Many people on and off the New England Patriots roster can agree that this current team isn’t what the 2-4 record suggests.
Jonnu Smith vocalized this point and a lot of it has come down to costly turnovers, along with a lack of aggressiveness on fourth down. The bright spot is Mac Jones’ growth and progress each game. The rookie brought games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Dallas Cowboys down to the wire and his mental toughness has been on full display.
Nelson Agholor spoke about Jones’ poise while speaking to reporters on Thursday.
“Tough kid. Super tough kid,” Agholor said. “Truly loves the game of football. That’s one thing I’ll say. Because some of these things that have happened, they’ve been tough on him, and I can tell his passion and his love and respect for this game. Every week he just bounces back and comes to practice with a smile on his face ready to work hard because losing hurts. He doesn’t like it and I have a lot of respect for him because of that.”
As for the aforementioned 2-4 record, Agholor can see hope ahead.
“We’re really tested right now. We’re battle tested,” he said. “There’s no moral victories, but there is growth that comes with tests. I think right now we’ve seen these situations and we understand that a little bit more effort, a little more focus, a little more detail here and there, then things come out in our favor. I think we these battles that we’ve had, the greatest thing that will come from it is the growth.”
The Patriots’ next test is against the New York Jets at home — which should be a fairly easy victory.
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