Which Patriots LB will have the best season?

[supafly]

I'm guessing that all 3 will see time at the MLB position, simply due to Belichick preparing them in case of different looks/alignments, as well as emergency situations due to injury.

It's certainly an important enough position to the overall defense, that we can't be totally caught off guard when someone becomes injured.

I think sometimes we can look into certain things that happen in TC + OTAs and write them off as emergency preparation. Of course there's also many things that may lead to the actual alignments in the regular season as well. We won't really know until we see a handful of games go by in the month of Septemeber.

I would expect Collins to play the strong side, Mayo the weak side, and Hightower the middle---but that's just our fan consensus. Belichick may see different talents in those players, and adjust accordingly. I'll have to admit though, that we do have several alignments that could work out quite nicely.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Gun to my head, I will say Collins because he showed at the end of last season that he has the potential to be an elite LB and possibly even the best LB in the league at some point. I am hopeful he will reach that pinnacle, but it isn't even close to guaranteed he will be close to that. So I am betting he will be about 80% of that which will make him the best LB on the team.

Given what we know about Mayo, if we actually have to ask if Collins is better at season's end. . . .

 

[Brady6]

Who played MLB? Mayo? Could be, I suppose.

I don't think OTA means a hell of a lot as far as where people play, but it was a serious question.

Personally, I cannot see any reason why it would not be Mayo; I am not sure why anyone ever thought Hightower would be the MLB. Hightower does not fit at MLB in a 4-3, he could potentially play SILB in a 3-4, but in a 4-3, he fits best at the SAM.

Mayo on the other hand is a great fit, a sure tackler, he had 175 tackles in 2010 playing ILB, the thought was to move him outside and allow him to become more of a playmaker however, that never truly took shape, and now they have Collins who appears to be able to be that type of player for them. Mayo moves back to the Ray Lewis sideline-to-sideline position; Collins plays the weak side and is the coverage LB and Hightower sees more time as a pass rusher on the strong side.

The stunts they could pull with Hightower and Ninkovich coming off the left side, they could drop Ninkovich into coverage and rush Hightower, or Jones and Collins both coming off the right side. Mayo is a great player, very solid and very productive, but he is a LB and does not offer a ton of pass rush ability, Hightower and Collins both have experiences playing DE.

 

[Brady6]

James Anderson should really help, he is coming off a very productive season with Chicago – 102 tackles (85 solo), 4 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, 3 pass defenses, 9 run stuffs. That is more tackles, solo tackles, sacks, and run stuffs than any of our LBs last season.

 

[RayClay]

Personally, I cannot see any reason why it would not be Mayo; I am not sure why anyone ever thought Hightower would be the MLB.

The stunts they could pull with Hightower and Ninkovich coming off the left side, they could drop Ninkovich into coverage and rush Hightower, or Jones and Collins both coming off the right side. Mayo is a great player, very solid and very productive, but he is a LB and does not offer a ton of pass rush ability, Hightower and Collins both have experiences playing DE.

He played MLB at Alabama in the 4-3, besides ILB and DE.

 

[leehanu]

I would say either of Mayo or Hightower or Collins will have best season. But I voted for James Anderson because I think he will have a better season than expected while others are expected to do well.

 

[PatsBoy12]

More Colllins hype:

Definitely bigger and likely badder, Patriots linebacker Jamie Collins tuned up this offseason for a breakout sophomore campaign.

Collins hardly ever left the field when the first-team defense was deployed during organized team activities and minicamp, a sure sign he is being viewed as a three-down player who should improve upon his late-season surge as a rookie in 2013. His rapid development was a bright spot on an injury-depleted defense, and now he’s expected to progress even further in a more prominent role.

http://bostonherald.com/sports/patr...jamie_collins_bulks_up_for_more_time_on_field


I, for one, am just excited about all three doing different things but working together to become the core of the defensive unit and allowing BB to deploy them in all kinds of different positions from week-to-week.

 

[Kontradiction]

Until Collins proves that he can play every game like he did against Indy in the divisional round, it's got to be Mayo. It's going to be great to have him back in the fold.

 

[TatupuMoose]

No idea really. I voted Collins, but in the end all I know is I'm damn excited for the defense this season.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Probably Mayo, since he's already awesome. We don't have to project improvement for him to be a really, really good LB. Collins could end up being better as early as this year, but I don't see it happening so quickly unless Mayo really struggles coming back from injury.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Hightower is far from perfect in coverage. But if you actually watched all 22 tape yoy would see that he is much, much better than Spikes in coverage

I don't know if I would say *much* better. He's better, particularly at chasing TEs and RBs across the field on shallow crossing routes (althought that's something that in an ideal world neither of them would ever have to do), but he's not a major coverage upgrade overall.

The huge upgrade will come in that we'll no longer have Spikes AND Hightower on the field together. I've long maintained that you can hide one linebackers' coverage deficiencies, especially if someone like Collins is playing next to him. But you can't hide two. Spikes at MLB and Hightower at OLB just guaranteed that the LBs would suck in coverage, period.

 

[Brady6]

He played MLB at Alabama in the 4-3, besides ILB and DE.

Saben play’s a 3-4.

 

[RayClay]

Saben play’s a 3-4.

Not when he's playing a 4-3 and Hightower or Mcclain played the MLB

 

[Ivan]

Until Collins proves that he can play every game like he did against Indy in the divisional round, it's got to be Mayo. It's going to be great to have him back in the fold.

I'm expecting the LB play to the best we have seen since the McGinest/Bruschi/ Phifer years.

 

[Ivan]

I'm guessing that all 3 will see time at the MLB position, simply due to Belichick preparing them in case of different looks/alignments, as well as emergency situations due to injury.

It's certainly an important enough position to the overall defense, that we can't be totally caught off guard when someone becomes injured.

I think sometimes we can look into certain things that happen in TC + OTAs and write them off as emergency preparation. Of course there's also many things that may lead to the actual alignments in the regular season as well. We won't really know until we see a handful of games go by in the month of Septemeber.

I would expect Collins to play the strong side, Mayo the weak side, and Hightower the middle---but that's just our fan consensus. Belichick may see different talents in those players, and adjust accordingly. I'll have to admit though, that we do have several alignments that could work out quite nicely.

LB units don't usually change positions very much but Belichick could be looking to do just that and go with gameplan LB units that change the Mike, Sam and Will according to the offense they are facing. it would be unusual but i wouldn't put it past him.

 

[Brady6]

LB units don't usually change positions very much but Belichick could be looking to do just that and go with gameplan LB units that change the Mike, Sam and Will according to the offense they are facing. it would be unusual but i wouldn't put it past him.

Over the past few seasons we have toggled between a 4-3 over and a 4-3 under, in the under Hightower had played the SAM, and Mayo the WILL with Spikes as the MIKE. In the over Hightower was the WILL, Mayo was the SAM, and Spikes remained at the MIKE. I think they will continue to do that with Collins and Hightower each mixing up the WILL and SAM responsibilities, if they will rotate the MIKE as well would be something interesting to watch for.

 

[Kontradiction]

I'm expecting the LB play to the best we have seen since the McGinest/Bruschi/ Phifer years.

It will be if health prevails and if Hightower either moves to DE or stays at Mike full time.

 

[Brady6]

Not when he's playing a 4-3 and Hightower or Mcclain played the MLB

He never plays a 4-3, he uses the 3-4 exclusively, it may give looks of a 4-3 but the principles are that of a 3-4, Hightower and McClain both played SILB in his scheme.

 

[Brady6]

It will be if health prevails and if Hightower either moves to DE or stays at Mike full time.

Why do you want to put Hightower at the MIKE? He was actually very productive in his rookie season as the SAM LB, he had 4 sacks and 6 run stuffs that year playing close to the line of scrimmage. It would seem to me that moving him off the line to the WILL last season was what caused him to be less productive. Hightower is a 265lb LB he belongs as at the 4-3 SAM or 3-4 SOLB, him playing the MIKE is less than ideal.

 

[Kontradiction]

Why do you want to put Hightower at the MIKE? He was actually very productive in his rookie season as the SAM LB, he had 4 sacks and 6 run stuffs that year playing close to the line of scrimmage. It would seem to me that moving him off the line to the WILL last season was what caused him to be less productive. Hightower is a 265lb LB he belongs as at the 4-3 SAM or 3-4 SOLB, him playing the MIKE is less than ideal.

Because he is asked to do more in coverage at either the Will or the Sam than he will be at the Mike. Asking Hightower to cover more does not play to his strengths.