With N’Keal Harry, Bill Belichick appears ready to take the good and work on the bad after the rookie receiver’s debut on Sunday.
During the New England Patriots’ 17-10 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 11, Harry lined up wide on a second-and-10, and ran a slant route. As he turned to face Tom Brady, the ball was on its way. Harry nabbed the target while jumping (though he probably didn’t need to jump). The receiver fell forward for the first down. It was the probably his highlight of the night as a pass-catcher.
“I thought N’Keal competed well,” coach Bill Belichick said in his Monday morning conference call. “There were some good things. There were some other things that we’ll have to clean up and improve on. But it’s good to have him out there, good for him to get an opportunity to play. But there are certainly a lot of things that he can learn from that game and he can improve on, which we all can, but especially for his first regular season game. Again, there were some positive things and there were some corrections, too.”
He contributed as a run blocker, particularly early in the game when he made efforts to help an inefficient rushing attack. Harry managed to pancake Eagles defensive end Derek Barnett on a legal crack block. Harry played 32 snaps (43% of the offensive total) and had three receptions on four targets for 18 yards. His workload grew after Phillip Dorsett left the game with a head injury.
“I played the plays I expect myself to make, but I’ve got a lot to work on,” he said in the locker room after the game. “I haven’t really looked at the film yet, so it’s hard assessed (how I played in Dorsett’s absence) yet. I know there’s lots of things I wish I could have done better in that game, so that’s just going to be my main focus going forward.”
