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New England Patriots need to utilize Danny Shelton

By Sam Minton

CHICAGO, IL - APRIL 30: Danny Shelton of the Washington Huskies walks on stage after being picked #12 overall by the Cleveland Browns during the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University on April 30, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - APRIL 30: Danny Shelton of the Washington Huskies walks on stage after being picked #12 overall by the Cleveland Browns during the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University on April 30, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /
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The New England Patriots run defense has been atrocious as of late. It is idiotic to not try and use Danny Shelton to plug up the line.

The New England Patriots defense probably couldn’t stop Kevin Faulk today if he strapped on the pads. New England has looks awful on defense especially when it involves stopping the run. So why are the Patriots not using Danny Shelton?

These last two games have been awful for the Patriots defense. New England has given up almost 350 rushing yards in that time span.

Now, this would be understandable if you were facing Barry Sanders in one week and Walter Payton the next, but the Patriots were facing some subpar talent.

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In Week 14, 35-year-old Frank Gore ran for almost 100 yards. 35 is like 50 in running back years.

What made matters worse was that Brandon Bolden had 2 humongous runs on his former team. Bolden was a special teams guy in New England so this performance came out of left field.

Then in Week 15, Jaylen Samuels ran all over the Patriots defense. Samuels had 19 carries for 142 yards. Now this is bad to begin with, but Samuels hasn’t even been a running back for that long. He went to the NFL combine as a tight end.

So I have no idea why Danny Shelton is sitting on the bench.

Shelton may not be having the best season as he is only getting one or two tackles a game, but he definitely could help the Patriots out at this point.

Obviously since he is well rested, Shelton will be well energized and will be motivated to play better. I bet Shelton would be clogging up the line if given the chance.

Also, Shelton could keep other defensive linemen fresh. Malcolm Brown and Lawrence Guy would get a break every now and then if Shelton played. This should hopefully increase their effectiveness as well.

More James White, more offensive production. dark. Next

The New England Patriots need to fix their defensive woes quickly or else they won’t make it very far in the playoffs.

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