New England Patriots: 3 defenders who need to step up in Week 4
By Sam Minton
The New England Patriots defense couldn’t stop a 5th-grade offense on Sunday night. These 3 guys will need to step up if the Pats want to win.
Even though we all want to, we can’t forget what happened in Week 3. The New England Patriots defense played terribly. If you can’t stop the Detroit Lions you have some problems.
It wasn’t just the run game or the secondary. Everyone had a terrible game.
If the Patriots want to have a successful season they need to have a much better effort. If they have a similar performance in Week 4 the crowd at Gillette Stadium will be booing by halftime.
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So here are 3 defenders who need to step up in Week 4.
1. Dont’a Hightower
A guy that used to be the pillar of the New England Patriots defense now looks like he belongs in a retirement home. So far this season Dont’a Hightower has looked slow and a shell of his former self.
The Patriots need Hightower to be on top of his game. He was supposed to be the Patriots best linebacker this season. That definitely hasn’t been the case.
Hightower needs to be able to tackle guys in the open field and keep up with opposing players. The Dolphins will run rampant over the Patriots defense if Hightower continues to struggle.
If Hightower doesn’t perform well I think the Patriots may try to move on from the veteran linebacker.
Adrian Clayborn
Adrian Clayborn was brought in to be a playmaker. He definitely hasn’t been so far this season.
Clayborn was supposed to be racking up sacks and causing chaos in the backfield but is struggling so far. The defensive end is missing easy tackles, running by defenders, and has yet to land a sack.
The New England Patriots need Clayborn to be causing pressure. We saw how much the Patriots rely on Trey Flowers to cause pressure. Deatrich Wise was the only d-lineman to have a successful night. If the Patriots can have Clayborn on the left and Wise or Flowers on the right causing pressure, it could cause problems for opposing offenses.
When the Patriots defense causes pressure it can lead to turnovers and those can change the landscape of any game.
Also, I want Clayborn to start getting some tackles for loss and making sure running backs don’t get by him. The Patriots can’t be giving up 4 or 5 yards everytime the opposing team hands the ball off.
If Clayborn continues to struggle fans will begin to wonder why we acquired the defensive end in the first place.