By Tom E. Curran
FOXBORO - You'll like Chandler Jones.
Not necessarily as a player - who knows if he'll be JPP 2.0 or Shawn Crable? - but as a young man.
Reasonably candid. Thoughtful. Easygoing. The first-round rookie from Syracuse hit the right notes on Thursday when meeting with media after his first training camp practice.
Learning anything and everything is what his aim is currently.
"From rookie mini-camp and OTAs, I feel like I was really prepared," said Jones, who ran with the second team at a defensive end spot. "Everything was smooth as far as getting assignments down and getting instructions from the vets. Im excited to see how it goes tomorrow."
With an older brother, Arthur, on the roster of the Baltimore Ravens and another brother, Jon, an accomplished MMA fighter, Jones knows how important it is to be plugged in to his elders. And Jones says he's not discriminating when soliciting advice.
"Every (veteran)," was Jones' response when asked who is advising him. "We have a nice brother system from Tom Brady to Vince Wilfork. The whole team, they do a good job of putting their wing around the rookies and new guys and get us moving forward."
Jones readily admits he needs that, especially away from the field.
"The biggest adjustment (from college) is time management. Whenever I was in school, when I got out of practice, I did homework or played video games," Jones explains. "But guys are going home to their families and guys are getting into their playbooks. This is our job. This is how were going to support our families and eat food. Its just a whole different approach."
Jones has still been able to play video games. He's just cognizant of the business-like shift now that he's playing for pay.
This seems to be a strong rookie class in terms of maturity. While that's not a prerequisite to on-field success, it definitely enhances the chance of finding that. Jones says a solid connection has been established.
"Believe it or not, I knew half of those rookies before we got drafted," he explained. "I met some of them at the Combine. I even played against some of them. We kind of all knew each other before. I was following them on Twitter before we even got drafted. The bond was already there and now its just a matter of time before we get that trust out on the field."