The talk of the town of Foxborough all summer long was the emergence of rookie wide receiver Demario Douglas. Throughout camp, the breakout sixth-round pick has jumped off the page and been a much-needed addition to a Patriots offense that is sorely lacking in breaking ability at the skill positions. However, the only thing that will put an end to this hype train are the turnovers, which showed up in Sunday’s 24-17 loss to the Dolphins.
Douglas was active early in this game and saw two targets from Mac Jones in the first quarter. It was his second reception where things went haywire for the rookie on what at first looked like a big play in the making. Douglas made a short throw over the middle on third down, managed to get past the first down marker and released his defender as he began to move upfield for more distance. That stop-and-go allowed Dolphins passer Bradley Chubb just enough time to catch Douglas and release the ball, allowing Miami to recover.
Miami then took full advantage of the turnover and ran a 73-yard touchdown run to climb into double digits. Douglas didn’t see a single offensive shot after that turnover, seeing only minimal work as a returner. After the loss, Douglas, who could be seen on the sidelines holding a football given to him by veteran Ty Montgomery, told reporters he was told he would not play offense after the escaped.
“The offense was coming back,” Douglas said. “It’s time for me to stand on the sidelines and lift everyone up.”
Asked if he thought he needed to regain the trust of the coaching staff, Douglas said: “We’ll see. I train hard. It’s something I have to learn from. Every time I’m going to come back there, I’m going to make it count.”
In the late stages of the game, as the Patriots tried to close in on the lead, having a player with Douglas’ abilities would have been helpful, and the receiver was admittedly eager to get back out there to try and help his victory in the game. ‘team.
Most definitely,” Douglas said. “To come back…I think I could have made a difference. But the offense did a good job, they moved the ball.”
Asked about benching Douglas after the game, Belichick responded: “Listen, we had a lot of production on offense. [DeVante] Parker had a good day. [Mike] Gesicki had a good day. Hunter [Henry] I had a good day, JuJu [Smith-Schuster]KB [Kendrick Bourne]. So, you know, there are a lot of good players. I can’t play against everyone.”
Heading into Week 3 against the Jets, it will be interesting to monitor Douglas’ participation and whether or not he will remain in Belichick’s doghouse for another week.
