspect of it.”
Van Noy, who signed a two-year contract extension earlier this month, has worn the green dot as the Patriots’ primary defensive communicator this season. He had his most productive game of the season Sunday, tallying a game-high 11 tackles in a 36-33 win over the Houston Texans.
“(Van Noy can) run the defense, understand the checks, the adjustments and the different things that we require the linebackers to know, not only in coverage, but also with the front,” Patricia said. “I think he has embraced all that. He’s really trying to improve as a player and trying to get better, which we’ve got a lot of room to do across the board there. But (he’s) just a guy that works extremely hard at trying to make himself better and understand our system and have a key role in it.”
Safety Devin McCourty has played all but one defensive snap this season (203 of 204), and defensive end Trey Flowers has missed just six snaps.
— Speaking of New England’s defense, edge rusher Cassius Marsh had his best game as a Patriot on Sunday.
The former Seattle Seahawk started opposite Flowers and was one of the few defenders to actually take down Deshaun Watson, strip-sacking the slippery Texans quarterback early in the second half.
After giving up a 78-yard touchdown to Kansas City Chiefs rookie Kareem Hunt in his first game in a Patriots uniform, Marsh vowed to “turn this (expletive) around.” He’s looked much more comfortable following that Week 1 loss and should provide solid depth on the edge once Hightower returns from his knee injury.
“Cassius is smart,” Belichick said. “He works hard. He picks things up quickly. He’s really done everything that we’ve asked him to do and worked hard to get it right. He’s athletic and has some experience. He’s played for us in the kicking game and defensively. I think he’s making progress. Again, we’ve got a long way to go, but making progress.”
In addition to his work on defense, Marsh also leads all Patriots players with 82 special teams snaps this season.
Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images
