It was a very disappointing showing for the New England Patriots against the Green Bay Packers in Week 9.
The Packers entered this game with a real opportunity to show that they were one of the best teams in the league, and the same could be said for New England. However, the Patriots just weren’t able to do enough on either side of the football, and as a result, they lost 45-27.
One game isn’t going to change how anybody should feel about this Patriots team right now, as they’ve been about average for much of the first nine weeks of the year. The Patriots are currently 5-4 and have a lot to work on.
While that game wasn’t very promising, I loved some comments from one veteran after the game.
That player was Mack Hollins, who many in New England love.
Hollins hasn’t exactly wowed anybody throughout his time with the Patriots, but he’s a bigger receiver who can make plays. On the season, he’s only played in five games due to an injury, but has played pretty well in them. He currently has 18 receptions for 245 yards and one touchdown.
Speaking to reporters, it sounds like he’s the guy who’s taking control of this locker room and is trying to get guys to lock in. He even called some of his teammates out by saying if they don’t want to be here, they shouldn’t be on the flight out to London to take on the Detroit Lions.
“If you come after that game and said, ‘We did enough, it’s not my fault,’ you’re not able to look in the mirror and say, ‘I can get better.’ It’s more of that than guys aren’t working or guys aren’t doing things,” Hollins explained, H/T SB Nation.
“If you get this result and you’re OK with it, and you’re like, ‘I don’t need to come to practice next week and come to work, and I’d rather be somewhere where I can just relax and not do anything,’ this isn’t the place for you. I always stand by that, because I don’t want to play with guys that are like that. I don’t think we have guys like that, because, like we’ve said, we all we are, we all we need. The guys that are here, they come to play. Is the result always want we want? Hell, no. But do you continue to push that and get better? Yes.”
Some made it seem like Hollins was trying to suggest guys aren’t working hard in practice, but he clarified and doubled down on those comments. He’s not somebody who’s going to take being average lightly, as he’s been in this league for nearly a decade after debuting in 2017 and understands what it takes to play at a very high level in the NFL.
The Patriots didn’t do that against the Packers, and he was rightfully upset about it.