Patriots Gridiron News: Who Steps Up for Alan Branch?

The New England Patriots have a trio of young defensive tackles who must step up in place of top defensive tackle Alan Branch.

As reported earlier in the week, Patriots defensive tackle Alan Branch has been suspended for four games after testing positive for marijuana. The timing couldn’t have come at a worse time for the defense, but could present some long-term positives (no pun intended).

With Branch out the next four games, head coach Bill Belichick and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia will get to see what they have in their young players. Second-year player Malcom Brown will get most of the snaps. He has been solid this year alongside Branch. The 2015 first-round pick will have to show how dominate he can be to help secure the interior of the defensive line.

November 20, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; New England Patriots defensive tackle Vincent Valentine (99) before the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi /

Rookie Vincent Valentine, who has impressed, will see more playing time. He missed three games this season due to a back injury, but if he holds up should provide some solid play in the middle.

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Woodrow Hamilton, another rookie, should also help stabilize the middle. The three players must step up big time if the team hopes to keep opposing running backs from running wild up the middle of the defense. Who steps up will depend on how Patricia and Belichick decide to use each player. They could decide to move an outside defender inside if any of the three players struggle.

As of now, Belichick is approaching it on a game by game basis.

"“Going into the game [play time is] a function of how we determine our roster and how we determine our groupings going into the game based on our game plan and our matchup against our opponent,” Belichick said on Tuesday. “I mean, ultimately the better the players play, the better an individual player plays, the better he performs, the more production he has then the more he’s going to play. I mean, that’s pretty straight forward around here. Everybody knows that and that’s the way it’ll be. It’s my philosophy. Guys that don’t play as well need to improve, need to find a way to be more productive, need to do something to change their playing time, or playing status, or whatever you want to call it and when that happens then things will change.”"

Amendola earns praise: Just because Danny Amendola’s number isn’t called often, doesn’t mean he hasn’t produced to help the team win. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick recognizes Amendola’s clutch catches. He offered praise on Wednesday for the veteran wide receiver’s key contributions.

"“He has his best plays in the most critical situations. He’s been valuable for us,” Belichick said."

Injury report: As reported by WEEI, three players missed practice on Thanksgiving. Those players were Tom Brady (knee), Matthew Slater (foot) and Martellus Bennett (ankle). Both Brady and Slater missed their second consecutive practice.

Tight end Rob Gronkowski (chest) was limited again and it appears that the team will rest him against the New York Jets, although that may not be set in stone. Wide receiver Chris Hogan (back) was also amongst the notables listed as limited. Hogan missed last Sunday’s matchup against the 49ers.

Next: Boston Bruins Sluggish On Thanksgiving And Lose

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