pass rush gone?

[long distance]

with CJ and Easley gone - what will the pass rush look like in 2016
and how it will affect the secondary?

last offseason there were tons of doubts/fear about weak CB position
but signing of Sheard hinted improved pass rush would help

i really looked forward last year to finnaly see some serious NE pass rush
its nothing more painful than to wait an eternity for the opposite offence to strike
(especially if your OL cant give your QB 2 seconds)

for sure it was not only the development of Butler (and partly Ryan)
that showed our secondary and CB in particular better than expected

with young and explosive talent now suddenly gone
the effect of sheard might get diminished as well (drawing more attention)
and Butler and Ryan might face a load too heavy
i feel there might be a serious reality check coming their way
(i do trust butler is special but some of his limitations might get exposed)

 

[DarrylS]

Because the ever absent Easley was released does not mean we are doomed.. his release is probably for a very good reason we will never know about.. none of this random and designed to hurt this team.

BB has some sort of plan for all of this, the Pats will still win between 12 & 13 regular season games..

 

[long distance]

Because the ever absent Easley was released does not mean we are doomed.. his release is probably for a very good reason we will never know about.. none of this random and designed to hurt this team.

BB has some sort of plan for all of this, the Pats will still win between 12 & 13 regular season games..

doomed?
who's talking about doomed?
can a guy ask a question here?
or is it a religion and period.

 

[Ivan]

doomed?
who's talking about doomed?
can a guy ask a question here?
or is it a religion and period.

I get the question but you are asking if their pass rush is gone after they let go of a guy who averaged 12.5 tackles and 1.5 sacks a season. Most of us had high hopes for him but that's all it was........ Hope, not actual production. Jones is another story because he was a productive pass rusher, however they have addressed the D Line heavily in free agency and will probably add another in the draft. Ultimately I don't think it will make to much of a difference and their defense will be very good this season. I won't be surprised to see Long take some of the snaps Easely took inside with Sheard or Flowers at End in rushing situations.

 

[convertedpatsfan]

I thought Jones was a bit over-rated. He had 10.5 sacks in his first 9 games, mostly against crappy teams (3 against Buffalo, 2.5 against the Colts, 2 against Miami), then only had 3 sacks the rest of the way (2 against the terrible Titans, 1 in the playoffs against the Chiefs). Against good teams that planned for him, he consistently disappeared. Several of those were not really his, as he cleaned up good penetration from others.

The guy I haven't heard about is Hicks. He had 3 sacks in limited time and consistently got a good push against the pocket. He created sacks for others by moving the QB off his spot and his loss may be felt more in the long-run with Easley gone. Hopefully Brown continues to develop. He is obviously 2-gapping, yet started to push the pocket more consistently down the stretch.

 

[JayNM]

Jones will be missed, but I agree with converted: He would often disappear in big games. I am curious to see if Sheard can take over for him. He was awesome last year, but he had a much simpler task than Jones.

I'll say again: Easley could have had the capacity of putting us over the top Pass-Rushing-wise, however he was never missed in those last seasons. The thing is that Hicks was really good here, but he ain't here no more. His production needs to be replaced somehow.

I wonder how much progress we'll see from Flowers, Rufus Johnson and Grigson, specially the latter. I remember him lining up in the inside, so maybe he is the disruptive force that we now need.

 

[BTTA]

...the Pats will still win between 12 & 13 regular season games..

12.5 ??
12.34159265359 ??

 

[slash83]

Gone? No, took a hit, yes. Not cause of losing Easley though he was barely on the field. Losing Jones as inconsistent as he was will have an impact, how big of an impact? Time will tell.

 

[Mack Herron]

In Jones, Hicks and Easley, they lost significant pass rushing ability. While they have potentially capable replacements on the outside, the inside rush has taken a hit. How it will all fall out remains to be seen.

 

[TheRazorsEdge]

Why are leaving #54 and #91 out of the discussion....both were extremely effective in pass rush last year.

I also believe Sheard is as capable as Jones. Easley will be missed, that's a freakish talent...but we did just fine without him.

 

[IllegalContact]

addition by subtraction

 

[Kontradiction]

I'm a little worried about it. Not just because of Easley, but the Pats also lost a lot of production when Jones and Hicks left. Sheard had a very good year but that was also the best year of his career as well and he was facing more one on one's with Jones and Hicks on the same DL. Without those three, the Pats have lost almost 18 sacks. That's why I think they have to DL early in the draft now.

 

[aluminum seats]

I'm a little worried about it. Not just because of Easley, but the Pats also lost a lot of production when Jones and Hicks left. Sheard had a very good year but that was also the best year of his career as well and he was facing more one on one's with Jones and Hicks on the same DL. Without those three, the Pats have lost almost 18 sacks. That's why I think they have to DL early in the draft now.

That's pretty much where I am. It was sort of nice not to have to focus there in the draft, but football begins and ends on the lines, so they've got to make that a priority.

Put it this way, running back has dropped in importance in the draft.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

Go DL early in the draft and i will be fine with it

 

[VectorPrime]

Some people are missing the point by saying that it's no big deal that Easley is gone since he played so little to begin with. I supported trading Jones because players like Easley were going to be a large factor in mitigating the the loss of Jones' production. Now that he is gone as well we are running short of talented bodies on the defensive line.

 

[IllegalContact]

 

[scott99]

Hicks had 3 sacks and Easley had 2, I think as a pass rush, those 5 sacks can be replaced. Jones' 12.5 may be tough to replace with one guy. But I have faith in Flowers and Grissom that along with Sheard, Ninkovich, Collins, and maybe even Long can make up for those sack numbers. A guy like Rufus Johnson may even surprise us.

Pat's had 49 sacks last year, those lost accounted for 17.5, I think those can be replaced.

 

[Reckedtrek]

Bill makes mistakes like anyone else, but more often than not when it comes to building a team he has a plan and that plan works. Or at least works well enough to get us to the playoffs almost every year. I think the last 16 years or so indicate that we shouldn't worry too much at this point. It's only mid April!

Bill knows better than all of us combined about the development and expectations of guys like Trey Flowers, Rufus Johnson... we've had a few FA signings, the draft is coming, trades can still happen, not to mention player development over the last year. There is still a lot to go through before we see who takes the field in September. And even then the roster will change as the season moves along.

Could our pass rush suck? Sure it could. But I don't think it will aside from the obvious injury situation throughout the season.

 

[Nunchucks]

It isn't the sacks that will be missed as much as the pressure. Easley was excellent at getting pressure up the middle, something the Patriots really need and now very much lack. Jones was another guy that generally got consistent pressure. I thought the trade of Jones was a reasonable decision.

I don't know how the Patriots replace Easley or whatever he would have brought the pass rush. One of the factors that made the Jones trade bearable was Easley could also play on the edge in pass rush situations.

Patriots need some help here. But, supposedly lots of depth in the draft.

 

[archstanton543]

Yup. Best just to forfeit this season and move onto 2017.