Deontae Skinner

Well, with Mayo most likely gone for the year it looks like this kid is our 3rd LB.

@jeffphowe: Deontae Skinner ain't half bad in run D. His sack was also a nice read, blitzed when RB stayed in to block. Coverage is another story.

@DougKyedNESN: If Mayo is lost for the year, I think the Patriots' best course of action is Hightower at SLB, Collins at WLB and Skinner in Spikes' old MLB

Any draftniks/anyone want to share anything about Skinner? Can this kid turn into anything for us? He clearly blows in coverage, but he did destroy Orton on one play. If he becomes a good run stuffer than essentially he's our UDFA Spikes.

Skinner has been our 4th LB except for the first game and has played OK. He's the next man up.

I thought Skinner was more of an OLB filling in for dinged Hightower. I don't know if he is a MLB candidate.

When Siliga/Easley are back healthy, we may go with more 3-4 formation with Jones, Ninko, Hightower, Collins as the LB's. 4-2 on passing downs with Jones and Ninko putting their hand on the ground.

Even if Skinner is the #3 pure LB, he still might not see a lot of playing time.

When they showed a quick glimpse of the guy on the ground I thought it was Ninkovich (the beard, maybe). When they came back and I found it was Mayo, I have to confess that I was a bit relieved. I think Mayo is very solid against the Run, but he looks to have lost a step or 3 in coverage.

In today's NFL, a player like Mayo is just not as important as in the past. I think Collins and Hightower will be out there in Nickel and Skinner will be just fine alongside those two in obvious running situations. Of course, Mayo's toughness and leadership will be missed.

You are way off base on Mayo. He makes the run defense so much better. He is a true sideline to sideline linebacker. Not to be confused with Spikes and his limited range. Mayo will be missed. But somebody needs to step up now.

VJCPatriot said:

You are way off base on Mayo. He makes the run defense so much better. He is a true sideline to sideline linebacker. Not to be confused with Spikes and his limited range. Mayo will be missed. But somebody needs to step up now.

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Don't get me wrong. He's a good player and will be missed. Just saying that I think we can absorb his loss better than if we lost a player on the edge or in the secondary.

Reading between the lines (always a slippery slope, I know) by Matt Patricia from Monday's conference call, it sounds as if the Patriots believe Skinner has a high ceiling based on his athletic ability - but right now is very raw, with a lot that he still needs to learn.

Matt Patricia Conference Call Transcript: 'Communication is the biggest thing we're focused on' | Patriots.com - Oct 13, 2014

letekro said:

When they showed a quick glimpse of the guy on the ground I thought it was Ninkovich (the beard, maybe). When they came back and I found it was Mayo, I have to confess that I was a bit relieved. I think Mayo is very solid against the Run, but he looks to have lost a step or 3 in coverage.

In today's NFL, a player like Mayo is just not as important as in the past. I think Collins and Hightower will be out there in Nickel and Skinner will be just fine alongside those two in obvious running situations. Of course, Mayo's toughness and leadership will be missed.

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Mayo is an every snap player with essentially no limitations. Both Hightower and Collins have significant limitations. Your post gets it just about 180 degrees off.

I agree with all that you say.

However, we succeeded without Mayo at LB last year, and can do so again this year. Last year, we had 2nd year Hightower, rookie Collins and STer Fletcher. This year the first two are more experienced and we have STer Skinner.

Skinner has played reasonably week in the base.

I suppose it is possible to argue that Hightower is still not capable of playing in the sub package. It would seem that he is capable.

To me, the loss of Mayo is a huge loss, but not one that the team is not prepared to deal with. And yes, I would add an additional LB if we can. To me, I would expect that, absent injury, Hightower, Collins and Skinner will get all the LB reps. I understand that a defensive backs may often be playing dime back, or other roles that LB's might sometimes play.
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All this being said, I continue to be disappointed that Belichick allocated so few positions to LB and DE, while keeping six safeties (and continues to keep six safeties). Moore will now need to take some productive reps, especially if Ninkovich plays any linebacker as he did on Sunday.

Deus Irae said:

Mayo is an every snap player with essentially no limitations. Both Hightower and Collins have significant limitations. Your post gets it just about 180 degrees off.

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Deus Irae said:

Mayo is an every snap player with essentially no limitations. Both Hightower and Collins have significant limitations. Your post gets it just about 180 degrees off.

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I don't recall saying that Hightower and Collins don't have limitations. Perhaps you can direct me to those statements. I also don't know what you mean when you say that Mayo does not have limitations. Bottom line, Mayo is a good player. Just because of the nature of his position, however, I think we can absorb his loss easier than we could a boundary corner or edge rusher, even if many would not view them as players on par with Mayo.

letekro said:

I don't recall saying that Hightower and Collins don't have limitations. Perhaps you can direct me to those statements. I also don't know what you mean when you say that Mayo does not have limitations. Bottom line, Mayo is a good player. Just because of the nature of his position, however, I think we can absorb his loss easier than we could a boundary corner or edge rusher, even if many would not view them as players on par with Mayo.

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Mayo can diagnose plays
Mayo can rush the line
Mayo can tackle
Mayo can cover (your claim of him losing up to 3 steps is ridiculous)

That's a big loss, as we saw last season.

mgteich said:

I agree with all that you say.

However, we succeeded without Mayo at LB last year, and can do so again this year. Last year, we had 2nd year Hightower, rookie Collins and STer Fletcher. This year the first two are more experienced and we have STer Skinner.

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You're forgetting Spikes last year. Yes, I know coverage is a weakness for him, but he was a tough, physical run stopper and allowed Collins and Hightower to roam a bit more. There isn't a similar bone crusher alongside Hightower and Collins this year.

mgteich said:

I agree with all that you say.

However, we succeeded without Mayo at LB last year, and can do so again this year. Last year, we had 2nd year Hightower, rookie Collins and STer Fletcher. This year the first two are more experienced and we have STer Skinner.

Skinner has played reasonably week in the base.

I suppose it is possible to argue that Hightower is still not capable of playing in the sub package. It would seem that he is capable.

To me, the loss of Mayo is a huge loss, but not one that the team is not prepared to deal with. And yes, I would add an additional LB if we can. To me, I would expect that, absent injury, Hightower, Collins and Skinner will get all the LB reps. I understand that a defensive backs may often be playing dime back, or other roles that LB's might sometimes play.
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All this being said, I continue to be disappointed that Belichick allocated so few positions to LB and DE, while keeping six safeties (and continues to keep six safeties). Moore will now need to take some productive reps, especially if Ninkovich plays any linebacker as he did on Sunday.

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When Deontae Skinner is your first LB off the bench, that suggest to me that you're unprepared to deal with the loss of a LB. If Hightower can't go on Thursday, either Darius Fleming or a street FA will likely be starting.

Unfortunately, MLB is one of the shallowest positions on the roster.

AzPatsFan said:

I thought Skinner was more of an OLB filling in for dinged Hightower. I don't know if he is a MLB candidate.

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My impression was pretty much the same: that Skinner was the backup OLB and Fleming was the backup ILB. When Fleming was cut for Skinner, it was because Collins wasn't able to play in week 2 (and then Hightower thereafter). With Mayo out now, I'd expect to see them both on the 53.

Something about Skinner seems old school. I think he is going to be alright. He only pissed me off for a short while in the Viking game and has been seemingly solid since. I feel like I am just now getting an idea of what kind of player he is. He played the least out of all the linebackers in the preseason.

BradyFTW! said:

My impression was pretty much the same: that Skinner was the backup OLB and Fleming was the backup ILB. When Fleming was cut for Skinner, it was because Collins wasn't able to play in week 2 (and then Hightower thereafter). With Mayo out now, I'd expect to see them both on the 53.

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Fleming is an OLB

mgteich said:

I agree with all that you say.

However, we succeeded without Mayo at LB last year, and can do so again this year.

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You and I define success quite differently nowadays, perhaps. Outside of seeding, I don't really care about the regular season when we're talking about real success. For the Patriots, football is a 3-4 game (post)season, in terms of defining success or failure.