FOXBORO, Mass. — Bill Belichick loves versatility, and the New England Patriots head coach has plenty of it in his linebacker corps.
Dont’a Hightower, Jamie Collins and Jerod Mayo all are adept in run defense, pass coverage and blitzing, which offers Belichick’s defensive game plan plenty of variance. Because of their range of skills, Belichick can line up just three down linemen with his starting linebacker corps in passing situations and still be able to pressure the quarterback.
Each of the Patriots’ starting linebackers has a unique strength in pass-rushing situations.
“(Mayo)’s quick. He’s very athletic and quick. I think he wins more with his quickness and athleticism,” Belichick said Saturday at Gillette Stadium. “He doesn’t have the same kind of power rush that Hightower has and Jamie is pretty unique. He really has a lot of length so he can sometimes swim or arm-over or get underneath some of the 5-10 backs and sometimes even the 6-foot guards kind of thing. He’s also got a lot of explosive power so Jamie has a good combination of quickness, power, athleticism. Hightower does too, but I’d say High has a little more straight out power. He’s even shown that against some of the offensive linemen.
“I think Jerod is probably more of a slippery, instinctive kind of just able to create it that way as opposed to just running over some guys like sometimes Hightower or even Jamie can do. I’m not saying he doesn’t have good power, but it’s just the matchup.”
Hightower has two sacks, five QB hits and seven hurries on the season, while Mayo has a sack, a QB hit and three hurries. Collins hasn’t rushed the quarterback yet this season.
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