FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Matthew Judon was so good in Baltimore that Bill Belichick gave him a four-year, $56 million deal in free agency last March, the most he’s ever paid a defensive player per season.
Still, the 29-year-old linebacker felt he had more to learn.
In the midst of his best season yet — Judon has already tied a career-high with 9.5 sacks — the Patriots are thriving as a team. Winners of four straight, Belichick now boasts the NFL’s second-best scoring defense, allowing just 17.7 points per game. Judon has picked up a number of new habits in Foxborough and believes they’re contributing to team growth, too.
“For the season I’m having, I always give the credit to my teammates,” Judon said. “Seriously, for the season I’m having I adapted some of the stuff that they do.”
Judon noticed nine-time Pro Bowler Matthew Slater using a wind bike on the sideline, he decided to start taking it for a spin. Ja’Whaun Bentley and Adrian Phillips always use the sauna after working out, so Judon decided to start joining them — though he can’t stay in there as long. Devin McCourty takes epsom salt baths in hot tubs to aid his recovery, so Judon decided to add those to his routines, too.
“That’s just how it goes. That’s how you create bonds and how you become a family. So I just appreciate everyone in that locker room,” Judon said.
Judon’s teammates have taken to some of his habits, too.
The veteran brought his own boom box that Kendrick Bourne likes to dance to, he does extra running that teammates join him for, and most hands on, he’s working on pass rush moves and “ankle mobility” with Josh Uche and rookie Ronnie Perkins.
“I don’t think there’s a selfish person in that locker room,” Judon said. “If there is, they haven’t exposed themselves yet. So I think everybody in there is a family and wanting to win.”
Harris, Olszewski return to practice
Damien Harris and Gunner Olszewski both returned for a walkthrough on the Gillette Stadium game field ahead of Thursday Night Football in Atlanta.
The duo had been sidelined with concussions sustained in Carolina and both missed last Sunday’s blowout of the Browns. Rhamondre Stevenson ran the ball well in Harris’ absence, while Jakobi Meyers filled in for Olszewski on punt return duty.
Both players would provide a significant lift if they’re cleared in time for the Falcons game.
Harris ran for seven touchdowns in his first nine games and eclipsed the 100-yard mark three times, while Olszewski had looked increasingly explosive returning the ball, racking up 80 yards on four punts in Los Angeles.
Elsewhere at practice, Josh Uche was present after being listed as a non-participant on Monday’s hypothetical injury report. Tuesday’s lone absence was Deatrich Wise Jr., though it was a brief media window and there were a couple other late arrivals. We’ll need to wait for Tuesday’s report to find out more information on that.
Though the Patriots are favored in Atlanta, Bill Belichick still expects a real challenge given the four-day turnaround after playing last Sunday.
“It’s really about, for the coaching staff to the players, learning about your opponent,” Belichick said. “You have less time to make decisions. From a coaching standpoint, you need to make good decisions. You need to make them quickly. If you give the team a poor game plan or poor direction, then it’s really hard for them to overcome that. There’s pressure on both coaching staffs to do that, and, again, Atlanta is a hard team to get ready for. They do a number of different things, both offensively and defensively. You have to make a decision, whether you’re going to put your chips on, ‘They do a lot, but this is what we think they’re going to do’ Or, ‘Cover everything and be light on something they end up doing a lot of.’
“It’s a lot of information for the players to absorb of the individual players, the schemes, and then situational football; again, another thing that Coach (Arthur) Smith and the Falcons are very good at, so familiarizing ourselves with situational players that really different from, let’s call it normal plays, that’s something we’ll have to really study hard too. Both teams have the same schedule, so it is what it is. It’s just cramming a lot of information in a short amount of time and making good decisions that you don’t want to clutter things up, but at the same time, you don’t want to be unprepared. That’s the fine line of it.”