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Chandler Jones, purely a pass rusher in his first two seasons in the league, is getting a lot of work as a 3-4 outside linebacker in camp. He’s now participating in seven-on-seven drills, and it’s not uncommon to see him chasing tight ends down the field in coverage.
“It’s fun, I enjoy it,” said Jones. “It gives me a chance to get out and run a little bit. I always joke in practice, ‘Oh, I’m Darrelle Revis!’ And everyone laughs.”
http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2...ool-defense/oCGJX7oAlhWPjAADjMnL5I/story.html
The first, and most fundamental, is how he is lining up. As a traditional defensive lineman, he was putting his hand in the dirt, pinning his ears back and getting into the backfield. As an outside linebacker, though, he is starting off standing upright in a two-point stance.
Jones is growing more comfortable with the new position. He has played upright before, but admits he's doing it "a lot more" this year than he's done it in the past. That being said, the coaching staff clearly has confidence in his ability to handle anything they throw his way.
If he keeps having nights like he had on Friday — registering two sacks, one hit, and three tackles for loss — he could be the outside linebacker the Patriots were missing in the years following the departure of Willie McGinest, when they were trying (unsuccessfully) to run the 3-4 defense.
http://www.boston.com/sports/footba...reseason_week_3_notes_chandler_jones_dom.html
I don't know what happened. All preseason and training camp they were grooming Jones to be an OLB and all the sudden, they use him as a DE?