New England Patriots: Trey Flowers aims to be even better in 2017
New England Patriots defensive end Trey Flowers had a breakout year in 2016, but aims to be even better in 2017.
Following a productive sophomore season in the NFL, New England Patriots defensive end Trey Flowers knows he still has some improving to do.
The Arkansas product blossomed into one of the team’s best pass rushers in 2016. He capped off the season with 2.5 sacks in Super Bowl LI. One of those sacks enabled the Patriots to complete the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history.
His ability to get to Matt Ryan on a critical third-down took the Atlanta Falcons out of field goal range, which could’ve all but clinched the victory for dirty birds. It was a big play that punctuated the type of player and hunger Flowers possesses. That hunger is greater now entering his third NFL season.
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The young defensive end is already putting the big game behind him. Despite capitalizing on a few opportunities, he knows there are some plays he missed. That is his mentality entering the 2017 season.
"“I’ve got that mentality coming into the season,” Flowers said following a Patriots’ voluntary workout last week, via The Boston Herald. “Any opportunity I’ve got, I want to improve on being more productive. This will be my first time coming in and being able to produce at a high level. Being able to understand my role; I know my role now. Being able to live in that role, I’m looking forward to it. I’m going to stay hungry.”"
Basking in his Super Bowl LI success, Trey Flowers will likely have a bigger role this season. With veteran defensive ends Chris Long and Jabaal Sheard now elsewhere, Flowers is now the team’s top pass rusher along with aging hybrid defensive end Rob Ninkovich.
Related Story: Patriots Heroes: Trey Flowers Blossoms on the Super Bowl Stage
Big star potential
After leading the team in sacks, he really has an opportunity to blossom even brighter, but the hard work, motivation and conditioning must remain on a high level. Especially now that opposing teams will begin game planning for him.
"“Coming off of last year, I know a lot of guys are going to start looking at me now,” Flowers said. “A year ago, they probably weren’t paying much attention to me. They’re going to start studying me, game-planning me, and I watch film trying to see how I can counter off a move that they might be expecting. You’ve got to deal with it if they’re going to game plan for you, if they’re going to double team you. You’ve still got to remain productive, and that’s one of the reasons why I’m hard on myself.”"
The 2015 fourth-round draft pick also credited confidence as the main nutrients of his success. He battled a shoulder injury in his rookie season that stalled his progress. However, through the hard work he put in and motivation, he took advantage of the opportunity he was given and progressed into a solid contributor.
The team is hoping Flowers rubs off on newly-acquired defensive end Kony Ealy, who ironically had a similar type of performance as Flowers did in Super Bowl 50. The Patriots are also hoping he has an impact on 2017 third-round pick Derek Rivers and fourth-round pick Deatrich Wise.
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Both defensive ends were drafted with similar skill sets to that of Flowers.