FOXBOROUGH - With Rhamondre Stevenson already deemed out against the Atlanta Falcons Sunday, one of the biggest areas of concern is pass protection and blitz pickup.
The coaching staff trusted Stevenson to keep Drake Maye upright on passing downs.
No one else has the same level of trust.
Rookie TreVeyon Henderson excelled at pass protection in college at Ohio State, but has struggled at the pro level.
Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said Friday that Henderson, Terrell Jennings, or whoever else will have to get the job done.
“Well, I mean, we’ll have to continue to find ways to protect our quarterback the best way that we can. I mean, (Rhamondre) is one of our best players. That goes without saying,” Vrabel said. “So, however we’re doing that based on the fronts that they give us, the looks that they give us, if it’s a five-down look, if it’s a backer or nickel off the ball, we’ll have to make sure that we’re sound in protection and that we are getting to where we need to be.”
Henderson, who figures to have a more prominent role, said he’s been working on pass protection and blitz pickup every day with running backs coach Tony Dews to try and improve, keying in on all of the important details.
“Pass protection here, there’s a lot of little things that matter to be able to protect the quarterback, especially as a running back,” Henderson said. “My biggest thing is to try to be coachable, and listen to (Dews) and take the drills we do on the practice field and bring it to the game field.”
Henderson wasn’t getting a ton of snaps for that reason. He wasn’t bringing it to the game field. Stevenson took over on passing downs and was getting a majority of the snaps.
But now, there’s little choice. Henderson, who had his best game against the Cleveland Browns last week (7 carries, 77 yards) is hoping to make the most of the opportunity.
Said Henderson: “Me and Terrell, we’re definitely going to give it everything we got in honor of Rhamondre.” .
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