Though he'd removed his helmet to display his flowing locks of blonde hair, popular Patriots rookie edge player Chase Winovich was otherwise still in full uniform when he stepped to the microphone for his press conference after his impressive preseason debut Thursday night in Detroit.
"Just so excited to see you guys," Winovich said with a smile, explaining his attire.
The third-round rookie had plenty of reason to smile, coming off the field for the first time as a professional with three tackles including 1.5 sacks, a tackle for a loss and a two QB hits. The work came as part of an impressive Patriots defense that not only held the Lions to a mere late field goal in the 31-3 win, but sacked Detroit quarterbacks nine times while holding the home team to just 93 yards, only 21 of those coming through the air.
Winovich's performance came following a strong week of joint practice work and in front of a somewhat friendly crowd thanks to his past success in college at Michigan. With friends and family in attendance at Ford Field and donning his new No. 50 jersey on the edge of the New England defense for the first time – the same jersey that similarly versatile players like Mike Vrabel and Rob Ninkovich made famous – Winovich was clearly excited by the work, even as he downplayed it.
"It was cool," Winovich said of his first sack, praising the contributions of all the players and coaches around him leading to the play. "It felt good to have it all come together and hopefully make my family a little proud today."
What came together was plenty of practice reps, side sessions with former Patriots defender Willie McGinest and extra time on the field after practice. So far, it's paying off for the two-time All-Big 10 defender.
"I don't think anybody that puts in work ever regrets working too hard or doing a little extra," Winovich said.
He also explained that the bulk of the work is mental at this point, not physical. It's that area in which he feels he's made the most strides evolving from college defensive end to someone who's going to be asked to spend a lot of time standing up on the edge of Bill Belichick's defense
"Just mentally," Winovich said of his growth from last fall to now. "My knowledge of football. That has a lot to do with coach [DeMarcus] Covington working with me and teaching me the fundamentals of football, the basics outside of what I've already known coming in from Michigan. That's probably my biggest thing, the physicality and moves and stuff, you improve on that stuff, but I'm just getting a lot better at my awareness and that realm of stuff.
"Just trying to get better. I'm a rookie, I have a lot to improve on."
