ST Nate Ebner becomes 3rd down LB Nate Ebner

I went back to the video of the game, and looked a little more closely at the defense.

What surprised me was just how often the Patriots brought Ebner onto the field specifically for third downs. I don't know if he was there for every third down, but he certainly was there on at least a majority of them.

Obviously, he had the two third-down stops that we saw (one a beautiful solo open-field tackle). But he also had pretty good coverage on a number of other third downs, taking away checkdown options short of the third down line. The Pats even let him blitz Carr on the Ryan "PI" play in the fourth quarter.

Not bad for a rugby player.

ctpatsfan77 said:

I went back to the video of the game, and looked a little more closely at the defense.

What surprised me was just how often the Patriots brought Ebner onto the field specifically for third downs. I don't know if he was there for every third down, but he certainly was there on at least a majority of them.

Obviously, he had the two third-down stops that we saw (one a beautiful solo open-field tackle). But he also had pretty good coverage on a number of other third downs, taking away checkdown options short of the third down line. The Pats even let him blitz Carr on the Ryan "PI" play in the fourth quarter.

Not bad for a rugby player.

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From what I've heard, it sounds like Belichick is just head over heels proud of Nate Ebner's development.

This is one that many here, including myself, did not see coming. Let's hope it continues. I'm all for the hybrid LB/S again.

ctpatsfan77 said:

I went back to the video of the game, and looked a little more closely at the defense.

What surprised me was just how often the Patriots brought Ebner onto the field specifically for third downs. I don't know if he was there for every third down, but he certainly was there on at least a majority of them.

Obviously, he had the two third-down stops that we saw (one a beautiful solo open-field tackle). But he also had pretty good coverage on a number of other third downs, taking away checkdown options short of the third down line. The Pats even let him blitz Carr on the Ryan "PI" play in the fourth quarter.

Not bad for a rugby player.

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Glad you put PI in quotes
Ebner taking some D snaps AND his play says he deserves them would be a major plus.....

He had been their dime DB this season, lining up at LB on 3rd and long. I saw him get beat once, but the pressure for to Carr and he didn't see the open man, but even then, he wasn't far out of position and has otherwise looked good in coverage to me.

ctpatsfan77 said:

I went back to the video of the game, and looked a little more closely at the defense.

What surprised me was just how often the Patriots brought Ebner onto the field specifically for third downs. I don't know if he was there for every third down, but he certainly was there on at least a majority of them.

Obviously, he had the two third-down stops that we saw (one a beautiful solo open-field tackle). But he also had pretty good coverage on a number of other third downs, taking away checkdown options short of the third down line. The Pats even let him blitz Carr on the Ryan "PI" play in the fourth quarter.

Not bad for a rugby player.

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I love what I have seen from Ebner this season in that role, he has added significant size to his frame and if he keeps developing as he has in a few seasons, we could be talking about a poor-man Kam Chancellor.

He had an amazing career arc so far and really took advantage of the opportunity to grow under Belichick guidance. Always happy to see developmental players actually make big steps forward.

I watched an Australian rugby match the other night...and just in the 2nd half, three bruisers left the field with concussions. Injuries were happening so fast and furious, the medical team stays on the field to dress wounds while play continues around them. I don't blame Nate for switching to a more civilized sport.
The PC crowd in this country would shut down rugby so fast if it ever reached mainstream

borg said:

I watched an Australian rugby match the other night...and just in the 2nd half, three bruisers left the field with concussions. Injuries were happening so fast and furious, the medical team stays on the field to dress wounds while play continues around them. I don't blame Nate for switching to a more civilized sport.
The PC crowd in this country would shut down rugby so fast if it ever reached mainstream

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Having played both sports, I can say football is far worse in terms of brutality. It's very hard to get a clean hit on someone with the ball in rugby.

upstater1 said:

Having played both sports, I can say football is far worse in terms of brutality. It's very hard to get a clean hit on someone with the ball in rugby.

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Check out BEiN sports channel if your cable operator has it. Usually European soccer dominates this channel but they show many obscure sports as well. The Australian Pro Rugby match I watched was the most violent team sporting event I ever witnessed. These guys were physical monsters out of a comic book and the head shots in this one game were something I've never seen before. The Australian male is a subspecies...at least that was my conclusion after watching. Heck...all Ruggers are freaking nuts

I played both sports. Football is more dangerous because of the pads and helmets being used as weapons. That said, I had a recurring back injury from rugby and nothing but a simple concussion from football.

I like Ebner much more in that role than as a safety, he is much better suited to coverage from a LB role imo, and he has the tackling ability and toughness to handle it.

upstater1 said:

Having played both sports, I can say football is far worse in terms of brutality. It's very hard to get a clean hit on someone with the ball in rugby.

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I'm in the same boat. Rugby's actually a much less dangerous game than football (and, notably, it's still popular in countries that are more "PC" than the US). It's a very different style of tackling for a number of reasons. For one, both the tackler and the ball carrier tend to be much more controlled in the way they go to the ground because a tackle sets up the next set play (since there's no downs and distance, fighting for an extra yard or two in rugby is stupid because the potential cost is losing possession, so the ball carrier usually obliges contact and goes down himself) and second, you don't throw yourself into a tackle because you don't have pads or a helmet and a brutal tackle is as likely to injure you as it is the ball carrier.

Concussions happen far less frequently in rugby than they do in football, though rugby's much harder on the upper body - shoulders, collarbones, upper back all get punished. Concussions are the real injuries to be concerned about, because of the potential costs of brain damage. Muscle and bone injuries are much easier to fix completely or at least manage.

primetime said:

I'm in the same boat. Rugby's actually a much less dangerous game than football (and, notably, it's still popular in countries that are more "PC" than the US). It's a very different style of tackling for a number of reasons. For one, both the tackler and the ball carrier tend to be much more controlled in the way they go to the ground because a tackle sets up the next set play (since there's no downs and distance, fighting for an extra yard or two in rugby is stupid because the potential cost is losing possession, so the ball carrier usually obliges contact and goes down himself) and second, you don't throw yourself into a tackle because you don't have pads or a helmet and a brutal tackle is as likely to injure you as it is the ball carrier.

Concussions happen far less frequently in rugby than they do in football, though rugby's much harder on the upper body - shoulders, collarbones, upper back all get punished. Concussions are the real injuries to be concerned about, because of the potential costs of brain damage. Muscle and bone injuries are much easier to fix completely or at least manage.

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Agree, and one more thing about tacklers. The tackler has to pop up right away and get back into the play, so he doesn't want to crush the ball carrier only to watch an overlap on the wing go for a try.

My team toured Scotland a while back, and though we were mainly ex-American football players with a few rugby guys from England, Switzerland, Turkey and France, we had our heads handed to us by some very slight skinny teams. It was weird. I was on the ground once and I heard a fan yell, "Ouch, they stuck him like a pig." Referring to the hard hits those small guys were taking against us. Meanwhile the slight little fast guys were scoring try after try against us.

The horrid part of Rugby is all the gouging. You end up with torn flesh, but little in the way of internal injuries. When the internal injuries come, it's usually in the scrum, and then they are very bad. Nerve damage was the most common one because of limbs being twisted like gumby.

upstater1 said:

The horrid part of Rugby is all the gouging. You end up with torn flesh, but little in the way of internal injuries. When the internal injuries come, it's usually in the scrum, and then they are very bad. Nerve damage was the most common one because of limbs being twisted like gumby.

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Yeah, scrums are tough. Lots of potential for nasty spinal and connective tissue injuries. I broke my collarbone playing rugby (that was the end of it for me) - not making a tackle, but after a run as an 8 at the back of a scrum and going to ground poorly (facing up) and having someone's knee land flush on my clavicle. Besides that, I think the worst I ever got was spiked. Which leaves some nasty bruises but heals just fine. All my recurring injuries are from being a hockey goalie - contorting your groin and hamstrings and smacking your knees against the ice day in and day out for the better part of two decades will do that to you.

primetime said:

Yeah, scrums are tough. Lots of potential for nasty spinal and connective tissue injuries. I broke my collarbone playing rugby (that was the end of it for me) - not making a tackle, but after a run as an 8 at the back of a scrum and going to ground poorly (facing up) and having someone's knee land flush on my clavicle. Besides that, I think the worst I ever got was spiked. Which leaves some nasty bruises but heals just fine. All my recurring injuries are from being a hockey goalie - contorting your groin and hamstrings and smacking your knees against the ice day in and day out for the better part of two decades will do that to you.

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Ouch, such body abuse.

I was a lock so I hear you about scrums. The damage to me was always in the rucks/mauls.

Bruschi weighed in on Ebner today:

This is a good sign for Nate Ebner. When he was drafted, he was strictly a special-teamer. As he's progressed into his third year, he's starting to see reps on defense. This means the coaches have enough faith in him to put him out there. If he affirms the coaches' faith in him by making plays, his role will be expanded. It's the same way I broke into the lineup initially.

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