Of the 53 players currently on the New England Patriots roster, only 16 still have ties to former head coach Bill Belichick. And yet, the team as a whole seems to have internalized one of his slogans in its
preparation for a late-season run: no days off.
You have to look no further back than Tuesday to see it. Despite players having a day off between reviewing the previous game against Atlanta and starting preparation for the upcoming road trip to Tampa, a significant number of players came into Gillette Stadium to work out.
According to head coach Mike Vrabel, 41 players checked into the team facility.
“41 guys lifted [Tuesday] on a day off,” Vrabel revealed during a press conference on Wednesday. “Came into the building, lifted, which I thought is a really positive thing at this time of the year. And we’ll talk to them about the season’s really just getting started right now.”
Among the players opting to spend parts of their off day at work were veteran wide receivers Stefon Diggs and Mack Hollins. The latter appeared on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football to talk about the work that is being put in by himself and his teammates, highlighting one particular player along the way.
“There’s got to be 30-plus guys that come in, if not more, throughout the day,” he said. “Chizz is my guy — Efton Chism is my guy. We’ll get some work in. We’ll get some sprints in. We do a little bit of everything. Even though he’s younger than me, we kind of push each other both ways. He’s young and hungry, and I’m still hungry.”
Joining the Patriots as an undrafted free agent earlier this year, Chism has been on and off the game day roster so far during his rookie season. However, with Hollins, Diggs and other veterans setting the tone, he also is part of the off day workout group.
And while neither Chism nor most of his teammates ever crossed ways with Belichick, their actions keep his spirit around — and might help build the foundation of what could become another championship team further down the line.
