Mallett Ready For Another Opportunity Against Eagles
BOSTON (CBS) -- Ryan Mallett isn't looking back at his preseason performance against the Washington Redskins, just looking ahead to another opportunity on Friday night.
Mallett hit the field for the Patriots-Eagles walk-through on Thursday, and said he's already moved on from his 5-for-12 performance from a week ago.
"I've already moved passed it and I'm ready for this week," Mallett told reporters at Gillette. "Rear-view mirror kind of game right now."
Mallett said he is "good to go" whenever his number is called in New England's second preseason game on Friday night, and that missing practice on Sunday and Monday was "just maintenance stuff." The backup QB appeared to hurt his leg on an awkward slide in Washington, an injury he's battled since the spring, but he maintained that it was nothing serious -- just some grass getting stuck in his knee brace.
After missing the two sessions earlier in the week, the backup took part in New England's two joint practices with the Eagles on Tuesday and Wednesday. His reps were limited, with Tom Brady getting the majority of the snaps, but he believes he made the most of the chances he got against Philadelphia.
"Anytime you get a rep when you're not a starter, you have to take advantage of it because you don't get all the reps. That's why I treat very practice like that, whether they be joint or just practicing with each other," he said.
The 26-year-old joked that he'd like to have all his incomplete passes back from Thursday night's loss in Washington, but was very serious when he said he said he'd like to make better and quicker decisions the next time he takes the field in a game.
"There are some things we obviously have to do better. We didn't play very well," he said of Thursday night's loss. "We came out here and practiced well and got better. That's what we're trying to do every day; get better."
As for dropped passes or plays negated by penalties that hurt the offense's overall performance last week, Mallett said those are just bumps in the road that everyone can learn from.
"That's part of the preseason. Those things happen and shows why you can't let those happen in the regular season," he said. "We just have to learn from it."
Tune in to Friday's Patriots-Eagles preseason game on 98.5 The Sports Hub and WBZ-TV -- the flagship stations of the New England Patriots. Pregame coverage begins on 98.5FM with Patriots Preview at 4:30pm, and on WBZ-TV at 7pm with a special edition of Patriots All Access. Stay tuned after the game for postgame shows on each station!
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