FOXBORO, Mass. -- Last month, for a team-produced video segment, Mac Jones was asked to play a game of word association with the names of his New England Patriots teammates.
Veteran safety Devin McCourty, for example, was "the old man." Special teams captain Matthew Slater? "The even older man."
Defensive tackle Lawrence Guy shouted out that unfortunate moniker when Slater took the podium for his news conference Wednesday. So, naturally, Slater was asked what word he'd use to describe Jones.
"Special," he replied. "Special kid."
The feeling is mutual.
Though Jones didn't land on that exact word for Slater, he raved about the 36-year-old perennial Pro Bowler when he stepped to the microphone a short while later.
"I think they're all great guys," the rookie quarterback said of New England's veteran leaders, "and to be in the room with them -- with a guy like Matt who has seen a lot of different, not only football schemes, teams in many years, he just has great knowledge about leadership. He's one of the best public speakers I've ever been around, so just taking notes there, and obviously he backs up everything he says with his work ethic and the type of person he is.
"He's the model Patriot and someone that I look up to, and a lot of guys on our team do that as younger players -- and even the older guys."
Slater puts those public speaking skills to good use in the locker room, leading the Patriots' postgame breakdown after each victory.
The Patriots have undergone a significant roster overhaul over the past two years, but a few longtime franchise pillars -- players like Slater, McCourty, David Andrews, Dont'a Hightower and the injured James White -- still remain.
"I'm really blessed to have those ... main guys that are older," Jones said. "They have a lot of knowledge and experience that I'd like to learn from, and hopefully I can become like them one day. They mean a lot to me, and they mean a lot to a lot of people around this organization."
Let by Jones, those stalwarts and a wave of impact newcomers, the 9-4 Patriots enter their bye week with the AFC's best record. They'll begin their final playoff push next Saturday night against the Indianapolis Colts.
