Latest news with #KeionWhite
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Keion White: Standard for the defense should be negative yards on every play
Keion White spoke to the media after Day 3 of training camp about the standard and potential for the Patriots' defense this season. Keion White: Standard for the defense should be negative yards on every play originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Keion White can't wait to put on pads and hit people at Patriots training camp
Patriots defensive end Keion White is happy with how the New England defense has looked thus far in camp, but said no one really knows how the unit is playing until they put on pads. That will finally happen on Monday, and White cannot wait.
CBS News
5 days ago
- Sport
- CBS News
Keion White ready to put on pads and bring violence to Patriots training camp
Keion White isn't one to sugarcoat anything. The Patriots defensive end wants to hit someone on the football field, and he wanted to do it yesterday. White didn't get to hit anyone on Friday, as the third day of Patriots training camp in Foxboro was just a walkthrough. He won't do it over the weekend either, with another un-padded practice on Saturday before players get their first day off of camp on Sunday. But on Monday, everyone will don pads for the first time this summer. Then the real fun begins for White and the New England defense. "I hope they run the ball every play," White said of his offensive counterparts. Hopes are high for the New England defense heading into its first season under new head coach Mike Vrabel and defensive coordinator Terrell Williams. There is loads of potential with the group thanks to the offseason additions of Milton Williams, Harold Landry, Robert Spillane, and Carlton Davis, who are joining star corner Christian Gonzalez, Christian Barmore, and White on the New England D. But White says hype isn't worth anything if players don't go out and prove it when they're on the field. And he wants perfection from the defense and himself on each and every play. "From a defensive standpoint, I don't want the offense to get one yard. Anything more than that is a loss," he said Friday. "That's what a dominant defense looks like, and that should be the expectation. Yeah, they're going to get yards on plays. But I feel the standard should be negative yards on every play." New England had the worst pass rush in the NFL last season, with a league-low 28 sacks for the season. White had five of those sacks, but four of them came in the first two weeks of the season. He can be an absolute wrecking ball off the line, but last year's staff wanted White to focus more on setting the edge and reading and reacting to the offense in front of him. Vrabel's defensive approach is much different, and White is eager to get going. "Leading with violence is always my type of stuff, so whenever I can do that and not read as much, it's definitely beneficial for me," he said. It's no secret that White was not a fan of last year's regime in New England. He said back in June: "Now, I feel have a coach." It was quite the shot at Jerod Mayo. But how does White feel about Vrabel now that they're a few days into training camp? "My biggest working relationship is whether we're winning or losing. That's big for me and then you go from there," he said. "Is he a good coach, and how can he make me better? That's the biggest relationship I have." White was asked if he considers Vrabel, who was pretty good at getting after quarterbacks during his playing days, a good coach. "I think he's a pretty good coach," replied White, adding, "Because he helps me get better." Vrabel is a no-nonsense guy himself, and had a lot of praise for White ahead of Friday's practice. "I love Keion's attitude. He's a worker," said Vrabel. "He's here early and has a routine that works for him. He practices hard and he's conditioned. I think he's got a great attitude and I love coaching him. He's very receptive and a coachable player." Now just imagine the conversations between Vrabel and White. As both relayed Friday, it's all about football. "Technique and how to get better. For real," said White. "What do I need to do on the field, what does he see, what do I see, and how to improve on that." "Keion, there is not a lot of fluff to him," said Vrabel. "Our conversations are mostly -- he wants to talk football. That is his profession, his career, his passion. We talk a lot of football and I've enjoyed getting to know him."
CBS News
5 days ago
- Sport
- CBS News
Patriots training camp takeaways: Lighter walkthrough on Day 3, pads go on Monday
The Patriots got a bit of a break Friday on the third day of training camp. After two busy days, the team's third practice of camp was more of a walkthrough. Players didn't even have helmets on, switching them out for bucket hats on a steamy day in Foxboro. Hopefully everyone took advantage of the lighter session, because things are going to really ramp up behind Gillette Stadium in the coming days. "Today will be a lighter day, but it's important to see how our team responds and is able to work in [a walkthrough] capacity," head coach Mike Vrabel admitted before Friday's session "I'm hopeful we can get something out of this and have some speed [Saturday], have a good day before a day off on Sunday." Sunday's day off will be important, because on Monday, players will put on pads for the first time of training camp. That is much to the delight of defensive end Keion White, who is hungry to hit someone -- anyone -- in practice. "I hope they run the ball every play," White said of Monday's first padded practice. While the Patriots didn't do too much on the field Friday, there were still a few important takeaways from the morning in Foxboro. After sitting out Thursday's practice, cornerback Carlton Davis was back on the field Friday. Vrabel said the absence was part of the plan for the veteran. "Just maintenance and we'll continue to kind of give him what he needs as part of a plan," said Vrabel. "Again, that's my job each and every day is to figure out what everybody's going to do and how they're going to contribute each day to us winning." Second-year receiver Ja'Lynn Polk spent his Friday on the lower conditioning field again. He's reportedly dealing with a muscle tightness, and hasn't practiced in camp. He's got an uphill battle in a crowded wide receivers room, but Vrabel outlined how injured players can -- and should -- remain engaged while sidelined. "There is installation. It's a repeat from the spring. So hopefully, any player that's not out here can stay engaged and continue to learn and get the information that they need, and then be ready when they get back," he explained. "I think the important thing is focusing on, doing everything, that you can to get back as quickly as possible. But also when you do get back, there's not a big drop off of information lost when you get back." As for the rest of the receivers, Stefon Diggs, Demario Douglas, and Kayshon Boutte were with the first team offense on Friday, while Kendrick Bourne and rookie Kyle Williams did drills with the second team. Rookie Jared Wilson has been a man of many positions along the offensive line in his first training camp. On Friday, the third-round pick out of Georgia rotated with the first team offense at left guard, center, and right guard. Vrabel spoke about the rookie's versatility ahead of practice. "I think that he's a quick learner. He's been able to learn two positions inside, as far as center and guard," noted Vrabel. "He was one of those players that maybe wasn't out there as much on the field in the spring, but really was able to grasp it mentally and allow that to carry over when he had an opportunity to be on the field. So he was able to show for a young player some of those things to be able to be ready when he got his opportunity to get on the field." After practice, the Patriots rode bikes onto the field and gave them away to 50 kids in the foster care program. It made for some interesting and entertaining visuals on the field. As Vrabel said, the team will ramp things up again on Saturday, with practice scheduled for 10:15 a.m. Players get a day off Sunday, and then practices will get real on Monday when they put on pads for the first time on training camp. Monday's practice will kick off around 10:30 a.m.
New York Times
23-06-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Can Keion White take the next step for the Patriots after a turbulent year?
Editor's note: This is the third story in a 10-part series looking at the most intriguing New England Patriots players ahead of training camp. Previously: Efton Chism, TreVeyon Henderson A couple of weeks into last season, Keion White of the Patriots looked like the franchise's new stud pass rusher, ready to take over the role created by the departure of Matthew Judon. He had, at that time, the second-most sacks in the league, already taking down the quarterback four times, trailing only Aidan Hutchinson of the Detroit Lions. Ja'Lynn Polk reels in his first NFL score while Keion White stays hot up front.@MikeDussault19's key points from yesterday's game: — New England Patriots (@Patriots) September 16, 2024 But White's falloff was swift and steep. He had only one sack over the final 15 games. His pressure rate plummeted as did, eventually, his playing time. And, it seemed, so did his trust in the coaching staff. White was one of the team's most outspoken players at the end of last season, openly calling for change. 'If changes aren't made, then what are we doing?' he said at the time. Advertisement Now, change has come. Mike Vrabel is in charge. White has a proven pass-rush coach to work with in the form of Mike Smith. His defensive coordinator specializes in D-line play. His head coach came up on the defensive side. Given all of that, the ante feels upped for White this season. Will he put it all together and show off the promise he's teased since Bill Belichick made him a second-round pick? Or will he play like he did down the stretch last season, opening the door for him to be the latest player from the previous regime to be jettisoned by Vrabel? Those questions make White one of the Patriots' most intriguing players entering training camp. White came to the Patriots as Belichick tried to bolster his defense in 2023, landing with New England in the second round, one round after the team landed Christian Gonzalez. He was an older prospect (24 when he was drafted) but quickly made an impact. Through training camp and the preseason, White was consistently making standout plays with a violence in movement that the Patriots lacked on the edge. But his playing time as a rookie was limited behind Judon and Joshua Uche, and he notched just one sack in 2023. Expectations were higher last season, particularly after Judon was traded. White had a coach in Jerod Mayo who brought a carryover in defensive style. He got more playing time. And early on, he had success: 2 1/2 sacks in the opener, plus 1 1/2 more in Week 2. But the drop-off in White's play was drastic. In the first eight weeks of last season, White ranked 26th in the league in pressure rate (14.3) among players with more than 100 pass rush snaps, just behind Chris Jones and Khalil Mack. In the final nine weeks of the season, he ranked 93rd (9.9). His playing time fell off, too, and he began to criticise the franchise's direction. He went from playing more than 80 percent of the defensive snaps in each of the first three games to less than 65 percent in the final three games. Advertisement The Patriots made some additions at edge rusher, an indication that White, now 26, isn't guaranteed to be a starter who gets loads of playing time. The message from Vrabel seems to be that White has to earn it. Vrabel brought in Harold Landry and K'Lavon Chaisson, training camp competition for White. But it has seemed to help White. He spent many spring sessions going over pass-rush moves with Landry before the start of practice and praised the veteran for that time in comments that later went viral. 'Now I feel like I have a coach,' White said when asked how helpful Landry has been. Keion White on a big difference this season: 'Now, I feel like I have a coach' — Savage (@SavageSports_) June 11, 2025 Even if those comments were made about Landry and not the lack of coaching he got a year ago, they're strong remarks about the franchise looking ahead to this fall. How much will White improve against the run? As a rookie, he shined there, ranking 58th among 197 edge rushers in that area, as graded by Pro Football Focus. But last season, he dropped to 147th among 211 edge rushers, per PFF. That kind of drop-off suggests an attitude change. He clearly can stop the run — he just didn't get overly involved in that area a year ago. Now there are no more excuses. It was somewhat understandable to be frustrated by last season. But there's a new regime in charge. So White needs to show up to camp ready to set the edge, even if that's not as glamorous as getting after the passer, because it's unlikely Vrabel will just let that slide. The talent with White is obvious. He kept the company of two of the best pass rushers in the league in the first half of last season (Jones and Mack). He was great against the run as a rookie. He has plenty of speed with long arms and tons of strength. Advertisement So the optimistic view is that he was struggling with the coaching he received a year ago and the direction the franchise was headed. With those issues resolved, White should be headed for the leap we initially saw last season and should become a top-30 edge rusher in the NFL. Players as good as White can't simply get wiped out of 15 games in a row. It doesn't matter if you're mad at the coaching staff. So the concern is his lack of consistency. We've all seen the highlights of violent hits and great sacks. He can do that. But it's never consistent enough, and the fear is that simply changing the coach won't fix it. Two things: The first is White's level of engagement. That might be a small ask in training camp, but it's a big part of his story given the events of the last eight months. Is he hustling on every play, chasing down ball carriers even when the rush goes the other way? Is he staying late to get extra work on his pass-rush moves? The second is his playing time. Landry is probably a starter on one end, and White is probably a starter on the other. But Chaisson was impressive this spring and could eat into White's playing time if White doesn't have a good camp.
