–Jason McCourty has played well since replacing Eric Rowe in the second game as No. 2 corner against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Rowe has been inactive the past three games.
“I love Jason more than Devin,” Dont’a Hightower joked Wednesday. “He’s a really smart dude. Obviously, he is a lot like his brother as far as athletic ability. He just brings a lot of knowledge – it’s definitely a lot smoother having his knowledge when we communicate and talk. I am just glad to have a guy like that, besides Stephon (Gilmore), Jonathan (Jones), and Patrick (Chung).”
–Running back James White has 32 catches this season and is on pace to catch more than 100 balls. Few pay more attention to the details than White.
“It’s a lot of preparation and for me, football has always come sort of naturally to me but at the same time, the things that I don’t know, I just try to sharpen up on them and take all the little coaching points, the little minor details and just remember those because those are the things that make a difference whether it’s a route detail, blocking detail or what I should be looking for in a specific run read. I just try to pay attention to everything because those little things really matter,” White said.
–Former Cowboys tight end (currently ESPN Monday Night Football analyst) Jason Witten said Travis Kelce is the best tight end in football. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes echoed that sentiment Wednesday. “Yeah, I mean, on my list, I would rank Kelce the best tight end in football. I know Gronk (Rob Gronkowski) has been a great tight end for a long time. But, I mean, I haven’t gotten to play with Gronk. I’ve gotten to play with Kelce, and I’ve never seen anyone be able to do the things that he’s done.”
Gronkowski can remind fans that he might be the best tight end in football Sunday night. Kelce has 335 career catches and Gronkowski has 497. Even though, the two are the same age (both born in 1989) – Gronkowski was drafted in 2010 whereas Kelce was drafted in 2013. Gronkowski entered the league at 20 and Kelce at 24.
“I didn’t even know we were the same age,” Gronkowski said. “I try to do my best and do my job every single week. I leave the rankings up to you guys.”
BY THE NUMBERS: 3 – The number of night games the Patriots have in the next four weeks. Sunday night home against the Kansas City Chiefs, a Monday night game at Buffalo in two weeks, and a Sunday night game at home against the Green Bay Packers. Given the Patriots’ popularity, it is no surprise that the Patriots have five night games – the league maximum.
