BOSTON — Now in his fifteenth NFL season and his twelfth as a captain of the Patriots, Matthew Slater has been via all of it. He was drafted by a workforce that had simply gone 16-0 earlier than shedding the Tremendous Bowl, and his rookie season was spent watching Matt Cassel lead the offense. He is lived the lows of 2009 and 2020, and he is skilled the highs of 2014, 2016, and 2018.

With this season being simply three weeks previous, the 37-year-old cannot converse definitively on the place it is finally headed. However for now, coming off a 37-26 loss at house to the Ravens, Slater is not sugarcoating issues after the workforce dropped to 1-2.

“Disenchanted. Clearly, we do not like the best way that we represented ourselves [Sunday],” Slater stated. “I believe that goes with out saying. I believe we did not play sufficient profitable soccer [Sunday]. There was some, and that is why we had been within the recreation late. Nevertheless it was actually disappointing to exit and play the best way that we did, particularly down the stretch.”

Whereas sometimes, movie research on a Monday could make a workforce really feel a bit higher about the best way it performed throughout a loss, Slater stated he felt the other impact this week.

“I most likely really feel worse after having simply watched it a pair hours in the past,” Slater stated. “I imply, we simply did so many issues to not give ourselves an opportunity to complete the sport the appropriate means, and so many non-winning soccer performs from everybody. So it’s totally disappointing. And should you’re a competitor, that is one thing that actually sticks with you, so let’s hope we are able to use that as motivation for the week and attempt to keep away from a repeat of that in Inexperienced Bay.”

Ever the optimist, although, Slater shared his constructive outlook for the Patriots’ potential to forge a profitable identification because the season goes alongside.

“I do not wish to converse an excessive amount of to it, however I do like the truth that this group may be very collectively. I imply, , it is in early season, however I really feel like we have been via so much. And there is a robust sense of togetherness with this group. And I believe that that is essential for any soccer workforce that aspires to have success,” Slater stated. “It’s a must to have some togetherness. So I really feel actually good about that. I believe we play with an excessive amount of toughness, and we’re doing issues nicely. However for us, it is about consistency. And if we won’t work out methods to be constant, and play profitable soccer on a constant foundation, all that different stuff will not be gonna matter. So , that is what we’re striving for. And hopefully that turns into a big a part of who we’re.”

The only issue at play for the Patriots and their lack of profitable performs would seemingly be turnovers. The Patriots have turned the ball over eight occasions already, the second-most within the NFL, behind solely the Saints and their 9 turnovers. Mac Jones has thrown 5 interceptions, and he is additionally misplaced a fumble, whereas Nelson Agholor has misplaced two fumbles — each of them coming within the fourth quarter of losses.

Now with Jones doubtless off the sector for a while, the Patriots’ offense will actually need to remove most or all of their errors to be able to win video games. If Jones does certainly miss time and the Patriots proceed to provide video games away … Slater did not mince phrases when assessing what’s at stake within the coming weeks.

“I do imagine that we’ll reply the appropriate means,” Slater stated. “I imply, look, we’re very early on in our season right here, and if we do not deal with it the appropriate means, this factor can spiral away from us.”

If Slater’s message is any indication, it might be secure to anticipate — on the very least — an elevated sense of urgency out of the Patriots come Sunday afternoon in Inexperienced Bay.