FOXBOROUGH – About two or three minutes into answering questions at his locker from the assembled media following the Patriots’ 26-19 over the Jets, Christian Barmore paused for a second.
Wearing an all black jumpsuit and a giant ‘Barmore’ chain, he turned around, reached back and threw on some shades, then proceeded to continue answering questions.
It was a moment full of swag, and Barmore had earned it.
Both he and Milton Williams are looked at as potential game wreckers in the middle of the D-line every single week. They each had sacks on Sunday, back-to-back on a first quarter drive that led to a punt and the Patriots’ first touchdown.
Barmore finished with two QB hits and a TFL while Williams had three tackles (1 TFL) and a QB hit. The big duo helped keep the Jets under 100 yards rushing (97).
Fittingly, on a day where they graced the cover of the GameDay magazine sold inside Gillette Stadium, No. 90 and No. 97 were noticeably disruptive often, particularly when getting in the face of Geno Smith.
“Really, every time we out here, we always say we’ve got to set the tone as the D-line,” Barmore said when I asked him how much pride he and Williams take in being the two guys that sort of make everything go. “Any time we’re on this field, practice, anywhere, I feel like we’ve got to come out and be our best and everybody can follow through as the whole D-line.
“Everybody on the D-line. Everybody. So, we’ve got a job to do, to dominate and that’s what we’re going to do every day we on this field.”
“I think we did ok. I’m always super critical of myself and the group,” added Williams. “I just feel like there’s always more that we can do. I feel like we can dominate a game more than we did today, but we got a win. We got a win and we executed enough. But, for our standard, it wasn’t good enough.
“But, like I said, we got a win, so I’d rather correct mistakes and execution in a win than a loss.”
As an outside guy who can benefit from much of the attention going to the big guys inside on certain plays, I asked Dre’Mont Jones just how much easier it makes his job (he finished with three total tackles) when Williams and Barmore are winning their matchups inside.
“It’s always helpful when you’ve got two monsters in the middle,” said Jones. “It makes everything a lot easier on everybody. Whether it’s us (outside guys), inside backers, safeties and whatnot. They’ve just got to continue to do their job like they’ve been doing and we’re going to be stronger as a team.”
As injuries continue to decimate both sides of the ball, Williams, Barmore, Jones and others will need to keep having a big impact on games.
Barmore was also asked what it’ll take to be ready for a quick turnaround and a Thursday night primetime game against the Bears.
“You’ve got to recover, take care of your body, you know what I’m saying?” he said. “We gonna get the install and get ready for Chicago.
“Time to lock in and get ready on the road.”