Deatrich Wise played one of his best games in four seasons against the Raiders on Sunday afternoon, capped off by Wise scoring his first-ever touchdown at any level of football.
"Yes I did I keep the ball, it's in my locker right now," said Wise with a wide grin, still basking in the afterglow of the big play. "It's going to have a nice home in a glass case somewhere on a mantle or something, next to a picture."
Wise was a disruptive force in the game. After an offseason spent adding some weight, he's putting the extra pounds to good use and was a handful for the Raiders blockers all game long.
"I thought [Deatrich] played well," said Bill Belichick on Monday afternoon via WebEx. "I think his run defense has improved, he's given us a lot of solid play there and of course, we knew he could rush the passer, but he's done a good job of mixing in edge moves and rush techniques with some power.
"He's got a good complement and a good repertoire, where he's got three or four different pitches he can throw. I think the big thing, he's really worked hard on this run defense. When you combine it all, he's given us three real good weeks of play here."
With that expanded repertoire of pass rush moves, Wise was able to make the final big play of the game, which was never in doubt in his mind.
"I knew immediately it was a touchdown because as Shilique and I were tackling him I saw the ball come out," recalled Wise, "as the ball was coming out I picked it up and my first thing was, just prove that I have the ball. I wanted to prove to everybody I had the ball in my hand."
"We didn't even know he had the ball," said safety Adrian Phillips, who had an up-close look at the play. "I'm sitting back there and I see the D-line just collapse on the pocket and then you see Derek [Carr] about to go down and then you realize he's in the end zone so it's a safety.
"Then you see D-wise come getting out, sprinting with the ball, high knees... We're like 'oh wait, did he score?'"
The play was a great early-season moment for a defense that has now forced seven turnovers in their first three games and is showing a knack for game-changing plays.
"Once we saw we scored on defense, it made everybody even more hyped," said Phillips.
Wise, who doesn't seem like he's stopped smiling since then, agreed.
"To celebrate with my teammates was the best part."
Jackson reportedly back on practice squad
According to a report from Ian Rapoport, cornerback Michael Jackson will re-signed with the team's practice squad after spending training camp with the team. Jackson had some good days of practice, including some competitive reps against N'Keal Harry. The two had some post-whistle exchanges and seemed to bring out some fire from each other.
The 2019 fifth-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys has good size and fits the Patriots preferred style of man defense well.
The team has now filled their practice squad once, while one spot remains on the 53-man roster and three injured reserve players -- Damien Lewis, Beau Allen and Yodny Cajuste -- are eligible to start practicing this week.
WebEx Quotes of Note
Adrian Phillips on what makes the Chiefs so good:
"They're built off of big plays. They want to stress the defense as much as they can vertically. See, they can get you with some of the motions, some of the stuff that they do pre-snap and try to get less ideal match ups. Going in there is really just like a rules game. If you have a game plan and you have an idea of how you want to attack the offense then you really have to hold true to that because they're going to come in and make plays. They got a lot of speed on the field. But if you just do what you're supposed to do, limit the big plays, that's really how you have to attack these guys.
Sony Michel's former Georgia roommate Isaiah Wynn on how he felt watching Michel's performance:
"I was happy, that's my guy. So just seeing him be able to do what he do and do what he loves, it was good."
J.J. Taylor on how Ivan Fears has helped him:
"He's helped me on a mental aspect of the game, learning the small details and things like that, but also more of my mental outside of the game. Being able to prepare mentally, get my mind right, things like that. Because like they say it's 90% mental and 10% physical and that's something that I actually believe. If you come in with the right mindset you're already setting yourself up for a better chance."
