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The veteran running back met the press after Friday’s practice." NFL training campPatriots Training Camp CoverageRex Burkhead speaks highly of the new faces in the Patriots’ running back roomNew Jacob Bailey Buffalo Bills Jersey ,2commentsThe veteran running back met the press after Friday’s practice.EDTShare this storyShare this on FacebookShare this on TwitterShareAll sharing optionsShareAll sharing options for:Rex Burkhead speaks highly of the new faces in the Patriots’ running back roomTwitterFacebookRedditPocketFlipboardEmailPhoto by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty ImagesThe New England Patriots’ offense saw considerable turnover this offseason. Tight end Rob Gronkowski announced his retirement. Starting left tackle Trent Brown was among four starting/top rotational-level players to leave the club in free agency. Assistant coaches Chad O’Shea and Jerry Schuplinski both joint Brian Flores’ staff with the Miami Dolphins. Needless to say that the unit’s 2019 version will look noticeably different both on and off the field.One position, however, has been a model of stability: running back. While second-year man Sony Michel is still on the PUP list to start training camp, the rest of the group did only get deeper this offseason. A pair of rookies was added to the equation in third-round pick Damien Harris and undrafted free agent Nick Brossette, while veteran back and special teamer Brandon Bolden was re-signed after a one-year stint in Miami.Add that to the returning group of Michel, James White and Rex Burkhead and you get yourself a deep position with plenty of upside. One of those veterans, Rex Burkhead, stepped in front of the media after Friday’s training camp practice to talk about the Patritos’ ground game. And judging by his remarks, the 29-year-old seems pretty happy with the new additions to the running back room like the aforementioned Damien Harris.“He’s doing a great job, great kid,” Burkhead said about the 87th overall selection of this year’s draft that is seeing extensive practice reps with Sony Michel still recovering from offseason knee arthroscopy. “He’s actually from where my parents went to college, [Eastern Kentucky University]. His dad played there as well so we have some familiarity there. Overall, great kid. He’s worked his tail off and not afraid to ask questions whenever he has them.”Harris is the highest-profile addition the Patriots made to their already talented group of running backs. But he’s far from the only new face in the room, as the team also added an assistant to work alongside positional coach Ivan Fears: Cole Popovich, who is entering his fifth year with the organization — the first four of which were of course spent as a coaching assistant with a focus on the offensive line.“He’s been great,” Burkhead said about Popovich and what he brings to the table. “You know Cole, he’s worked with the line before, so he really understands blocking schemes, pass protections, and he’s helped us out tremendously in those areas. He’s just another piece that we’ve added within our unit, and any time he’s talking we listen because we know he has great wisdom and great words of advice for us.”While Popovich and the aforementioned Brandon Bolden have experience inside the Patriots organization Color Rush Jacob Bailey Jersey , Harris and the other players brought in over the course of the offseason have to get used to their new environment — something Burkhead, himself brought on as a free agent signing in 2017, acknowledged: “Whether it’s a rookie or someone from another team, of course it’s going to be different than where they came from.”“Just kind of giving them a heads-up of how it is beforehand, and if they have any questions, being there to answer, not just being selfish and focusing only on you,” he said when speaking about how veterans like himself have to behave around rookies and free agency/trade acquisitions. “Just trying to help teammates out and bring them along as well.” Before their Week 10 bye, the New England Patriots played their worst defensive game of the season: the team surrendered 37 points against the Baltimore Ravens, with 30 coming on defense, and struggled to slow down its opponent’s potent rushing attack. But even though the Patriots had two weeks to right the ship again leading into Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles, they came out slowly in the first quarter.On the very first play from scrimmage, Philadelphia gained 49 yards on a pass interference call against cornerback Jason McCourty. Four plays later, the home team was up 3-0. Just two possessions later, the Eagles were able to add seven more points to their total after driving 95 yards in 16 plays and taking more than nine minutes off the clock — the longest regular season drive surrendered by New England in eight years.“The screen pass on the second drive was a big play for them. Then they were able to do a good job of just getting first downs on first or second down, or getting eight yards,” said safety Devin McCourty after the game about the Eagles’ success early on during the contest. But after falling behind 10-0 and giving up 147 yards and nine first downs over two possessions, McCourty and company were able to flip a switch.Over the remaining 42 minutes of game time, New England’s defense looked like the one that dominated its opponents between opening day and Week 8 — not like the one that had trouble getting off the field against Baltimore just two weeks earlier. The Eagles were allowed only 14 more first downs over their remaining 10 possessions, turned the football over twice, and were unable to put any more points on the scoreboard while losing 17-10.Week 11: Patriots vs EaglesPhoto by Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty ImagesPatriots vs Eagles recap: New England starts slowly Youth Jacob Bailey Jersey , but leaves Philadelphia with 17-10 winInstant analysis from Patriots’ 17-10 win over EaglesPatriots earn 19th straight winning season with victory over the EaglesJulian Edelman provided the spark New England’s offense needed against the EaglesThe Lane Breakdown: Patriots didn’t need a pretty win against the Eagles7 winners and 4 losers from the Patriots’ 17-10 win against the EaglesPatriots vs Eagles snap counts: N’Keal Harry plays rotational role in his NFL debut“Slowing them down on first down, not giving up the six, seven, eight yards and then letting them stay in rhythm,” said McCourty about the Patriots’ defensive recipe after the long touchdown drive. “I thought once we were able to get them kind of off target of their yards on first and second down, we were able to get in our third-down package. Our rush did a great job of getting to [Carson] Wentz and making it tough.”“Then it comes down to sometimes just making plays on the ball in the secondary on third down. I thought guys did a good job of covering tonight and making it tough. Even some of the completions they had, [Zach] Ertz made some good catches. [Nelson] Agholor had a catch on [Jamie Collins Sr.] where he was right on him. Even a touchdown could’ve gone either way on the end zone reception,” added McCourty. “We did a good job of competing.”“In the first half, the thing that kind of killed us was maybe giving up five yards on the first carry or me getting a pass interference deep down the field. Those type of plays hurt us,” added fellow defensive back Jason McCourty. “I think in the second half, we did a better job at putting them 2 and 10 situations, 2 and 8, and then getting them to third down to where we were able to run some things that we do in our third-down package.”The game represented a turnaround after a game in Baltimore during which the defense was inconsistent at best. One of the biggest aspects in getting the unit back to playing winning football was the aforementioned run defense: after surrendering 213 yards and three touchdowns on 38 carries for an average of 5.6 yards per carry against the Ravens, the Patriots held the Eagles to just 81 yards on 21 rushing attempts and a 3.9-yard average.“It felt great because we had this bye week to do our review and correct mistakes that we had early in the season,” said defensive tackle Danny Shelton when speaking about the improvements the unit made over the last two weeks. “I feel like our guys did a great job with staying focused. We had to step it up and use better technique, get after the ball and make more plays. I feel like we’re on the right track right now.”“It’s all about preparation. It’s about the practice week of getting to our opponent, getting ready to stop them, executing our game plan,” added McCourty. “I think as long as we understand that’s the mentality we have to have each week, we’ll have a shot to come out here and play good defense. But if we get off-target, we know it’s not too far from looking how we looked the last time we were out here. So it’s a fine line of playing good defense.”Against the Eagles Womens Jacob Bailey Jersey , if only for two-and-a-half quarters, the Patriots certainly did play good defense — both against the run, and also against the pass. This, in turn, helped the team leave Philadelphia with a victory even on a day on which the offense struggled to get into a rhythm. As McCourty pointed out during his postgame press conference, however, the game is a complementary one that is won if all three phases work well alongside each other.“Each time we take the field, whether [the offense is] scoring a lot or not, we want to have that mentality to just complement each other,” he said. “It’s big if we can get a stop and switch the field position. Then [Julian Edelman] threw the touchdown to go and get a big score and two-point conversion. If we’re struggling on defense, they go out and have a good drive. Even if it’s three points, they let us get on the sideline and figure things out.”“That’s the biggest thing, to just make sure we always complement each other,” McCourty added. So far this season and again on Sunday, the defense was carrying the load. If it continues to play like it did outside of the game against Baltimore, however, the Patriots should still be in good shape moving forward even while they are trying to figure out their identity on the other side of the ball.