Current State of the Patriots DE's


So, my previous post where I called Jake Bequette a potential bust seemed to cause a little bit of discord amongst Pats fans on twitter (@CultOfBelichick). Some people are irrationally high on him, and I do not understand why. So, we are going to do a little run-down on the current state of the Pats DE's and a little depth chart action.

Chandler Jones (RDE): He is the bonafide stud of this group. Kid is going to be IS a monster. He singlehandedly dominated the right side of the defense, and held up very well against the run. One tweet that caught me was from Matt Chatham,
I think this about sums it up. In addition, his explosion coming around the corner on his pass rush is something we haven't seen here since dare-I-say, Big Willie? It looks like we've got the next JPP here. Expecting great things for years to come.

Rob Ninkovich (LDE): Did not look great on Sunday, but had a solid camp. The vet of this group, but seems to be in a rotation with Cunningham. He got smothered in the run game on Sunday, and his years of playing standing up in the Patriots scheme may have made him too light to play on the line with his hand in the dirt. He has the starting spot for now, but needs to pick up play. One of lone disappointments on Sunday.

Jermaine Cunningham (LDE): Really playing up to the level of his rookie year, and maybe even starting to surpass it. Had a really down year last year, and was definitely on the bubble this year, but had a solid offseason, even winning one of the offseason parking spot awards.  I think the move back to DE has really liberated him, as it has removed a lot of the mental aspect of the game and allowed him to put his hand in the dirt and get after it. He has really carved out a role as an inside sub rusher in passing downs. Basically, what this means is he comes in and plays DT in obvious passing downs. That way, they have three pure pash rushers out there, and he can use his speed to get around hulking interior offensive lineman. If he continues his play, and Ninkovich doesn't pick his up, he could be looking at a starting role. Even Bill Belichick is complimenting his play.

Trevor Scott (LDE): Only played 7 snaps on defense. Did show up on two special teams units. He will need to make his name on special teams, as the seeming emergence of Cunningham is cutting into any possible snaps he would have received on defense. Not much to see from Scott, so not really much to say here.

Justin Francis (RDE): This is where things start to get interesting. He was an undrafted rookie out of Rutgers, where he played for Bucs coach Greg Schiano. His play was inspiring in camp, and he seems to be Jermaine Cunningham's direct backup. He has that ability to come in on passing downs and be that interior rusher, and he also has some skills to play some snaps on the right side if Jones goes down. He was my most surprising gameday inactive. I thought he had done enough to earn his way onto the 46-man, but apparently not.

Jake Bequette (RDE): I went with him to be a surprise cut from the Patriots after a disappointing camp. He had some flashes early in the preseason, but struggled mightily as camp wore on, and cannot hold up against the run. His reps steadily declined as training camp progressed, and he really did not show the same burst he did at the beginning. He has some value as a potential 3rd down pass rusher, but his techniques are not quite refined enough as of yet. This is basically going to be a Taylor Price type redshirt season where he never sees the field. The only way I could see him making the active roster is a slew of injuries in front of him, and even then they may go outside the organization as opposed to giving him playing time.

Post a Comment
Share