Photo by Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images New England will play its next game just four days after its last one. The New England Patriots have little time to catch their breath coming off a 6-0 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Their next game is right around the corner: the team will fly to Pittsburgh on Wednesday before taking on a Steelers in a primetime setting on Thursday night. Naturally, the preparation leading up to that game looks different from a usual Sunday-to-Sunday schedule. As quarterback Bailey Zappe, who again is expected to start in place of Mac Jones, pointed out, the focus is primarily a mental rather than a physical one. “You don’t get as much physical reps. It’s more mental,” he said during a press conference on Tuesday. “But, we try as much as possible — like before or after walk-throughs, or whatever we do — try to go out there and throw as much as possible. Whether it’s just walking through or just standing there, just try to throw the ball around.” For the sophomore quarterback, the game against Pittsburgh will be only his fourth career start — and his first in both primetime and off a short week. While Zappe lacks experience in a setting like that, he was part of the preparation last season albeit still in a backup role back then. As far as actual game action is concerned, most of his teammates have traveled this journey before. And they too know the importance of attacking the week leading up to the game in a purposeful manner. This week, it’s lighter physically in a lot of ways — you’re not really practicing like hard or doing anything like that — and then you just focus on the recovery a lot. Usually, you can fly around a little bit come Thursday,” said tight end Hunter Henry. “Recovery, I think, is the biggest thing, especially coming off — with the short week — a Sunday. And then, mentally, just trying to dive in as much as you can because you lose basically three extra days of just preparation and things like that. So, you kind of have to make up some of that time.” For defensive lineman Deatrich Wise Jr., who missed Sunday’s game against L.A. due to an illness, recovery and study both play a crucial role in getting ready for the game in Pittsburgh. “Quick turnaround. Mental week; a lot of preparation mentally; and then just recovery, making sure you don’t have any nicks and bruises. That’s pretty much it. Keeping it simple, honestly,” Wise Jr. said. “We have just long meetings. And then at the meetings, you just make sure you do a lot of stuff on your own.” In a normal week, the Patriots use Monday to review the previous game before turning the page starting Tuesday. This week, however, the schedule will be sped up: as Zappe and Henry both pointed out, preparation for the Steelers already began on Monday morning, with the team then hitting the practice fields Tuesday and Wednesday. For wide receiver and long-time Steeler JuJu Smith-Schuster, the key for a successful preparation lies in an attention to detail. “It’s a lot of mental reps, and just repetition,” he said. “You have to be way more detailed to your assignment, mental reps, and going back, looking at all the film, and studying.” The Patriots’ ability to do that will be tested on Thursday, and will be a deciding factor whether the team finally returns to the win column after five straight losses. Source: https://www.patspulpit.com/2023/12/6/23 ... t-football
