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Socci's Notebook: Patriots Hope Cyrus Jones' Talent Translates To Reliability

By Bob Socci, 98.5 The Sports Hub

BOSTON (CBS) – Walking toward Gillette Stadium's south end zone to await the opening kickoff from the Seahawks, returner Cyrus Jones stepped on the field in a game for the first time in more than month.

When last seen in uniform on a Sunday, Jones was headed toward the visitor's locker room at Cleveland's FirstEnergy Stadium in the early minutes of the third quarter on Oct. 9. He was caught connecting with what officials deemed a punch to the Browns' Andrew Hawkins, and was therefore ejected.

Jones's exile to inactivity extended across the next three weeks as a healthy scratch for wins over the Bengals, Steelers and Bills. It was, in many respects, an ignominious end to the opening half of his rookie season, which began inauspiciously enough with fumbles on two (both self-recovered) of Jones's first five punt returns.

Two other low points were a pair of high-profile mishaps in an earlier encounter with Buffalo, when Jones twice brought kickoffs out of the end zone only to be tackled deep in Patriots' territory (at the 9- and 14-yard lines).  That was Week 4, in a 16-0 loss.

That was also his last home appearance until recent performances in practice earned Jones the opportunity to return again against Seattle. With it, he had a long runback on a third-quarter punt nullified by penalty and a 43-yard, fourth-quarter kickoff return result in a fumble recovery by teammate Nate Ebner.

Although far from flawless -- in fact, football insecurity is very much an issue -- Jones showed flashes of his former self as a special teams dynamo. At Alabama he led the nation with four punt returns for touchdowns in 2015.  After New England made him its top pick in this year's draft, Jones ripped off punt returns of 60 and 34 yards, respectively, at Carolina and New York (Giants) in the preseason.

On Monday, Matthew Slater, who himself overcame a well-chronicled fumble on a kick return eight years ago at Pittsburgh to become a perennial Pro Bowl special teamer, affirmed his faith in Jones.

"I've always had a lot of faith in Cyrus's ability, since he got here. I saw him in college and saw what he's able to do," Slater said.  "Football as a rookie in the NFL is not always easy. Things are going to go good; things are going to go bad.  But I think he's handled himself with a great deal of maturity. A lot of guys would have gone in the tank, possibly, with his set of circumstances.  But he's worked his way (back), he's earned everything he's gotten and it was good to see him make some positive plays last night. Hopefully we can continue to block well for him and keep him going."

"At the end of the day, I just had to put my pride to the side and continue to work hard," a soft-spoken Jones told reporters before Thursday's practice in preparation for Sunday's game at San Francisco. "It's always positive to have the support of the older guys. They've got confidence in me so it keeps me hungry, just trying to show that I can get out there and get the job done."

His job description for a returner is increasingly important. Already, a new rule according offenses five extra yards of field position on touchbacks has led to more runbacks of shorter kicks. And as November leads into December, colder temperatures generally spawn shorter kickoffs and, thus, more balls staying in play.

In the New England-Seattle game we saw how the mere threat of a dangerous returner like Tyler Lockett influences a game. Seemingly leery of Lockett, a First Team All-Pro with two returns for scores as a rookie in 2015, Stephen Gostkowski hooked his first kickoff out of bounds. It gave the Seahawks possession at their 40.  Later, after the Pats took a 24-22 lead and elected to kick short down the middle, Lockett scooped and sprinted 32 yards to Seattle's 37-yard line.

The Seahawks capitalized in each case, parlaying good field position into field goals.  The second of which gave them the lead for good.

Granted, Julian Edelman (his 11.9 yards per punt return average is among the NFL's all-time best) and Danny Amendola (three returns of at least 73 yards the last three seasons) are exciting return options as well for the Pats. But not exposing them to unnecessary hits on special teams helps to preserve them for important every-down roles as receivers on offense.

That's where Jones can come in. His short-space quickness and easy acceleration give him the potential of being a significant contributor in the season's second half.

"You talk about field position and in a game like (Seattle), field position is critical," Slater says. "(In) the games that we play here down the stretch it will be huge.  When you have a guy back there that's capable of hitting the home run and poses that threat it's really big for your football team. As I said, hopefully we can keep (Cyrus) going. The kid's got a lot of talent. We got a lot of faith in him.'

OPPONENTS RUSHING FOR GOLD

San Francisco enters Sunday's meeting with the Patriots trying to avoid a dubious distinction, after becoming the fifth team in 49ers' history to fall in eight straight games. A loss to New England would tie a franchise record for futility, putting this year's Niners on par with the 1978 edition that finished 2-14.

A week ago at Arizona, San Francisco was able to stop another unwanted streak, by holding the Cardinals to 80 yards rushing on 23 carries in a 23-20 defeat.  Previously, the Niners allowed a 100-yard rusher in seven consecutive games following their season-opening win over Los Angeles.

Against the Rams, they held Todd Gurley to 47 yards on 17 carries. But in the seven weeks to follow, the 49ers saw Fozzy Whitaker (Carolina), Christine Michael (Seattle), Ezekiel Elliott (Dallas), David Johnson (Arizona), LeSean McCoy (Buffalo), Jacquizz Rodgers (Tampa Bay) and Mark Ingram (New Orleans) each run to the century mark.

Johnson totaled 157 in Arizona's 33-21 win in Week 5, before Rodgers (154) and Ingram (158) each gained a buck-fifty, respectively, in Weeks 8-9. In its do-differently do-over versus Johnson, San Fran limited him to 55 yards on 19 rushes.

One key, according to head coach Chip Kelly, was simply better tackling. Another was the play of nose tackle Glen Dorsey, who began the season still recovering from surgery to repair a torn ACL.

"This was the first game where he really played," the 49ers play-by-play broadcaster Ted Robinson told me Wednesday. "That was significant because it gave the 49ers a presence on the nose in their base 3-4 (defense) that they hadn't had."

Bob Socci is the radio play-by-play voice of the New England Patriots. You can follow him on Twitter @BobSocci.

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