FOXBORO, Mass. — The New England Patriots’ work at Gillette Stadium is almost complete.
The Patriots’ final Foxboro practice will take place Sunday afternoon. The Patriots then will gather at Gillette Stadium on Monday morning for a sendoff rally before boarding their flight for Houston, where they’ll take on the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI.
While the Patriots are looking forward to getting out to Houston, they’re still not looking too far ahead.
“Pretty excited honestly to get in some warmer weather,” cornerback Logan Ryan said. “It’ll be good. I know we got one more important practice today that I think we need to get in. I think being a little older I understand that. We’re actually excited for practice, having a lot of fun out there. Last practice at home, so that’s always fun.”
Rookies and veterans alike understand the in-house message to take the playoffs, just like training camp and the regular season, one day at a time.
“Very exciting. I’m looking forward to it. We’ll fly down tomorrow and go from there,” wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell said. “But we still have practice today.”
It’s the Patriots’ fourth practice of the week. They’ll also have sessions Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at the University of Houston before they take on the Falcons. There’s reason for Patriots fans to be optimistic based on the team’s week of practice.
“Extremely productive,” Ryan said. “Fortunately Bill has done this more than a couple times, so I think he has a good plan for us. Similar to 2014, the schedule, so I think we kind of know what to expect. It’s our last practice at home, so we’re going to have fun with it. …
“We’re gonna compete. Practice squad guys are gonna give us a good look. There’s a lot of trash talking out there, so we’re just trying to make it as competitive as possible. I think that’s something we’ve been doing this year, having a lot of fun, talking about how we go at it with receivers and stuff like that daily. All of that stuff has been great competition. A lot of competitors on this team, and we all love to have fun.”
Some additional notes from Sunday:
— Linebacker Rob Ninkovich played Santa in the Patriots’ locker room, dropping off bags of Timberland boots to his fellow players on the front seven. Danny Amendola also received a bag, so perhaps the undersized receiver is an honorary defensive lineman?
— Amendola, who was born and raised in The Woodlands, which is 28 miles north of Houston, is excited to play a Super Bowl in front of his family and friends.
“I played a lot of football in Houston. It will be special to go play another game there.”
He hasn’t received too many annoying requests for tickets either.
“I’ve got a lot of good friends that don’t bug me,” Amendola said. “I have a lot of people coming, so it’s exciting.”
— Amendola agreed with head coach Bill Belichick’s assessment that Atlanta’s defense is “the same but different” than that of the Seattle Seahawks, who the Patriots played in Super Bowl XLIX two years ago and earlier this season.
Falcons head coach Dan Quinn was the Seahawks’ defensive coordinator in Super Bowl XLIX.
“Different personnel obviously, different players, a lot of the same schemes,” Amendola said. “Coached by the same coach and a lot of the same ideas in that regard. Different players and we have to get used to them.”
— The Patriots don’t need to be told twice to avoid distractions in Houston.
“No, we’ve had that conversation as a team once, and that was it,” Mitchell said.
— The comments of former NFL receiver Keyshawn Johnson, who said Patriots receivers wouldn’t crack other 53-man rosters, were relayed to Ryan.
“Oh, I mean, he was a great receiver in his own right, but I think those guys would,” Ryan said. “I just see how hard they work, and I’m happy to have them here. They cracked out roster, and they’re doing well for us. I think that’s all that matters.”
Thumbnail photo via Doug Kyed/NESN