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Dont'a Hightower dominates on 'D' | Boston Herald
I think this is what we all hoped he would grow into when he was drafted, and pretty much everyone who's done game breakdowns here has made a point of highlighting his efforts so far. Going into this season, I considered Hightower to be a relative disappointment, to date, based on his draft position. But over the past three games he's more than exceeded expectations, IMO. He's quickly becoming a game-changer on D, to the point that IMO he should rank right up there with Jones and Mayo as a disruptive force in the front seven that needs to be accounted for on every play.
Consider the potential for information overload. During the Raiders’ first seven passing plays of Sunday’s game against the Patriots, linebacker Dont’a Hightower had six different types of assignments.
He dropped into coverage as a 3-4 outside linebacker, dropped again as a nickel linebacker, rushed the passer from a defensive tackle position in the nickel, blitzed as a 3-4 inside linebacker, covered a running back as a 3-4 inside linebacker and dropped into coverage as a 4-3 outside linebacker.
And on and on it went throughout the day. Hightower has quickly emerged as the Patriots’ most versatile defensive player in their first three games. Against the Raiders, he had a dozen different responsibilities when combining his position and assignment with a particular defensive front.
He dropped into coverage as a 3-4 outside linebacker, dropped again as a nickel linebacker, rushed the passer from a defensive tackle position in the nickel, blitzed as a 3-4 inside linebacker, covered a running back as a 3-4 inside linebacker and dropped into coverage as a 4-3 outside linebacker.
And on and on it went throughout the day. Hightower has quickly emerged as the Patriots’ most versatile defensive player in their first three games. Against the Raiders, he had a dozen different responsibilities when combining his position and assignment with a particular defensive front.
I think this is what we all hoped he would grow into when he was drafted, and pretty much everyone who's done game breakdowns here has made a point of highlighting his efforts so far. Going into this season, I considered Hightower to be a relative disappointment, to date, based on his draft position. But over the past three games he's more than exceeded expectations, IMO. He's quickly becoming a game-changer on D, to the point that IMO he should rank right up there with Jones and Mayo as a disruptive force in the front seven that needs to be accounted for on every play.
