Patriots offensive lineman James Ferentz is 30 years old, has played on three different teams and has been released six times, but Sunday was one of his best days as a NFL player.
With right guard Shaq Mason out with a knee injury, Ferentz made his first career NFL start in the Patriots' 27-13 win over the Browns.
"It means a lot," Ferentz said after the game. "I love this sport, I grew up in this sport, and for me, it's been a little bit different path than most, but I'm just really fortunate to be in the right place at the right time."
The day was even more special because it was his son's third birthday and he was able to see him after the game.
"It's my little boy's third birthday, so coming off the field and being able to see him was pretty special, because I didn't get to see him this morning and do the presents and (all) that," Ferentz said. "So that was really special being able to see him on his third birthday. He won't remember it, but I will."Ferentz comes from a football family, as his dad, Kirk, is the head coach at Iowa, and his brother Brian serves as the offensive coordinator. Brian spent some time with the Patriots, including being their tight ends coach in 2011.
"He comes to work every day with a great attitude," Bill Belichick said on a conference call Monday. "He's one of the toughest kids on the team. He's always ready to compete. Always works hard and at a good tempo, not to try to do something reckless so that somebody gets hurt but just to compete to get better and make himself better and make his teammates better. Most teams we play, whatever their cadence or operation is with the offensive line is always part of the preparation and he does a great job along with our quarterbacks through the years, the last three years anyways, of coordinating whether it's a silent count or blocking schemes or protections and all of that to help get our defense ready.
"He just does a real good job in his role of being ready to go, which he hasn't had to play a lot until yesterday, as you referred to, but in terms of helping his teammates get ready and prepare, I know that everybody has a lot of confidence in him because when he is in there he knows what to do and so forth and has experience even though he doesn't have a lot of playing experience. He has a lot of Patriots experience and as a teammate to prepare the defense and help out wherever he can to help get the team ready is really invaluable. A good chunk of that's been on the practice squad. He's been on the active roster but yesterday was really the most extended action he's had in six years, but he's great to coach.
"He's a great kid, very smart and works hard and you can tell his dad is Kirk Ferentz."
It's unclear how long Mason will be sidelined, but if he is forced to miss more time, Ferentz will be ready.
