German_Force » what they were giving us,” coach Mike Zimmer said. “Tho

After placing Stephen Gostkowski on injured reserve because of a hip injury that will cost him the remainder of the season Lawrence Guy Jerseys 2019 , the New England Patriots brought seven kickers in for tryouts. Among the group of free agents to visit Foxborough was 15-year veteran Mike Nugent, who eventually won the job and was signed to the Patriots’ 53-man roster as Gostkowski’s replacement. Just three days later, he played his first game for the team.All in all, his Patriots debut against the Washington Redskins was a mixed bag: Nugent made five kicks, but pushed his first attempt — an extra point that would have tied the game at seven in the first quarter — wide to the right. That miss from 33 yards out might have prompted the team to attempt a 4th and 1 from the Washington 22-yard line later in that period; the attempt was stuffed and New England turned the ball over on downs.After his rough start, however, Nugent seemed to hit his groove — something he acknowledged in the locker room after the game: “I just needed to loosen up a little bit and get a little bit of the rust off. [The final five kicks] felt good, and looking back on the day, I think I did a great job just learning from that one. When you’re just a little bit more relaxed and don’t try to aim the ball White Rex Burkhead Jerseys , just swing through it and it’s going to go.”Nugent, of course, had not attempted a kick in an NFL game in more than a year before he took the field on Sunday: the 37-year-old ended 2018 on injured reserve after hurting his hip in late September, and was not retained by the Oakland Raiders after the season. While he did try to stay in shape, the former second-round draft pick failed to find a new home before the Patriots called and eventually signed him.“I think it’s always good to bounce back and hit some short ones and hit the rest of them,” said Nugent when talking about his first game for the team, “but it’s just like a golfer: you’re thinking of the shot you want back. So I’m going to work on it this week and make sure that doesn’t happen again. [...] I hate to be in the locker room thinking I want one kick back, but if you don’t learn from it, you’re not any good at this game.”The veteran Rex Burkhead Jerseys 2019 , who is exclusively working as a place kicker with punter Jake Bailey doing kickoffs, certainly showed some resiliency against Washington while the Patriots’ coaching staff showed trust in him as the game went along: Nugent was brought onto the field for a field goal try on a 4th and 2 from the Redskins 19-yard line shortly after his extra point miss. He went on to make both that kick and another field goal (from 23 yards out) as well as three PATs.Nugent got into a rhythm after his initial shank, and finished the game in solid albeit unspectacular fashion. If that is what the Patriots are going to get out of him on a week-to-week basis, they probably can feel good about him as a replacement for Gostkowski. FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Vikings receiver Adam Thielen was so revved up about some potential Patriots skullduggery during the fourth quarter that an official had to hold him back from New England coach Bill Belichick on the sideline.But after the game, Thielen walked back his behavior and took responsibility for the kerfuffle, which ended with Belichick shouting some nasty words at him as he was steered away by down judge Jerod Phillips.“I’ve got to keep my cool,” Thielen said in the Minnesota locker room after the 24-10 loss to the Patriots. “I’ve got a lot of respect for him and what he’s done. I can’t lose it like that, but I just thought it was interesting timing for a guy to go down where there was a close play that could have been reviewed.”At issue: Whether New England safety Patrick Chung faked an injury to give his coaches more time to see whether a fourth-down spot should be reviewed. Belichick did throw the challenge flag White Adam Butler Jerseys , but the spot and call of a first down was held up on review.“I just thought the play was cheap. I let the emotions get the best of me,” Thielen said. “It’s not cheating. There’s no rule against it.”Belichick’s only comment on the interaction was when he was asked whether the interaction was just a couple of guys exchanging holiday greetings. “Yeah, pretty much,” he said.Cornerback Devin McCourty said the team sees Belichick’s emotional side in practice every day. He said the star of the exchange was linebacker Kyle Van Noy, who got between their coach and the opposing player.“He jumped in Thielen’s face,” McCourty said. “I love when we get in games like this, when it’s going back and forth. I’ve talked to Thielen a bunch of times off the field, great guy. But everybody’s out there battling.”Thielen said there are no hard feelings on his end.And if Belichick decides to hold a grudge that’s not going to worry him, either.“He can think what he wants about me Adam Butler Jerseys 2019 , and it doesn’t really change how I’m going to play the game,” Thielen said. “He can hate me all he wants. I’m still going to be the same person I am and try to go out and do my best.”The bigger problem for the Vikings (6-5-1) was Thielen’s production.The team’s No. 1 receiver, who averaged more than eight catches and 100 yards in the first 11 games this season, had five catches for 28 yards and a touchdown on Sunday as the Patriots (9-3) double-teamed him for much of the day.Kirk Cousins completed 32 of 44 passes to eight different receivers, many of them on dump-offs that resulted in just 201 yards passing.“It really was what they were giving us,” coach Mike Zimmer said. “Those are tough situations there. I have some thoughts on things, but I’m not going to share them.”The defeat prevented Minnesota from gaining ground on the NFC North-leading Chicago Bears, who lost 30-27 to the New York Giants earlier Sunday. Pending the outcome of Washington’s game against Philadelphia on Monday night, the Vikings are a half-game out of playoff position.“I feel fine about my team White Elandon Roberts Jerseys ,” Zimmer said. “I think we continue to learn a lot about ourselves. I think we got a good football team, we just got to play better than we did tonight. This one game won’t define us. We’ve got four games left. The season is still in front of us, whatever we want to do.”