- 2 months ago
Patriots CB Marcus Jones joined the show for Patriots Monday and talked with guys about lining up across from the Pats WR’s in practice, Mike Vrabel’s intensity, whether players care about their Madden rating, and more.
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00:00And joining us right now, cornerback for your New England Patriots, Mr. Marcus Jones on a Patriots Monday.
00:06And he's brought to you by FindMassMoney.gov, search and claim your unclaimed funds,
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00:20Marcus, this is our inaugural visit on our show. We appreciate you coming on with us, buddy.
00:25Pretty sure, and I appreciate you guys as well for having me.
00:28All right, by the way, I just want to congratulate you because the nerds,
00:32you do the stats over at Pro Football Focus, just gave you and the rest of your secondary
00:38the number one position, the National League Football's best defensive secondary.
00:44When you hear that, are you like, hell yeah, or like, oh no, the pressure's on, here we go?
00:50Nah, first off, man, I'm definitely, you know, we're definitely blessed when it comes down to
00:56seeing that, you know, people are recognizing us and everything, but at the end of the day,
00:59you know, we understand that we have a high standard for each other and our group in general,
01:04so we always take pride in the situation again, turnovers and everything like that.
01:08It's a new year. That's based off last year, so we got to make sure that we do what we
01:12need to do
01:13in order to get the turnovers and make sure that we get the recognition that we deserve as well.
01:17We're going to talk to your partner every other week, I think, in the secondary, Kevin Byard as well.
01:20What's he been like, and how are you guys getting along, or do the corners and safeties stay separate?
01:26Nah, we meet in the back of DBs and cornerbacks and safeties as well, so no, he's been a great
01:33addition to the group,
01:35just from being a vet and everything, he's seen way more football than all of us in the room,
01:41you could basically say, and been a part of different teams and everything, so that's been great,
01:46but just being able to pick his brain and understand the situation of how he looks at things
01:50and also the knowledge that he brings to the DB room just helps out so much.
01:55You know, I've heard about how tight position groups can be, and I'm sure it's probably the same with the
02:01secondary.
02:01I'm assuming so.
02:03Does Christian Gonzalez keep you updated on everything that's going on right now with him and his situation?
02:09Does he keep you guys up to date on everything that's happened?
02:14I mean, from our perspective, one thing that we always pride ourselves in is being healthy,
02:18so that's the main thing is making sure that whoever's on the field, we want to make sure that their
02:22health is first on everything,
02:24and we want to make sure that they take their time when it comes down.
02:27You know, every injury or certain situations are different when it comes down to us,
02:31but that's not really our safety when it comes to that, but like I said at the end of the
02:34day,
02:34we want to make sure that he's healthy whenever he comes out to the field and everything like that.
02:37I mean with his contract situation, like has he kind of told you like what the deal is?
02:43Because I know that, you know, it's obviously something that I'm sure you guys are rooting him on during this.
02:47Does he keep you updated on all that?
02:49Ah, nah, that ain't got nothing to do with us and everything.
02:52That's between him and his agent.
02:54We just want to make sure, you know, when it comes down to it that he's out there,
02:59and when it comes down to, you know, like I said, his health and everything like that,
03:03and everything like that is well taken care of.
03:05But we're kind of in the sense of like if it doesn't involve us, then we play our part, you
03:10know.
03:10At least from afar, Marcus, are you impressed with how he's handled the situation?
03:14Oh, yeah, for sure.
03:15I mean when it comes down to it, we know him as a person and everything.
03:18He wants to play ball.
03:19He wants to be out there.
03:20So we're always happy to have him out there and, you know, always putting the team first.
03:25Can I ask you this?
03:26Because it was kind of cool when Christian got his, you know,
03:30he just got the highest Madden rating at his position.
03:33And I know you got a pretty good ranking too.
03:36How important is Madden ratings to players in the NFL?
03:39Is it a bigger deal than we think it is?
03:43I think it's a big deal for everyone else.
03:47Well, yeah, I don't really play Madden that much anymore and everything.
03:51But it's cool to be recognized.
03:53You know, that's a hard thing to end up accomplishing when it comes down to, you know,
03:57him in that position as well.
04:00You know what I mean?
04:00So that's great for him.
04:02But at the end of the day, we don't really worry too much about that.
04:05You've never seen anyone get legitimately pissed at a low Madden rating?
04:09Because they certainly do on social media.
04:11Oh, I've seen the situation of people, you know, being upset with the Madden rating.
04:15But at the end of the day, the only way that people can control that is like, you know,
04:19making plays.
04:20But at the end of the day, it's out of our hands.
04:21So we just try to make sure to control what we can control.
04:24So, Marcus, were you glad to not have to play Saturday in that preseason game?
04:28And also, during that first quarter timeout, were you kind of stunned that you saw your
04:32coach laying into the guys a little bit?
04:34Or does he do that often?
04:36Oh, he's always, you know, hands-on when it comes down to teaching us and letting us know
04:41the situation and everything.
04:42And letting us know what the offense is trying to do and be on the lookout for this and that.
04:47I don't really think of it as like being excited that I'm not playing.
04:51I think of it as like whenever we do get the opportunity to be on the field, we take
04:56advantage of any opportunity that we can.
04:58I've been a guy when it comes down to playing in the preseason and everything.
05:01So I understand the importance of it.
05:04And we're just happy to be able to support those guys that's out there on the field because
05:07we've seen the hard work and the dedication that they've been putting in the whole training
05:11camp.
05:11So seeing those guys doing that and being able to do that at that stage and make plays,
05:16man, we're just excited to be there to support them.
05:18We're talking to Marcus Jones here on 937WEI.
05:22And so it was just announced that Kayshawn Booty has been traded.
05:26And what was it, what was your relationship like with him?
05:30And, you know, what kind of player was he when you had to cover him in practice?
05:34Yeah, first off, man, me and Kayshawn, like we were pretty close whenever it came down
05:40to it.
05:41He's from Louisiana.
05:42I was one of them in Louisiana.
05:43So we always talked about that part.
05:46But him as a player, man, he was hard work, hard working when it comes down to it.
05:50He made a lot of big plays being here and everything like that.
05:54And then I've seen him grow over the years as a person and also as a player.
05:59That's been great.
06:00But, man, he was an unbelievable talent when it comes down to him.
06:02And he's been great whenever it came down to being a part of this organization.
06:05And we wish him all the best and everything.
06:08And we know that he's a great player.
06:10How talented is this group of receivers?
06:11You have to cover them there most days when you're over at training camp practice.
06:16Oh, yeah.
06:16No, man, we have a real talented group when it comes down to it.
06:19We love the resiliency of, you know, whenever they are having a bad play or something that
06:24doesn't go their way off, how they respond with it.
06:27You know, that's so important when it comes down to being in the National Football League
06:29for the response aspect of the receiving group.
06:32And then also when it comes down to the hard work, there's a lot of guys that's in the
06:37receiving group doing extra film when it comes down to it, extra drills in order to make
06:41sure, you know, catching the ball right, you know, different things like that.
06:46So, Marcus Jones, there was a story that went around a couple of months ago where the coach
06:52of the Seattle Seahawks was saying that he got help scheming against the Patriots from
06:57somebody that, I guess, has a conflict of interest.
07:01And throughout, like, some discovery, there was an assumption that it could have been
07:06Tom Brady that ended up helping.
07:09And I think when we talked to Mike Vrabel, is that right, Ken?
07:12Vrabel kind of, like, basically said that he thought it was Tom Brady?
07:15Right, probably.
07:16Yeah.
07:16Yeah.
07:17What do you think of the fact that Tom Brady could have possibly helped the Seattle Seahawks
07:21scheme against you guys in the Super Bowl?
07:24Oh, I mean, that doesn't really, like, I would say, like, move me in the situation of that.
07:31At the end of the day, like, it's all about the plays that have got to be made on the
07:35field.
07:36Teams and everything like that are what they are.
07:39But when it comes down to it, the players that have to make the plays that come to life
07:42and everything, like I said, that's out of my control and out of our control.
07:47So, we don't really look too much into that.
07:49Well, talking about you for a second, Marcus.
07:51Marcus, two weeks away here from the opener, what part of your game personally do you feel
07:55like has taken the biggest jump this summer?
07:58I feel like the knowledge of the game when it comes down to the aspect of, you know,
08:03the more years that you play, the game slows down even more.
08:06The communication aspect, this is my second year being a part of this defensive scheme
08:12when it comes down to it, too, as well.
08:14So, knowing way more.
08:15And then I always pride myself in versatility.
08:18All right.
08:19So, Marcus Jones, you know, Mike Vrabel has a reputation of being an elite-tier ball buster.
08:26As a matter of fact, Ted Johnson, who played with Bill Belichick, said that Mike Vrabel was the only one,
08:33the only person he ever knew that could come in and, like, rip on Bill Belichick in front of everybody,
08:40and Bill just took it because Vrabel was so good at it.
08:43Have you seen this gift that he has for ball busting in person?
08:48Have you been able to witness Vrabel at his best?
08:52I just see it as constructive criticism.
08:55I had a military dad whenever I grew up and everything.
08:58So, I'm not saying it was crazy strict, but it just comes down to the discipline aspect of knowing the
09:03details,
09:04knowing the technique and the fundamentals that you need to do, not just as a football player,
09:08but also in life and everything like that, too, as well.
09:10So, I think of it as constructive criticism, but some people, you know, may think of it as, like, you
09:15know,
09:16the way he talks or he yells and does all this, but I listen more to the message, not the
09:20tone.
09:21But this is, like, legitimately funny, right?
09:22Like, when he does it, it's, like, almost like it's in a way that kind of makes you laugh at
09:27the same time,
09:28but you're getting the message, right?
09:30Oh, yeah, no, for sure.
09:30It's all love when it comes down to it as well.
09:33And he's a defensive guy.
09:34Can you, like, go to him and say, look, give me a blitz?
09:37Like, can you curry a little bit, call your own play a little bit with Mike?
09:41Oh, when it comes down to it, like, I'm pretty cool with the plays that they call and everything.
09:45We'll always come back and be like, hey, we can look out for this and kind of go from there.
09:48But, I mean, I'm kind of a guy that, you know, whatever works for the team or the best for
09:52the team, that's me, so.
09:54All right, well, Marcus Jones, thank you for coming on with us.
09:57We really appreciate it, and we're looking forward to talking to you all season long.
10:00And here's to getting this preseason over with and start playing some real football, right?
10:05For sure, and I appreciate it so much.