Michael Floyd Feeling At Home With Patriots
BOSTON (CBS) -- Michael Floyd was a late arrival to the New England offense, but he's doing his best to catch on in the complex system.
The receiver hasn't even been around for a month, claimed by the Patriots on December 15 after being released by the Arizona Cardinals following a DUI arrest. He's adjusting to life with a new team and living in a new area, but he's pleased with his brief tenure thus far.
"I like it," Floyd told the collection of reporters gathered around his locker on Wednesday. "It's kind of the place for me. Not too many things to do around here. Actually, I like the culture that the team brings and the chemistry with the guys."
"It's just a different attitude here, a different feeling," Floyd said. "Being the new guy coming in, you have to be up on everything and on your toes; just making sure that whatever they throw at you, you're right on top of it and focused whenever your time might come."
Floyd said trading in the warm nights in Arizona for the chilly ones of New England hasn't been bad, and he doesn't miss the nightlife in Phoenix.
"I kind of act like I'm broke; that's how I am," he joked. "There are different things you can do, but where I stay right now is the place for me and I can really just focus in on football."
Living just down the road from Gillette Stadium, Floyd likes enjoys that it only takes him only a few minutes to get to the office every day.
"That's good for me. It's great to be strictly focused on the playbook," he said, a process he says is coming along. "Learning this offense, that takes up most of my time, really."
Floyd has only played in two games for the Patriots, making a brief appearance in their Christmas Eve win over the Jets before playing a much bigger role in the regular season finale against the Miami Dolphins. He made three catches that game, including a 14-yard touchdown where he fought a handful of Miami players for the final few yards. He also made a massive block on Dolphins safety Tony Lippett that sprung fellow receiver Julian Edelman for a 78-yard touchdown. It was a play that immediately won over Patriots fans, and one Floyd said was just as fun as scoring a touchdown himself.
"It's just going out there and making plays. I know what I can go out and do and what my ability is," he said Wednesday. "When my time is called out there to make a play, you have to go out and make it; do the best of your ability to get the job done."
Floyd was given a second chance by New England, one he is going to make sure he takes advantage of. He said he's living in the moment, and isn't worried about his impending free agency in the offseason. Instead, all his focus is on being ready for Saturday's AFC Divisional round matchup against the Houston Texans.
"It's obviously different from the regular season because it's win or go home. There's not really much that is different that you do, just focus on all the details and make sure you get everything right," he said. "I don't think the attitude changes, but everyone is pumped and anxious to get Saturday going. It all starts on the practice field. If we have a good week on the practice field, that should show on Saturday."
But it certainly sounds like he'd like to be a member of the Patriots longer than this postseason run.
"I feel welcome and I think that's the guys here, the coaches and how this organization is," he said. "They brought me in here and I've felt very comfortable, actually like I've been here for quite some time. That is always a good feeling for a new guy coming in, when you get that feeling from the team."
