FOXBOROUGH - Christian Barmore has been playing good football for the Patriots week after week. So when he didn't play in the first quarter of Sunday's win over the Browns, but then was a menace on the field thereafter, it was clear something was up.
Mike Vrabel admitted as much postgame — "to protect the team," he said — and Barmore declined to speak with reporters. No such avoidance today. The big defensive tackle fielded a little over four minutes of questions from reporters, though he made it clear there weren't going to be any revelations.
“Yeah, I’ve moved on," Barmore said. "Next question. Let’s focus on the Falcons.”
That's not how this works, and Barmore knows that. There were a few more queries related to Sunday's situation, with the 26-year-old calling Vrabel "my guy," then reiterating, “It ain’t nothing. It ain’t nothing. We’re just focused on the Falcons."
Barmore has cast an interesting shadow in the Pats locker room this season. Despite the success - they've now won five in a row - he has been prickly with the media and has mainly kept to himself, even around other teammates. We're only allowed in the players' space for 45 minutes a day, three times a week, and then in the postgame, so that's only a part of the entire picture. But that's what I've seen, and others would say the same.
“Of course I’m happy," Barmore insisted. "We’re winning.”
Barmore leads the Pats' interior players in pressures (28), a couple ahead of Milton Williams, but has yet to record a sack. However, he's been instrumental in setting up the edge rushers - K'Lavon Chaisson and Harold Landry - by running picks when they do two-man stunts, and it was just two weekends ago in Tennessee that Landry pointed to Barmore after a sack as if to say 'You did that.'
NOT MUCH TO SAY
If you were looking for some insight into why the Patriots sent both Kyle Dugger (Pittsburgh) and Keion White (SF) packing, Vrabel wasn't willing to divulge much during his Wednesday afternoon press conference.
Both moves were obvious. The league had known that Dugger was available pretty much since this new regime took over, and his contract — and, at the time, the Pats' unwillingness to eat enough of it — made him undesirable. Meanwhile, White had quickly fallen out of favor, and even when he did get reps, he had gone so far backwards that he was a liability.
Still, considering the team's lack of depth at both spots, and their early-season success, was there at least some thought about not upsetting the apple cart?
"I'll remind you, we're eight games into what we feel like is, you know, a program that we want to build, and we have to continue to find ways to improve, figure it out and get it right," Vrabel said. "And that's all we're trying to do, whether that's having success early on in the season or mid-season, or after the trade deadline, whatever that may be. I think we just have to continue to take that approach."
This is the conundrum the Pats face. They are ahead of schedule with their results, and how well the QB is playing, and all of that, really. They know this. So, with the trade deadline fast approaching (November 4), do Vrabel and company go away from their natural instinct to protect their day one and two picks if an opportunity presents itself for a better - and therefore more expensive - edge rusher? Or safety (and I'm not sure they think they need that)? Or another area they deem in need of a considerable upgrade (RB/LB/WR)? League sources insist the Pats are making calls and doing their due diligence, but again, to what end?
As for the players who have moved on, I'm told both welcome the change of scenery. Dugger, in particular, behaved selflessly throughout the build-up to the season, and then, with his erratic playing time, played his best game in over a calendar year in Tennessee.
"We wish Key (White) the best, wish Kyle the best,' Vrabel said. "Appreciate their professionalism, and added some other guys here to the roster, too."
Those "other" guys are safety John Saunders Jr. and RB D’Ernest Johnson. Johnson was released from the Cardinals' practice squad the day before. Saunders, on the other hand, was plucked off the Dolphins practice squad and was someone the Pats had to Foxborough during the pre-draft process. He had a standout final season at the University of Mississippi, leading the SEC by forcing seven turnovers (3 INTs, 4 fumbles). He is, based on his college tape, a better fit for how Vrabel likes his safeties to play, with more versatility to his game. Whether that will translate to the NFL level remains to be seen. His cousin is Bears safety Jaquan Brisker.
REWARDING THE RIGHT GUY
The Patriots locked up Marcus Jones with a three-year contract extension that could earn the cornerback as much as $40 million. Jones did the deal himself, negotiating directly with Eliot Wolf and Matt Groh (yes, they have roles).
Jones may have gotten more had he hit the open market this winter, but he chose the familiarity of remaining in Foxborough and with the only professional team he's ever known. He also did it because of the guy in charge.
“I signed for a reason,” Jones, a first-time captain, said. “I trust what (Vrabel) brings to the table - how he keeps the standard, the standard. That’s the main thing.”
Per PFF, Jones has the lowest passer rating allowed (53.8) by slot corners this season. He also has two interceptions, eight PBUs, and is averaging 21.6 yards per punt return.
"I think he embodies everything that we're looking for here in a player, in a teammate, on the field, in the community," Vrabel said. "It’s something that we were excited about doing and glad that he wanted to get that done and be with us moving forward.