{"id":12155,"date":"2017-07-31T08:59:13","date_gmt":"2017-07-31T12:59:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?p=12155"},"modified":"2017-07-31T08:59:13","modified_gmt":"2017-07-31T12:59:13","slug":"ninkovich-retired-steps-edge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2017\/07\/31\/ninkovich-retired-steps-edge\/","title":{"rendered":"With Ninkovich Retired, Who Steps Up on the Edge?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The retirement of Rob Ninkovich on Sunday afternoon was a significant loss for the Patriots in both terms of experience, (he\u2019s been a stalwart on the team for eight years) but in terms of snaps. Other than last year where he missed the first four games and was bothered by his triceps injury all season, he\u2019s always been one of the leaders in snap percentage on the defense.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Patriots lost a lot of combined experience on the edge this season, Ninkovich, Jabaal Sheard and Chris Long are all gone from the 2016 team, a combined 27 years of experience. Now they have as their longest tenured edge player, Trey Flowers who is entering just his third season. <\/span><\/p>\n

We know Flowers is expected to be their main guy this season. We saw over the course of the second half of last season and the playoffs that he was arguably their best defensive lineman. One of the reasons they let Sheard and Long walk was they felt that this was the time for Flowers to shine and they went with youth.<\/span><\/p>\n

So that part was certainly expected. But Ninkovich\u2019s retirement leaves a void in experience and snaps, so who steps up in 2017 to fill the gap and provides the team with the pressure they\u2019ll need?<\/span><\/p>\n

Kony Ealy<\/b> is definitely a guy the team expects big things from in 2017. They made a trade with Carolina to bring in Ealy, who has shown flashes of brilliance at times in his career but has yet to put it together. <\/span>
\n<\/span>The cards are all falling in place for Ealy to get a new jumpstart to his career. He has the most experience of any of the edge players, but he\u2019s only 25 and is entering just his fourth NFL season. Things didn\u2019t get off to a great start at camp for Ealy who missed the first day\u2019s session. When asked about it, he stammered out a response that made it seem that Bill Belichick and he weren\u2019t seeing eye-to-eye on something. It may be nothing, we\u2019ll have to monitor this moving forward.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ealy could team up with Flowers and give the Patriots a young, dynamic 1-2 duo on the edge…if everything plays out. The ball is in his court, and when the team gets back to work on Tuesday morning, Ealy and Flowers will be definitely under the microscope a bit more now.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Derek Rivers after his first training camp practice. (SBalestrieri photo)<\/p><\/div>\n

The team drafted two edge players in <\/span>Derek Rivers<\/b> and <\/span>Deatrich Wise<\/b> in this spring\u2019s NFL Draft. Rivers was their top draft pick and Wise was also taken in the early going. <\/span><\/p>\n

Rivers hasn\u2019t turned heads yet, but we\u2019re really only two padded practices into camp, He\u2019s a rookie and has a steep learning curve, having not played against this level of competition in college, especially with the speed of the NFL game.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rivers arguably has the higher ceiling of the two but he\u2019s in a new defense and admitted on Thursday after the 1st practice session, he\u2019s trying to just react and play his game without having to think about what he needs to do. It is early, and this is what training camp is for.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wise has made some flashes already, the big guy from Arkansas has shown some nice moves and good explosion off the ball in the early going in both one-on-one drills and during full team work. He\u2019s still got a long way to go as well, but thus far, the results have to be encouraging for the coaching staff.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Deatrich Wise has flashed some good explosion in the early going at training camp. (SBalestrieri photo)<\/p><\/div>\n

The team will need at least one if not both rookies to step up a bit this season. The pass rush was so-so for much of the 2016 season although it isn\u2019t about sacks but pressure and being able to influence the opposing quarterback\u2019s decision-making process. If they can get their 3rd and 4th round draft picks involved and productive, it will go a long way.<\/span><\/p>\n

Geneo Grissom<\/b> is the guy who could garner the most impact with Ninkovich\u2019s retirement. He\u2019s been a bit of a disappointment for a 3rd round draft pick, and has had very little impact on defense, instead just being a core special teams\u2019 player.<\/span><\/p>\n

Entering his third campaign, he should see an immediate uptick in snaps now that Ninkovich is retired. Like Ealy, the timing is perfect for Grissom, who, if he\u2019s ever going to make an impact on the field, this should be the time.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Grissom looks to have added extra muscle in Year3, in a pivotal year for the DE. (SBalestrieri photo)<\/p><\/div>\n

Besides the defensive ends, the Patriots also have some linebackers who have shown the ability to rush the quarterback from the edge. <\/span>Dont\u2019a Hightower<\/b> is on PUP right now, but he\u2019s been a very effective blitzer from the outside linebacker position. His sack of Matt Ryan in the Super Bowl was one of the big turning points in the game.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kyle Van Noy <\/b>and <\/span>Shea McClellin <\/b>have also shown the ability to bring pressure on opposing QBs. And both should see some plenty of work in doing that. Rookie Harvey Langi is another LB who could see a role as a blitzer on passing downs. <\/span><\/p>\n

So while Patriots nation, bids a fond farewell to Rob Ninkovich, the business of the NFL takes back over and the Patriots pass rush, while not glaring to the point of being called a weakness, is now an area of concern with #50\u2019s retirement. Their depth took a hit there. And now it is up to the players that are here to step up. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Follow me on Twitter <\/span><\/i>@SteveB7SFG<\/span><\/i><\/a> or email me at <\/span><\/i>stevebpatsfans@gmail.com<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

Listen to our <\/span><\/i>Patriots 4<\/span><\/i>th<\/span><\/i> and 2<\/span><\/i><\/a> podcasts on blog talk radio as the writers Russ Goldman, Derek Havens and I from <\/span><\/i>PatsFans.com<\/span><\/i><\/a> discuss the latest Patriots news Wednesdays at 12 noon.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

But Ninkovich\u2019s retirement leaves a void in experience, so who steps up in 2017 to fill the gap and provides the team with the pressure they\u2019ll 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