![\"Dec](\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_1047,y_313,w_2481,h_1395\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/ImagnImages\/mmsport\/patriots_country\/01kefy4e5p1x9sk7y3cd.jpg\")
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The New England Patriots have three return touchdowns this season, and plenty of great plays on special teams en route to the playoffs.<\/p>\n
And yet, they\u2019ve still had constant struggles in that unit, especially when it comes to defending kickoffs and punts. In the last two weeks, rookie kicker Andy Borregales missed a field goal against the Jets and had another blocked against the Dolphins.<\/p>\n
Cleaning these mistakes up are at the top of special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer\u2019s checklist ahead of the Wild Card matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re in the playoffs now and every play matters,\u201d Springer told reporters this week. \u201cLittle things like that are the difference between winning and losing. I always talk about that with our guys. Like, it\u2019s only one play. That\u2019s all we get. So, we always have to be on our cues. We can\u2019t take any naps. When we take naps, negative things happen to us and that hurts the team and we\u2019re not trying to hurt the team there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Taking naps has been a theme that the coaching staff has harped on all season. Head coach Mike Vrabel has talked about how the team can\u2019t be willing to give a play up, or miss a chance to swing the tide of the game.<\/p>\n
But there have been positives. Borregales\u2019 season has been a bright spot, including his career-long 59-yard field goal from a week ago. Rookie long snapper Julian Ashby hasn\u2019t sailed a snap, and the rotation of kick returners have helped flip field position.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re not trying to change what you\u2019ve been doing all year from a routine standpoint. I think it\u2019s got us here for a reason,\u201d Springer said. \u201cBut at the same time, it\u2019s just expressing to our guys how grateful we are to be in this position and then to embrace the preparation part of it and embrace the work that we\u2019re putting in, embrace the details it\u2019s going to take to win this game.\u201d<\/p>\n Springer was on the Patriots’ staff when the team lost to these Chargers 40-7 on home turf last season. While most of the coaches and players have changed, the mentality to excel on special teams continues to be the same.<\/p>\n Now in a do-or-die game coming up at Gillette Stadium, it\u2019s all hands on deck for a unit hoping to make a difference.<\/p>\n \u201cI think our guys understand that we\u2019ve had clips this year of us doing great things and clips doing bad things,\u201d Springer said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s all growth throughout the year and how you learn from it to show you at the end of the day in these kind of games on Sunday that if you make one of those mistakes, it could be costly. I think our guys understand that.\u201d<\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The New England Patriots have three return touchdowns this season, and plenty of great plays on special teams en route to the playoffs. And yet, they\u2019ve still h<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":41335,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-england-patriots"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"New](\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_5717,h_3811\/c_fill,w_720,ar_3:2,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/ImagnImages\/mmsport\/patriots_country\/01keg7esaapgfvhenx3m.jpg\")
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