Siliga (and the DT situation in general)

[jah]

I'm not sure how the snap counts ended up, but it looked like Siliga was on the field a lot. Interesting that they'd play him over Vellano, who has been starting for most of the season, and Sopoaga, who they actively went out and traded for and plays the same role as Siliga.

And I'm not really complaining, either, because he looked like he was doing a good job filling up space and taking over the nose tackle role.

I really have no idea what the defensive tackle depth chart could look like at this point. Seems like Jones is the guy who will be on the field for the most snaps, but besides that, how are Vellano/Siliga/Sopoaga ordered? Looks like a pretty even rotation, but if Siliga can build off this, I think the team would be better off playing him than Vellano (too small to take up space) and Sopoaga (the same type of player as Siliga but already lost snaps to him).

Of course, I could be completely wrong in my observations, being that I didn't pay very close attention to the second half of the game out of frustration. But at least the beginning of the game looked as if Siliga was one of the top DTs on the depth chart and holding up surprisingly well.

 

[IllegalContact]

I think they're rotating bodies to figure out the best lineup. outside of the gordon run and the campbell scrambles, the run defense was pretty effective.

 

[Sticky Caulk]

Vellano has looked straight up horrid the past few weeks.

 

[Sciz]

Siliga was awful against the Texans, but on first look he appeared to hold his own today. It looks like he has clearly passed Vellano, and both are ahead of Sopoaga. It wouldn't surprise me if it turns out that Chris Jones played every snap or close to it again.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Siliga was awful against the Texans, but on first look he appeared to hold his own today. It looks like he has clearly passed Vellano, and both are ahead of Sopoaga. It wouldn't surprise me if it turns out that Chris Jones played every snap or close to it again.

FWIW, according to the Pats roster:

Sopoaga: 6'2", 330
Siliga: 6'2", 325
Jones: 6'2", 302
Vellano: 6'2", 300

 

[unoriginal]

They brought Siliga up originally because another team was trying to sign him (and Forston didn't do anything to stick). Then they gave him equal snaps to Sopoaga against the Texans and while he didn't command many double-teams or beat any single blocks they must have liked what they saw from him enough technique-wise to take a longer look at him.

There have been plenty of instances of the Pats signing a DL for a game, giving him a few snaps then cutting him the next day. So the fact that Siliga got substantial snaps the second week, and the Browns didn't run him over, is pretty encouraging.

If he and Soap are roughly the same at this point, I'd play Siliga predominantly because he's younger, fresher, and likely to improve with experience.

 

[RayClay]

They brought Siliga up originally because another team was trying to sign him (and Forston didn't do anything to stick). Then they gave him equal snaps to Sopoaga against the Texans and while he didn't command many double-teams or beat any single blocks they must have liked what they saw from him enough technique-wise to take a longer look at him.

There have been plenty of instances of the Pats signing a DL for a game, giving him a few snaps then cutting him the next day. So the fact that Siliga got substantial snaps the second week, and the Browns didn't run him over, is pretty encouraging.

If he and Soap are roughly the same at this point, I'd play Siliga predominantly because he's younger, fresher, and likely to improve with experience.

I always enjoy your take on line play. Hope you post more. More knowledge and less hysteria on line play would be welcome

 

[RobertWeathers]

Vellano has looked straight up horrid the past few weeks.

I'm no expert but maybe he is wearing down a little.

He does seem to be getting pushed out of position a lot. Could be an issue of fatigue. A rookie DT playing 50 snaps a game is a lot to ask for. He also isn't getting the kind of pressure on the QB that he has earlier in the year.

All in all, hes done well this year. With an offseason I'd like to see how he evolves and develops more strength and stamina

 

[manxman2601]

Siliga was awful against the Texans, but on first look he appeared to hold his own today. It looks like he has clearly passed Vellano, and both are ahead of Sopoaga. It wouldn't surprise me if it turns out that Chris Jones played every snap or close to it again.

He had a bit of a rest yesterday, was given 11 snaps off.

 

[Brady6]

These are the snaps for yesterday’s game:

DE Chandler Jones – 76 of 76
DE Rob Ninkovich – 76 of 76
S Devin McCourty – 75 of 76
CB Aqib Talib – 75 of 76
S Steve Gregory – 66 of 76
DT Chris Jones – 65 of 76
LB Dont'a Hightower – 58 of 76
LB Jamie Collins – 55 of 76
NT Sealver Siliga – 53 of 76
CB Logan Ryan – 51 of 76
LB Brandon Spikes – 47 of 76
CB Kyle Arrington – 32 of 76
LB Dane Fletcher – 32 of 76
CB Alfonzo Dennard – 25 of 76
DT Joe Vellano – 22 of 76
S Duron Harmon – 16 of 76
DE Andre Carter – 11 of 76
NT Isaac Sopoaga – 2 of 76

Vellano and Sopoaga both have appeared to fall out of favor.

 

[resdubwhite]

interesting looking at the cap costs for Vince, Tommy Kelly and Sopoaga next year.

over 16 mill. I think its fair to say Vince is back on a renegotiated deal.
Kelly and Sopoaga less likely to be around. A position where if any of the young un's really stick and an early draft pick catches on next year where we can make some big savings against the cap.

Was it Siliga that pushed the guard a good 7 or 8 metres into Campbell. If so. Major props.

 

[BelichickFan]

Was it Siliga that pushed the guard a good 7 or 8 metres into Campbell. If so. Major props.

Here you go (yes it was him) :

http://nesncom.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/siliga.gif

It was just the awful running Browns but this PFF guy (I know, PFF, but he's presumably watched it over, unlike me) seems to like Siliga :

Sam Monson ‏@PFF_Sam 39m Btw, the #Patriots might have stumbled into a real gem in DT Sealver Siliga. Was a real force against the run vs CLV.

 

[unoriginal]

Here you go (yes it was him) :

http://nesncom.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/siliga.gif

It was just the awful running Browns but this PFF guy (I know, PFF, but he's presumably watched it over, unlike me) seems to like Siliga :

Sam Monson ‏@PFF_Sam 39m Btw, the #Patriots might have stumbled into a real gem in DT Sealver Siliga. Was a real force against the run vs CLV.

Thanks for the gif. Shows many interesting things:
(1) The Browns triple-team (!) Chris Jones.
(2) They chip on Chandler Jones with the running back to help out Joe Thomas.
(3) Siliga gets single-blocked, along with Ninkovich and Collins, but actually does something about it.

If and when Siliga starts drawing some double-teams (and holding against them) I'm excited to see what Chris Jones can do on the inside.

 

[Get it shawtaay]

The guy getting driven back in that gif was RT Mitchell Schwartz.

Vellano has been a terrible liability and I don't think it has much to do with fatigue. He's very small for a defensive tackle. Built to rush the passer not stuff gaps. So is Chris Jones. You simply can't play them together and expect anything better than the "matador run defense".

On the other hand, Siliga was very good. Immovable, decent idea where the ball is. Cleveland's line excels vs. the pass rush but has struggled to run block all season long, so it may not be indicative of long-term value. But after yesterday I'd be shocked if he loses the starting job to Vellano or Sopoaga (who the coaching staff seems little interested to involve, and when he's been on the field he hasn't given them any reason to).

 

[TheTruth3402]

Snap count http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/new-england-patriots/post/_/id/4754916/snaps-siliga-holds-his-own-at-nose-tackle

C Jones: 65/76
Siliga: 53/76
Vellano: 22/76
Sopoaga: 2/76

Looks like Siliga has leapfrogged Vellano significantly.

Also, Sopoaga's fall from stud NT on the 9ers to now not being able to get snaps with this group is pretty incredible.

 

[manxman2601]

Thanks for the gif. Shows many interesting things:
(1) The Browns triple-team (!) Chris Jones.
(2) They chip on Chandler Jones with the running back to help out Joe Thomas.
(3) Siliga gets single-blocked, along with Ninkovich and Collins, but actually does something about it.

If and when Siliga starts drawing some double-teams (and holding against them) I'm excited to see what Chris Jones can do on the inside.

And Collins crashing down which is a bit of a theme in helping out the DTs in the run game.

 

[Get it shawtaay]

Snap count Snaps: Siliga holds his own at nose tackle - New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston

C Jones: 65/76
Siliga: 53/76
Vellano: 22/76
Sopoaga: 2/76

Looks like Siliga has leapfrogged Vellano significantly.

Also, Sopoaga's fall from stud NT on the 9ers to now not being able to get snaps with this group is pretty incredible.

Its not that surprising. There's a reason we were able to trade essentially nothing to get him. He sucks.

And he's never been close to a stud NT, just a high-end JAG. If we bracketed Chris Jones with Justin Smith and Ray McDonald he'd look pretty mean himself.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Anything that keeps Vellano off the field is completely fine with me. For the past few weeks he's looked like our worst DT and the primary culprit for our woes against the run. I'd rather have a run-stopper on the field than Vellano, who doesn't really do anything well. Siliga is simply better than Vellano.

Also, I just found out that Siliga is only 23 and we have the same birthday. Sounds good to me, I'm aboard the bandwagon.

 

[JackBauer]

Snap count Snaps: Siliga holds his own at nose tackle - New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston

C Jones: 65/76
Siliga: 53/76
Vellano: 22/76
Sopoaga: 2/76

Looks like Siliga has leapfrogged Vellano significantly.

Also, Sopoaga's fall from stud NT on the 9ers to now not being able to get snaps with this group is pretty incredible.

Collins with 55 snaps. Hard not to be excited about that.

 

[TheTruth3402]

Collins with 55 snaps. Hard not to be excited about that.

The joys of having a linebacker who isn't a complete liability in pass coverage!