Belichick, Martin Will Be Working Hard During Patriots Bye Week
By Gregory Hunt
Things may get a little quiet around Gillette Stadium for the next few days as the New England Patriots go into their bye week for the 2015 NFL season. Carrying a 3-0 record, the Patriots won't play again until they travel to AT&T Stadium to face the 2-1 Dallas Cowboys on October 11. In the meantime, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick will continue tweaking his game plans, while newly-acquired wide receiver Keshawn Martin will continue studying his playbook.
Belichick thinks there's still room for improvement
In beating the Jacksonville Jaguars 51-17 at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, the New England Patriots earned near-unanimous praise from fans and media. However, according to head coach Bill Belichick at his weekly press conference on Monday, the team still needs to get better.
"We've still got to keep working on it," said Belichick about his team's run defense. "We'll see a real good running team (in the Dallas Cowboys) in our next game, so we still have a lot of things we need to improve on, but I think we're doing things better in Week Two and Three than we were in Week One, better than in training camp and a couple of preseason games. We still have a long way to go."
Belichick was even critical of himself and his coaching staff. "We have a lot of work to do," he said. "I don't think we're doing a good enough job coaching, or playing, really in any area. I think we're improving and I think we're making some progress, but we need to move faster and just do everything better."
Martin is a quick study at wide receiver
Only 11 days after the Patriots acquired him in a trade with the Houston Texans, wide receiver Keshawn Martin was receiving a touchdown pass from Tom Brady against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Patriots offense is known for being complex -- wide receiver Chad Ochocinco was widely criticized for not "getting" the offense during his one season with the team in 2011 -- so for Martin to contribute to the team so quickly was impressive to Patriots wide receivers coach Chad O'Shea.
"He's a guy who's smart, he's flexible position-wise, he can move around," said O'Shea on Monday. "He had some familiarity with the offense, which was good. He's done a really good job and played well within his role (against Jacksonville). It's a work in progress as far as him learning some of the stuff that is different with our offense relative to where he just came from."
After Sunday's game, Martin discussed his experience with the Patriots so far. "I felt pretty comfortable as far as the plays,"said Martin. "I felt good going in. This past week I've been studying my butt off just trying to get it down."
Martin has been on New England's radar since at least 2012, when he paid a pre-draft visit to Foxboro. At Houston, the Michigan State product was coached by former Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien, so there are some similarities between the New England offense and the Houston offense.
"It's different a little bit," Martin said, "but it's also got some similarities. I feel like me coming here was a good thing for me. Just from similar offenses it gives me a chance to get on the field."
Gregory Hunt is a Boston native and a life-long fan of the Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics. He's also particularly fond of lacrosse, IndyCar racing and women's college basketball. He currently works for Examiner.com where he serves as the Senior Manager of Content and Media Access. He also writes for Examiner.com as the New England Patriots Examiner. His work can be found on Examiner.com.
