NFL Notebook: White, Amendola powering Patriots passing game

Taking a weekend trip around the NFL with a focus on the Patriots…


1. You want to know why Danny Amendola and James White have established immovable real estate in Tom Brady’s circle of trust? Through five games, among NFL pass catchers with at least 20 receptions, the two are in the top five when it comes to catch percentage. Amendola, who has established himself as one of the most reliable receivers of the last few years in this department, is the best in the league to this point in the season with 23 catches on 27 targets (85 percent). White is fifth with 29 catches on 35 targets (83 percent). Overall, the Patriots are the only team with two players in the top five, and their steadiness and dependability have played a big role in the success of the Patriots game with Julian Edelman on the shelf. (For what it’s worth, New England will see a pretty reliable pass catcher this week in Jermaine Kearse — the former Seahawk is seventh in the league at 79 percent in that department.) Brady has gushed over the work that Amendola and White have done in the past, and was at it again Wednesday when he was asked about Amendola. “He’s had such a great year,” Brady said. “I mean, I can’t say enough good things about Danny and everything he’s meant to our offense. I mean, he’s so tough and, to me, he’s uncoverable. You turn on the tape, he’s getting away from people, no matter what the route, no matter who’s on him, no matter what’s called, leverage, distance of the route. He’s just been so great for us this year.”

2. Speaking of White, he’s on pace to join some pretty exclusive company when it comes to New England franchise history. Through five games, the running back is on pace for a whopping 93 catches and 64 carries. (At this point, White has 20 carries for 76 yards and 29 catches for 230 yards.) If he can reach those milestones, he’d be just the third running back in franchise history to hit at least 60 catches and 60 carries in the same season. Tony Collins (156 carries, 77 catches) did it in 1986, while Leroy Thompson (102 carries, 65 catches) did it in 1994. This week, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels praised White for several reasons, including his skills when it came to blitz pickup. “The part of his game that gets the least amount of attention is all the things that he does in terms of blitz pickup and handling all the exotic different looks that defenses give us these days,” McDaniels said. “He’s in there on all those snaps and has a tremendous amount of responsibility that we all trust him to take on and do right. He comes through. He’s very dependable in that role.”

3. One interesting wrinkle about the Patriots schedule the rest of the way: Other than a pair of divisional games against the Bills and Tyrod Taylor, they are now done with mobile, running quarterbacks. It’s mostly pocket passers from here on out. That should come as a relief to many of New England’s defensive linemen, who have faced some especially nimble quarterbacks in some surprisingly warm conditions. (Seeing Trey Flowers take a long time at his stall after trying to chase down Houston’s Deshaun Watson for three hours in 80 degree temperatures a few weeks ago was striking.) That’s not to say there won’t be quarterbacking challenges the rest of the way; only to suggest that a defensive game plan that was focused on gap discipline and containment of the quarterback will be tweaked slightly going forward.

4. Call it a 15-yard penalty for bad information. Fake news. Whatever the case, I was plum wrong on my penalty stats last week. After a closer look at the numbers, through five weeks (and including Thursday’s Eagles-Panthers game), the Patriots have been whistled for 39 penalties (sixth-most) for 353 yards (tied for fourth-most). Here’s a breakdown of the flags that have gone against the Patriots this season, setting aside penalties that were declined or offset

Most penalized players, listed by total flags and with total yardage lost:
CB Stephon Gilmore: 4 (Defensive Pass Interference, Unnecessary Roughness, 2 Illegal Use of Hands), 54 yards
ST/RB Brandon Bolden: 4 (Neutral Zone Infraction, Running Into the Kicker, Offsides, Illegal Block Above The Waist — all special teams), 25 yards
Team: 4 (Delay of Game, 2 Illegal Shift, Defensive 12 men on the field), 21 yards
OL Nate Solder: 2 (Offensive Holding, Illegal Peelback), 25 yards
CB Jonathan Jones: 2 (Defensive Offsides, Interference with Opportunity to Catch), 20 yards
ST LB Cassius Marsh: 2 (Roughing The Passer, Running Into the Kicker — special teams), 20 yards
DE Deatrich Wise: 2 (Illegal Use of Hands, Roughing The Passer), 20 yards
OL David Andrews: 2 (2 Offensive Holding), 20 yards
WR Danny Amendola: 2 (2 Offensive Pass Interference), 16 yards
WR Brandin Cooks: 2 (False Start, Illegal Block Above The Waist), 15 yards
DE Trey Flowers: 2 (2 Defensive Offsides), 10 yards
CB Malcolm Butler: 1 (Defensive Pass Interference), 20 yards
LB/ST Harvey Langi: 1 (Facemask — special teams), 15 yards
ST/S Brandon King: 1 (Unnecessary Roughness — special teams), 15 yards
TE Rob Gronkowski: 1 (Offensive Pass Interference), 10 yards
OL Marcus Cannon: 1 (Offensive Holding), 10 yards
ST/S Nate Ebner: 1 (Offensive Holding), 7 yards
LB Kyle Van Noy: 1 (Illegal Contact), 5 yards
TE Dwayne Allen: 1 (12 Men On The Field), 5 yards
QB Tom Brady: 1 (Illegal Forward Pass), 5 yards
LS Joe Cardona: 1 (False Start), 5 yards
S Patrick Chung: 1 (defensive Holding), 5 yards

Most penalized by position
Special teams: 10 penalties for 87 yards
Cornerback: 6 penalties for 84 yards
Offensive Line: 5 penalties for 55 yards
Wide receiver: 4 penalties for 31 yards
Defensive Line: 4 penalties for 30 yards
Team: 4 penalties for 21 yards
Tight end: 2 penalties for 15 yards
Linebacker: 2 penalties for 20 yards
Safety: 1 penalty for 5 yards
Quarterback: 1 penalty for 5 yards

Most frequently called penalties
Offensive Holding: 5
Illegal Use of Hands: 3
Defensive Offsides: 3
Offensive Pass Interference: 3
Illegal Block Above the Waist: 2
Running Into the Kicker: 2
Unnecessary Roughness: 2
Defensive Pass Interference: 2
Roughing The Passer: 2
Illegal Shift: 2
False Start: 2
Illegal Peelback: 1
Interference with Opportunity to Catch: 1
Neutral Zone Infraction: 1
Defensive Holding: 1
Illegal Forward Pass: 1
Defensive 12 men on the field: 1
Facemask: 1
Offensive 12 men on the field: 1
Delay of Game: 1
Offsides: 1
Illegal Contact: 1

(As always, thanks to NFLpenalties.com for assistance in cross-checking the information.)

5. In that same vein, Tony Corrente is slated to work this Sunday’s game against the Jets in North Jersey. This is his first Patriots game of the 2017 season, and first since the 2016 opener against the Cardinals in Arizona. (It’s worth noting that Corrente was the lead official that night in November 2015 in New England’s loss to Denver where Rob Gronkowski was whistled for a pair of offensive pass interference calls.) Here’s a quick look at each of the officials who have worked New England games this season, and the penalty information for both teams:

Bill Vinovich: Patriots (six penalties, 55 yards) vs. Kansas City (15 penalties, 139 yards),
Craig Wrolstad: Patriots (nine penalties, 66 yards) vs. New Orleans (five penalties, 35 yards)
John Parry: Patriots (five penalties, 69 yards) vs. Houston (10 penalties, 60 yards)
Jerome Boger: Patriots (seven penalties, 55 yards) vs. Carolina (one penalty, 33 yards)
Carl Cheffers: Patriots (12 penalties, 108 yards) vs. Tampa Bay nine penalties, 70 yards)

6. Interesting nugget in this story from the New York Daily News about a health scare that Jets coach Todd Bowles had last year in the days leading up to New York’s December game against the Patriots in Foxborough. Because of health issues, Bowles planned to call the game from the coach’s box atop Gillette Stadium, but medical personnel stepped in due to logistics that could have compromised him in case of an emergency. (Coaches must walk up a long flight of steps through the crowd atop the building to get to the box.) Instead, he remained on the sidelines, coaching the game while dealing with the aftereffects of a kidney stone and gallstone attack. “With the way the stadium was shaped with the box being so high with all the stairs, it would have been hard to get me down if something happened,” Bowles said. “So, I had to stand on the field.” His decision to stick with the team and coach that afternoon in Foxborough strengthened the bond he had shaped with many of his players.

7. There’s been a lot of talk about David Harris and his limited role with the 2017 team this week, and some of it reminded me of what happened with Shaun Ellis in his lone season with the Patriots in 2011. Ellis — who, like Harris, was a former Jet who arrived in New England after a long and distinguished career with New York — wasn’t used all that much by the Patriots that season. He ended up playing just 31 percent of the snaps, and I recall questioning (both on-air and in print) why Ellis was even on the roster. After I wrote about his lack of use, I was pulled aside by another veteran on that team, who explained that Ellis was there as a veteran mentor, someone who had a tremendous amount of knowledge and was like a coach to some of the younger players, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. In the wake of the statements made by Dont’a Hightower and Elandon Roberts about Harris’ impact, it’s certainly worth wondering if Harris is basically the 2017 edition of Ellis — a respected opponent who was brought in to mentor some younger players, and maybe get one last shot at a title along the way. It’s also worth remembering that while much has been made about Bill Belichick’s occasionally ruthless approach to his roster, there’s something to be said for the way he treats veterans who have engendered his respect like Harris.

8. The guys at NFL Films keep cranking out new, Patriots-related content. The latest is a documentary that airs on Oct. 20 that details a recent trip to Israel with a bunch of Hall of Famers, one that was spearheaded by New England owner Robert Kraft. Hosted by Katie Nolan, “Touchdown in Israel” is an hour-long feature that looks at the goodwill tour that includes Kraft, who was joined by Hall of Famers Jim Brown, Joe Montana, Roger Staubach, Cris Carter, Marshall Faulk, Aeneas Williams, “Mean” Joe Greene and more. (The mind reels at the prospect of a conversation between Kraft and Faulk about Super Bowl XXXVI. Maybe the cameras didn’t catch that.) I got my hands on an advance copy, and while it’s not necessarily heavy on Patriots’ content, it’s a fun feature, one that shines a light on a spiritual trip that’s near and dear to the New England owner. Worth watching.

9. Clemson coach Dabo Swinney isn’t necessarily a member of the Bill Belichick coaching tree, but he said this week he was able to glean a couple of coaching points from Belichick’s he’s put to use this season. Swinney has the Clemson defensive backs using boxing gloves as a way to get them to focus on footwork and technique instead of hand-fighting. "That's what we started doing in camp in our 1 on 1 periods to challenge them and stress them to win with their feet, play great technique, not grab," Swinney said. "We've been much improved (and I) hope it continues in the second half."

10. Two other notes from my conversation with Matthew Slater earlier this week: one, because it’s a two-year term, he and Devin McCourty (who were elected last year) are pretty well ensconced going forward as the Patriots’ two player reps. “I’ll say that’s a role that both of us take a lot of pride in, and I’m thankful to serve in that role,” he said. “It’s been an eye-opening role for us to learn that side of football. We’re hoping we can make things easier for our teammates this year.” And two, despite the fact that Slater was out because of injury earlier this season, he was on the sidelines during games, exhorting his teammates like a coach. Could that be in his future? “I love the game of football and I’ve been around it my whole life,” he said when asked. “I enjoy the camaraderie, the working toward a common goal. Maybe at the high school level. The hours are a bit much for me with a young family.” He said that he might end up following the path that former Patriots running back took — coaching at the high school level.

11. Last week, I was 7-7, and on the year, I’m 48-27. This week, I’ve got the Eagles, Dolphins, Ravens, Texans, Packers, Saints, Patriots, Redskins, Bucs, Rams, Chiefs, Raiders, Broncos and Colts.

12. Big week for the Patriots — once Sunday’s game is done, the franchise will have to quickly turn the page for next week’s prime-time Super Bowl rematch against the Falcons in Foxborough. A sizable challenge that will be a true measuring stick for the 2017 team as the midway point of the regular season looms, expect plenty of coverage that revisits that memorable night in Houston.