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Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports

Patriots veteran knows what rookie is experiencing

Originally posted on Boston Sports Journal
By Mike Giardi | Last updated 9/25/23

FOXBOROUGH - Hunter Henry knows what Demario Douglas is going through because it happened to him in nearly the same spot.

The Patriots’ tight end was a rookie in San Diego, just the third game of his career. The Chargers were trailing the Colts, but had the ball and had a chance late in the game.

“We have a 2-minute drive, we’re down 3 or 4, maybe 2, and all we need is a field goal,” said Henry when asked if he had spoken to Douglas since the rookie’s fumble Sunday night (he had). “I ran a really good route, there’s about a minute left in the game, I catch the ball, and I kinda get in the open field. I make the first guy miss, but I’m looking at the next guy and not thinking about what’s going on, and the ball gets poked out from behind. I lost the game for our team in a 2-minute drive situation.

That left a mark on Henry, and he wanted to share that with Douglas, to comfort as much as enlighten. To encourage as much as remind.

“That was my rookie year,” he added. “The third game of my career. Really woke me up to this level and humbled me a lot. I learned a lot and realized I needed to hold on to the ball a little bit tighter. So I kind of conveyed that to him. I’m going on my 8th year, and I think I’ve had one other fumble in maybe eight years, and that fumble might be a little questionable. We can go back on the tape.”

Douglas stood up and fielded questions from the media after the game, taking full responsibility for the miscue and understanding why he didn’t re-enter the game (even if some of us - raising hand - had problems with it). He told us he would grow from the experience, and Henry and quarterback Mac Jones agreed.

“You know, Pop is a great player,” said the tight end. “We need him. He’s going to learn from this. He’s going to learn a lot from this. I enjoy going out and competing with him. He’s done a lot of great things for us, and I will he will continue to do.”

“One play, one week doesn’t define anybody,” said Jones. “He’s going to come out and keep swinging. He has a lot of speed. Smart kid. Tough. Dependable. He’s going to bounce back, and so are we.”

The Pats can only hope Douglas does what Henry did his next time out.

“I had a good game,” he recalled. “I actually had my first TD the next game and had a pretty solid game. It was definitely a motivating factor that week. I was excited to get back out there."