FOXBOROUGH - Terrell Williams may have left the team this week due to “unforeseen” health reasons, but the Patriots defensive coordinator is still in the players and coaches thoughts preparing for their Week 2 game in Miami.
“We’re rooting for him,” safety Jaylinn Hawkins said prior to Thursday’s practice. “Whatever is going on with him, he’s in all the teams’ prayers.”
Hawkins said the defensive players were hoping to produce a victory for their sidelined coach, and just “do it for Terrell.”
Did the coaches have a similar mindset?
Safeties coach Scott Booker, who has known Williams for over 20 years, put it in perspective.
“Definitely, there’s always that human element of wanting to do well for someone you’ve had a long-time relationship with, and I’m speaking for myself,” Booker said during his availability Thursday. “At the same time, just me personally, the ‘win one for the Gipper’ and all that type of stuff goes away on the first kickoff, or the first time you get hit, or the first time some adversity hits.
“It’s not so much win one for Terrell ... we want to get this win. We want to make sure we go out there and play great team defense, we swarm, we play violent, we take the ball away, and that’s what we want to do.”
Booker also indicated that the game plan for Miami was going to be a collective effort, because that’s how Williams would want it.
“He’s a very close friend of mine not just football-wise, but we’re just talking about family,” Booker said. “With all that being said, just as a group, we are all a collective defense. That’s one thing Terrell implemented Day 1 in February. That this is a collective thing. So that’s how we’re going forward. We’re collectively doing the game plan, we’re collectively going through our areas of expertise, and we’re going to continue to go forward, and have the game plan we feel is the best to beat the Miami Dolphins.”
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