FOXBORO -- Rob Ninkovich was a punch line in a Patriots jersey.
His presence in New England seemed only a symptom of the Adalius Thomas problem. Was the relationship so rotten between Thomas and his team that a discarded Saints long snapper, a Miami practice squad cast-off, would be a step up?
Apparently.
Not even Bill Belichick was aware of Ninkovich’s potential.
“I don’t really know what our expectations were when we got him,’’ the Patriots coach admitted. “We had an extra spot, so we brought him in and he started playing and took advantage of his opportunities. So, he carved out a special role for himself and Rob’s gotten better over the two years that he’s been here.
“When we first got him, it was kind of a last-minute thing – get a guy in here for training camp and all that. There wasn’t really a lot of preparation put into the signing other than by Nick [Caserio] and Jason Licht and our personnel department, they got who they felt was the best player available at that position.”
And look who’s laughing now.
Ninkovich’s fifth season in the NFL has been his best. The linebacker has 45 tackles and 17 assists, 4.0 sacks and two interceptions in 16 games for the Patriots. He’s started 10 games, including a Week 4 New England win over his old team in Miami. That night, Ninkovich sacked Chad Henne and recorded his first two career interceptions.
In the regular season finale against the Dolphins, Ninkovich beat his chest a little bit with four tackles -- three for a loss -- two sacks and a fumble recovery. If there were still any doubts about Rob Ninkovich’s role, they can now share the casket with Miami’s season.
Those who know him best aren’t surprised with his recent success. Mark Hagen, who worked with Ninkovich as a defensive coach at Purdue, believes it was inevitable.
“Rob is probably one of the hardest workers I’ve ever been around,’’ Hagen said. “I’ve been in college football for 15 years and I can probably only put one other guy in his category in terms of how hard he works and how hard he plays. He’s the type of guy that never takes a down off and you can’t really say that about a lot of players.
“He’s had some adversity here and in the years leading up to his time in New England, but none of his accomplishments surprise me, knowing the type of guy he is. There’s nothing that’s going to stand in his way. Once he sets a goal he’s going to find his way to reach it.’’
His chance arose in 2009 with some help from another player's fall from grace. Thomas was reaching the apex of unhappiness in New England. The linebacker clashed with his coach, refusing to admit that his lessened role reflected decreased productivity. An especially poor performance in the Patriots’ Week 5 loss to Denver was rock bottom for Thomas. Ninkovich saw opportunity.
“Last year I was just doing the special-teams thing all year, whatever I could do on defense,’’ Ninkovich explained. “Obviously, I was excited; AD was ‘the guy.’ I was just patiently waiting to have an opportunity to get out on the field. I think Denver was my first play and it was a sack so it was pretty cool.”
