New England Patriots: Michael Floyd Receives a Warm Welcome
By Nick Ziegler
In a win against the New York Jets on Sunday, New England Patriots wide receiver Michael Floyd was able to make his debut with his new team.
After being claimed off waivers last week by the New England Patriots, wide receiver Michael Floyd made his debut with his new team. In an easy 41-3 win over the Jets, Floyd was able to get some meaningful reps as he continues to learn the offense.
On the second drive of the game, Floyd was able to make a catch out of bounds. Despite the catch not counting, Floyd received a nice ovation from the fans in New England.
“To have support from the crowd and teammates, it means a lot,” Floyd said after the game to Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. “It feels great.”
Getting Floyd out on the field is certainly important for the Patriots. As the postseason gets closer, Floyd is still learning the playbook. Due to playing under Charlie Weis at Notre Dame, Floyd does know a few things about the Patriots’ playbook. However, there is still a lot to learn.
“It was good to get him out there,” coach Bill Belichick said to Reiss, noting that Floyd has participated in only three practices with the team. “[He gets] better each day, hopefully, that’ll be better this week, and we’ll just see how it goes. I’d say we’re going in the right direction, but we’ve got a long way to go.”
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The reason why the Patriots took a shot with Floyd was because of them being banged up at wide receiver. If a receiver went down, Floyd would instantly have a much larger role in the offense.
“He’s one injury away from going in and being in there every down,” Brady said to Reiss. “I think just him getting acclimated to being in the huddle and play calls, he’s been with one offense (with the Arizona Cardinals) for a long time, and our offense is quite different than that. … He’s a big, physical player that competes hard for the ball. We’ve got to find ways to try to keep getting him the ball.”
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Floyd is certainly talented enough to be a factor for the Patriots in the postseason. With another regular season game to play, expect to see a bit more of Floyd. Also, having a bye in the first week of the playoffs should help Floyd continue to get used to the offense.