Matt Judon clearly believes in himself, his teammates and, especially, his new head coach.
The former Baltimore Ravens edge rusher signed a four-year contract with the New England Patriots during the offseason. Since inking the deal, Judon, whenever speaking publicly, has demonstrated a swagger and confidence that New England’s defense sorely lacked last season.
That trend continued Monday, when Judon appeared on NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football” program.
“I stay confident just from where I come from and what I’ve been through and the preparation that I know I take every day and every game,” he said. “I have no choice but to be confident in myself. And I think when you play confident and have confidence in yourself, it shows on the field. And it shows in your play. And you can go out there and make those plays.
“And I think (Bill Belichick) is arguably the greatest coach to ever coach any sport. And that’s what we have. And so, with him leading a group of hungry, willing men, it’s nothing but up from last year. So, we gonna put it together in a week (when training camp starts) … and then we gonna see where the chips lay.”
Judon, who still lives in the Baltimore area, also discussed both his impending move to New England and his transition to life with the Patriots.
“I’m gonna have to use maps to get where I’m going,” Judon said. “I don’t even know where a grocery store is out there in Maryland. Actually, the movers are downstairs packing stuff up right now.
” … When it comes to work, it’s learning the playbook, first and foremost. You really can’t do nothing if you don’t know the playbook. … And getting in sync with your teammates, and that comes through repetitions, which you get in the offseason but you really get in training camp when you start going to war.”
Judon, 28, is the kind of versatile player Belichick loves being able to deploy in a variety of situations.
The two-time Pro Bowler racked up 236 tackles, 34.5 sacks and seven forced fumbles over his five years with the Ravens.
