Patriots Coaches Reflect On Collins Trade: 'Jamie Was A Great Player'
BOSTON (CBS) -- There's a lot being said about Jamie Collins following the linebacker's trade from the Patriots to the Cleveland Browns on Monday.
While some have taken to social media to bash his performance on the field and even in the locker room, New England coaches had nothing but nice things to say about Collins when they returned to work on Tuesday.
"Jamie was a great player," said Patriots defensive coordinator Patricia (via CSNNE's Phil Perry). "Obviously appreciate everything that he did while he was here. Won a championship with him. He was great in meetings, great just to be around. Just overall, everything was really good."
Collins' tendency to freelance on the field was a big talking point on Monday, but Patriots linebackers coach Brian Flores said that was not a problem.
"I wouldn't say freelancing was an issue. Again, Jamie was a very good player for us. He made a lot of plays and helped us win a lot of ballgames. I keep saying that time and time again," said Flores. "He was a good player. Freelancing? Look, did he make mistakes? Absolutely. But like I said before, everyone makes mistakes. There's not a player in the league who doesn't make mistakes. But again, he made more plays than he made mistakes. I would say that. He was a great player for us.
"From a consistency standpoint, he was definitely very solid," said Flores, who added that Collins was a very coachable player despite what some detractors have said the last 24 hours. "Again, he did a lot of great things for this team, and helped us win a lot of games."
This is Flores' 13th season in the Patriots organization, so he's seen his share of players come and go. After the initial shock of Monday's trade, Flores said he and the defense have moved on to focus on the rest of the season.
"You kind of have to move on at some point because we have a long season ahead of us and a lot of improvement we need to make as a team and a defense," he said. "For me, I just start thinking of the next things I have to do to help us win games and be a better defense."
"I think for us, it's just a focus of moving forward," said Patricia. "That's really what it is. Jamie was a great player, a great person to be around, a great person to have in the program. Those decisions come up all the time. We're just trying to get ready and move forward and do what we always do."
"We got an eight game season coming up, and that's what we're focusing on," added Patricia.
Part of that "moving forward" is identifying the players who can step up and fill the void left by Collins' departure. Flores said those responsibilities won't fall on one player and will take a full group effort. It also means that more will be put on linebacker Dont'a Hightower and safety Devin McCourty, New England's defensive leaders, in terms of getting the defense as a whole prepared for life without Collins.
One player already instilling some confidence is rookie linebacker Elandon Roberts, a sixth-round pick out of Houston who saw an expanded role in Sunday's win over the Buffalo Bills. While he still has a lot to learn and improve on, the Patriots have been impressed with Roberts' progress since he arrived in Foxboro.
"He's got really good quickness, really good just linebacker instincts," Patricia said of the rookie. "He can see the ball. He knows where the ball is going. He's very fast to get there. All that's been positive. We're just trying to get him better and keep working. There's a lot of the game that he still has to learn as a young player in the NFL. There's a lot of the game that is still new to him, too. We're just trying to keep pushing him along and see as much as he can handle and as much as he can do."
"He's earned his playing time," Flores said of Roberts. "He does a good job in the run game and the pass game. He's getting better every week and that's what we're looking for."
