Getty Bill Belichick
The New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick doesn’t give out a ton of compliments, but he showered cornerback J.C. Jackson with praise after Week 1 win.
Bill Belichick on J.C. Jackson After Week 1 Win Vs. Dolphins
Belichick: I really take my hat off to J.C. He really played well today.
Belichick: I just wanted to personally congratulate (J.C.) Jackson
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Quite often, the reigning NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore, or even veteran Devin McCourty are the ones who get the majority of the shine in the Patriots’ secondary. That’s to be expected, and it should continue as Gilmore got his first interception of the season and McCourty delivered his usual solid performance.
Throughout the 2019 season, Jackson has been lauded for his coverage skills, but he still hasn’t gotten the sort of fanfare that some of the more well-known cornerbacks are getting in the NFL.
Producing in All Three Phases
The Patriots didn’t score 40 points and the offense didn’t throw the ball all over th field. However, the Cam-Newton-commanded attack took care of the ball aside from a red zone fumble by N’Keal Harry. Newton completed 15 of 19 passes with no interceptions and he was steady with the ball as a runner too. Most importantly, the Patriots consistently won the battle up front against the Dolphins with their physicality.
Special teams didn’t break off huge returns, block kicks or punts, but they were strong in kick and punt coverage. The kicking game could use some work as Nick Folk missed his only field-goal attempt.
The major stars on Sunday was the defense who had three interceptions with Adrian Phillips hawking one ball to join Gilmore and Jackson. The Patriots’ run defense was great as well as Miami got next to nothing on the ground.
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- Bill Belichick Praises Underrated Patriots CB For Week 1 Performance