FOXBOROUGH - "Hopefully, we come out and dominate."
Patriots defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington is not pulling any punches regarding what he's expecting out of his defense Tuesday. That's when the Eagles come to town for a single joint practice. I get where Covington's coming from. His unit has been the most dominant on the practice field nearly every day since the start of training camp and repeated that again in the preseason opener versus the Panthers. Of course, neither the Patriots' offense nor whatever the hell it was that Carolina threw out there last week is in the same area code as Philadelphia, so this has a chance to be a summer measuring stick for the first-year coordinator.
"We're trying to compete at a high level," said Covington, referencing tomorrow but generally speaking as well. "We're trying to execute, work on our fundamentals and technique, most importantly. And then we're trying to make sure that we again - you're going against another team - so, hopefully, we gel together as a team..."
The Patriots had a rough defensive stretch Monday; first, there was a penalty, and then only 10 men in the huddle. That drew the ire of Jerod Mayo, and he forced them to run a pair of laps for those foolish mistakes. Considering how many assistant coaches this team now has, the latter error should never have happened, but it did, and now the lesson best be learned. Covington has never been the kind of coach you want to let down, and when you look at the growth of players under his charge when he led the defensive line, you see they bought into his approach and what he was preaching.
Now comes a more significant challenge for Covington as he captains the entire unit. He figured his old 'D' line room was set, but he lost arguably their best player, Christian Barmore, very early in camp. There is no timetable for Barmore's return, nor is there a one-for-one switch for a player with that skill set currently available on this, or just about any other, roster.
"Obviously, Christian is a big part of our defense. And, you know, unfortunately, that happened. We are - our thoughts and prayers are with him - and just like any other injury we have in football, the next-man-up mentality is good for that room.
"I would say we have the depth and the competition in that room to fill that void. Really, it's just up to them to continue to prove that on the field with their consistent play. And who can help us out, because we need that just like last year. We had injuries that happened, and to our guy's credit, we had good depth at each position."
Focus has been on veteran free agent additions Armon Watts (mixed-bag so far) and Mike Purcell, pass-rush specialist Daniel Ekuale, Trysten Hill from the last chance corral, and Jeremiah Pharms Jr. It's not that this group is inadequate; instead, they just aren't Barmore, even if you could Frankenstein them. It makes you wonder if Covington might have to get creative with player usage and how they play as a whole.
"I would say we're going to do what we do, and we're going to put the players in the best position with the players that we have, and then it depends on who we're playing for that week," he said. "So you tell me who we're playing, and we're going to do what's best for our team, our defense, to stop them, to win the football."
From the outside looking in, there's one other obstacle that Covington has been presented with: wither Matthew Judon? Is he practicing today? If he is, is it a full-go? Judon didn't play Thursday, and there was an odd scene during pregame warmups where he stood on the outskirts of the players and coaches as they were grouped together watching the final team period. He was the lone player with his helmet off, and when the entire group - save for the special teamers - went to the home sideline, Judon went to the visitor's sideline, again, all by his lonesome. Then Sunday, in their return to the practice field, the veteran edge rusher was shaking his ass all over the field, causing all sorts of havoc. Depends on the day, I guess?
"For us and the defensive staff. He's been Judon. He's been Matt Judon. He's been great in the classroom. He's been great for us on the practice field. And I look at it like this: We all have bad days, right? We all - I mean - if I ask any of you guys, all of you guys will raise your hand for having a bad day. Unfortunately for him, his bad day will be on camera. You know what I mean? Just like our bad days will be behind doors.
"So, he had a bad day, and then that was it. ... other than that, the guy's been who he's been since we signed up a couple years ago. So I have nothing but respect and love for Judon and what he can do and will do for this team."
Hard enough to try and find a way to replace Barmore, but then to have to do it with Judon as well? Talk about making Covington earn it in year one. Yikes. But Mayo's faith in the 35-year-old has been front and center since day one. We'll see how that's rewarded, but there's a reason why Covington is already mentioned as a future head coaching candidate. If he manages to thrive without one or both of those pieces, it will only accelerate the process.
PELLEGRINO'S PRIDE
If you've been keeping up with the daily practice reports, you know Azizi Hearn has been on the wrong side of some big plays in the passing game. But the young cornerback has caught the eye of his position coach, Mike Pellegrino.
"I'm really, really pleased with his progress," Pellegrino said. "Mayo talks about (it) all the time: process, progress, payoff. He (Hearn) went through the process. He's seen the progress, which I'm so proud of for him. I really am very proud of his ability to play outside, play inside, really slow the game down, because that was - you know - his thing from the beginning. And I'm just impressed of where he is right now."
Pellegrino, who revealed that he and safety coach Brian Belichick are nicknamed "Shake and Bake" (it is unclear who is who), has had to be adaptable with his rotations here in camp. Jonathan Jones and Marcus Jones missed significant amounts of time, and Shaun Wade, who had just lost the red non-contact jersey, was missing from practice on Monday. That meant a steady diet of young veteran Marco Wilson, Alex Austin, Isaiah Bolden, rookie Marcellas Dial Jr., and assorted others.
"I basically switch it up based on the day," said Pellegrino of how he's gone about mixing and matching. "I wouldn't look too far into it because sometimes I'm trying to do it based on matchups, too. So if the receiver groups not changing, then I have to change, right? So I'll just keep moving the guys around. I don't want them going against the same guys all camp,
"It's to get a little bit of uncomfortability as well, like I'm working with this guy, and now I'm working with this guy, because that's how the season was last year, right? How many different corners that we had to play? (Too many, I responded) It is what it is. So, look, we're prepared for everything, and we're always ready to adapt."