The Patriots were in Foxborough on Monday, having meetings and reliving Sunday’s embarrassing loss to the Cowboys with their usual film session.
What was the mood in the locker room a day later?
“I would say it’s a hunger,” Kyle Dugger said when asked to describe the vibe during a video call. “We have the hunger to get better, to grow, and to stick together.”
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Perhaps no Patriots player better understands how to get past Sunday’s debacle than Matthew Slater, who is in his 16th season with the team.
While the Patriots don’t get trounced very often, Slater understands the dynamic and how to get past all of the outside noise currently swirling around the team.
“We can spend as much time as we want talking, pontificating as to why this is that, and why that is this,” said the veteran special teams captain. “But the reality is, it’s about us doing the work, and us finding ways to perform at a higher level than we are now.”
The 38-3 drubbing at the hands of the Cowboys left the Patriots at 1-3, facing an uphill battle in the division.
And in wake of that loss, there’s been speculation about Mac Jones’ standing with his teammates, along with Bill Belichick’s continued shelf life as the Patriots coach.
Slater stressed for the team to just control what they could control, and not become slaves to outside opinions.
He said the players need to maintain their faith and belief in the process, even if doubts may be creeping in.
“There’s a lot of noise surrounding our team, there’s a lot of speculation surrounding our team, there’s a lot of critiques surrounding our team, and I think for us, we have to understand as players and as an organization, there’s only so much you can control in situations like this,” he said. “I certainly still have a lot of faith in this team that we can get things turned around no matter what the circumstances may look like from the outside looking in.
“So, let’s control the things that we can control, let’s all do our jobs a little better, with more discipline, more urgency, and more consistency, and see where that gets us.”
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