FOXBOROUGH – Keion White has not been happy with his play of late. He knows his run defense has been suspect. And he readily admits he’s part of the problem and needs to improve.
Speaking with MassLive Thursday, the Patriots second-year defensive end is clearly frustrated by his recent string of performances after getting out to such a promising start.
He’s even begun to question if he still belongs with the team, and with Jerod Mayo’s defense.
“I’m going to try to get through these next two games, and then figure it out after that, and see where the cards may lie for my future,” White said.
That sounded a bit more bleak than expected from the would-be star, especially the part referring to his future.
What did White mean by where the cards may lie? Did he mean his fit with the defensive scheme? Or, literally, his future with the team?
“Just in general. In terms of everything,” White answered. “I mean, anything is possible. It’s the NFL. Anything can happen year to year. It’s a production-based business. It is what it is. You just figure out where you go … something’s gotta change. That’s the way I feel at this point.”
White, who had an encouraging rookie season (one sack, three passes defensed, five quarterback hits, three tackles for loss), said he doesn’t feel that anything is going to change over the course of the final two games when it comes to his efforts against the run. Just like he mentioned above, it’s one of those “it is what it is” situations.
Asked if he thought he needed more time to reflect on whatever the issues are, and adjust his mindset going forward, White said he didn’t need time. He already knew the score.
“It’s the honest truth. I operate in black and white. So if it is, it is. If it ain’t, it ain’t,” he said. “And I feel like I’m not playing good run defense. It’s a multitude of reasons why. It’s an internal thing we need to figure out.
“I don’t think it’s just one thing. I think it’s a lot of things. First and foremost, it’s me,” he went on. “I need to improve me, and being on the same page with what the coaches want. But I think it’s a lot of other things as well. Without going too much into details, that’s how I feel.”
White, who is noted for his pass-rush ability, registered four sacks in the first two games. It looked very much like he was in the process of making that Year 2 leap, but he’s had just one sack during the 13 games since. He’s tried to do a better job setting the edge against mobile quarterbacks and opposing run games, but has still been caught out of place at critical junctures.
During his morning session with the media, Patriots coach Jerod Mayo was asked about White coming down hard on himself in wake of Sunday’s loss to the Bills. While the Patriots held Josh Allen and the vaunted Bills offense to just 17 points, the defense had problems stopping the run.
“I think it’s commendable for Keion to sit there and look in the mirror himself. You have to be honest with yourself. I have to be honest with myself, and so do the rest of the coaches and players,” Mayo said. “Oftentimes, that’s very difficult. Going back to Keion, he recognizes that. He’s taking steps to get better for these last couple weeks of the season. That’s doing extra work. That’s doing extra treatment, extra in the weight room, all of those things. Hopefully, we get the Keion that we all want to see here on Saturday.”
Outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins also commended White for recognizing the issue, and working toward fixing it starting with Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers. Wilkins, who also spoke with MassLive Thursday, indicated White had a very good practice earlier in the day.
He didn’t seem to think there was a problem that couldn’t be fixed.
“Any time a guy’s play in one area dips week to week over the stretch of the season, we always say how are we going to attack this thing, how are we going to move this thing forward, and that’s what he’s doing,” Wilkins said. “He’s working at it every day, whether it’s hand placement, his feet coming out of his stance, he’s a worker, and he’s working really hard at it.”
Wilkins acknowledged that White, the team’s 2023 second-round pick out of Georgia Tech, had spoken with him about whatever issues he was having in the run game, and it’s been a constant dialogue. Contrary to White’s portrayal of the situation, Wilkins didn’t make it sound like something that would derail White in the future.
“The thing about the development of an edge guy, it’s not always linear,” Wilkins said. “It’s not aways, ‘this game is going to be better than that one’ in every area. Sometimes, a point of emphasis might be on the pass rush, or on the coverage, or something, and some areas will dip week to week.”
Wilkins said he was unaware if White was having a problem with the scheme, or his fit in the defense, and how that might impact his future.
“I think all these guys are on board with what we’re doing,” Wilkins said. “Obviously, we wish we had better results throughout the course of the year, but I think everybody’s on board, everybody’s working, and I think it’s a great group.”
Listening to White, however, it didn’t sound like he was on the same page with his coaches in terms of what they’re doing, and asking of him.
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