FOXBOROUGH – There’s been plenty of talk about JuJu Smith-Schuster being kept out of the final two-minute drill in the season opener.
The Patriots were desperately trying to notch the go-ahead score against the Philadelphia Eagles last week and Smith Schuster was nowhere to be found.
It was a stunning turn given Smith-Schuster was signed during the offseason (3 years, $25.5 million) to be the top receiver, or close to it. The Patriots were willing to surrender the dependable Jakobi Meyers, who was Mac Jones’ go-to-guy, opting to bring in Smith-Schuster instead.
Speaking with MassLive Friday following a media scrum at his locker, Smith-Schuster talked about Bill Belichick and Bill O’Brien’s decision to have him watch from the sidelines, while both rookies Kayshon Boutte and Demario “Pop” Douglas were on the field.
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He continued to insist his absence was not injury-related, and based on the personnel packages the team went with.
While he said he wasn’t “frustrated at all” by not being out there at such a crucial point in the game, Smith-Schuster, who played just 43 of 80 snaps overall, provided a little more context.
“Do I want to be out there? Yes, of course,” Smith-Schuster told MassLive. “You always want to be out there to help your team. But at the same time, it was a decision made by the coaches based on the personnel packages and play-calling that we had. But I feel like when my opportunity comes, I’ll be ready.”
Whatever the case, Smith-Schuster has apparently fallen down the depth chart. One recent Boston Herald report suggested Smith-Schuster wasn’t presently “among the team’s five most effective pass catchers” due to a variety of factors.
One was health.
Asked about his knee not being up to par, Smith-Schuster continues to dismiss that notion. He said during the media scrum he felt good and characterized the knee as being “100 percent.” Although, at the same time, he continues to say it’s getting better every day, which is a bit of a contradiction.
In the game, Smith-Schuster caught four passes for 33 yards. His best was a 15-yard gain on a crossing route.
The receiver also doesn’t believe he’s lacking any of his usual explosiveness.
“No, I don’t think so,” he told MassLive. “Obviously, the first game was tough for all of us. We all have things we need to get better at . . . at the same time, that’s part of the process. You come to a new team, even when I was with the Chiefs, you start out slow, sluggish. Even when I was with Pittsburgh, it was slow and sluggish. You’re still learning. It’s crazy, I’m Year 7 in the league, and there’s guys who are Year 12, and you’re still learning. “
Another factor sited could be his comfortable level with the offense and the playbook. Perhaps that was one of the reasons why he was kept on the sidelines. Smith-Schuster didn’t buy that either.
Asked specifically about a 4th-and-3 situation from the Eagles 17-yard line earlier in the fourth quarter, where receivers coach Ross Douglas said Tuesday he could have run a better route to help out Mac Jones, Smith-Schuster offered more detail to the play in question.
“That was a situation where I had to break on the outside, and the (defender) sat outside of me,” said Smith-Schuster. “Could I have broken inside? Probably. But I didn’t want to go against the play call. I just do what I’m told. If I break out, and the guys on that side, I still have to run out to help the other guys.”
Just for a frame of reference, his first game as a Steeler he had zero catches on zero targets. His first game with the Chiefs last year, he caught 6 passes for 79 yards.
Teammate and locker mate Kendrick Bourne, meanwhile, said too much is being made of Smith-Schuster not being on the field during crunch time.
“I’m not worried about it. Like he said, that was the personnel call, and you listen to what the coaches say,” said Bourne. “That’s how they felt during that game, and that’s what it was. So we’ll see if anything else changes this game (against Miami). We need to have our best players in the game, that’s what I’ll say about that.”
Bourne also Smith Schuster has adapted better than people think.
“He’s doing well. He’s very smart. When we have extra meetings with the receivers, he leads the group,” said Bourne. “He’s going a good job of giving his insights about what he sees. I love that leadership that he brings . . . what I’ve noticed is that he’s adapted fast.
“It’s hard to be a Patriot. It’s not easy and I think he’s doing very well adapting to the culture and the playbook.”
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