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Pats rookie defensive end won't rest on success
FOXBOROUGH, MASS. (AP)
Chandler Jones never seems satisfied.
The
New England Patriots rookie defensive end made an immediate impact in
his first professional game four weeks ago, recording five tackles and
a strip-sack that was recovered for a touchdown. Not enough.
The
21st overall pick out of Syracuse jarred another ball loose the
following week and has a sack in three of his first four NFL games. Not
content.
Jones on Thursday was named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month for
September.
And guess what? There's still room for improvement.
''I
feel personally that it's not good enough,'' he said as the Patriots
(2-2) continued preparations for the Denver Broncos (2-2). ''Even
though they say I'm the rookie of the month for September, we still
have a .500 record. That's just not good enough.''
Jones has
provided a much-needed menacing presence along the New England
defensive line - something that has been lacking. Along with his trio
of sacks, which leads all rookies, the 22-year-old has collected 17
tackles in helping stabilize New England's run defense. The Patriots
are tied for the seventh at 85.2 yards per game after ranking 17th last
season, allowing more than 117 yards a contest.
Perhaps even
more impressive, though, is the rate at which he has been on the field,
lining up for more than 90 percent of the defensive snaps.
''I
have a lot of work to do,'' Jones said. ''For me personally, I feel
like I have a long way to go. I'm still a rookie, it's a long season
ahead of me and we got a lot more games to play. Each week I'm trying
to get better. You take it one day at a time and you let those days
stack.''
Sunday's test likely will be more challenging than anything he's faced
thus far, too.
After
chasing down the likes of Jake Locker, Kevin Kolb, Joe Flacco and Ryan Fitzpatrick - not exactly a star-studded cast - Jones now is tasked
with wreaking havoc on Denver quarterback Peyton Manning, a certain
Hall of Famer who first entered the league when Jones was just 10 years
old.
''Definitely been watching him since I was a little kid,
but you take this game with the same approach that you would take it
from Week 1 to Week 2 to Week 13,'' he said. ''I don't try to play the
name game, who I'm going against. It's a quarterback out there and it's
my job to get after him.''
Veteran linebacker Rob Ninkovich isn't the least bit surprised at
Jones' swift learning curve, or the way he handles himself.
''I
think really he came in ahead of many rookies that come into this
league,'' Ninkovich said. ''A lot has to do with what you learn in
college and the techniques and stuff that are coached to you in
college. Whoever was coaching him obviously gave him some good stuff to
where he's able to come in and make an impact right away.''
Ninkovich pointed toward Jones' innate ability to diagnose plays as a
primary reason for his early success.
''It
takes time to just get comfortable on the field and know when to go,
and when to play the run, when to pass rush,'' he said. ''I say just
him just having the awareness of the situations and able to really get
after the quarterback and also play the run as well.''
Despite
obvious support from his teammates, who speak highly of him on a
regular basis, Jones still believes he has something to prove,
especially to the veterans like four-time Pro Bowl standout Vince
Wilfork.
''I want those guys to not have to worry about what I'm
doing and make sure I have my playbook down,'' Jones said. ''That's the
biggest thing that I want to do is just show these guys next to me that
I can do it and I can step my game up for them.''
And has he done that yet?
''There's
a quote that goes, `You never are doing as good as you think you are
and you're never doing as bad as you think you are,''' he said. ''So,
if you just stay humble and level-headed throughout the whole process,
you should be pretty good.''
While Jones has been rather tight-lipped about his early accolades, he
did reveal one key component to his game.
''I'm
having a lot of fun,'' he said. ''That's the one thing about football
that you can't take away from. This being my job, but you got to have
fun.
''Got to.''
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