When a player is benched, he can respond in one of two ways. He can sulk and feel sorry for himself, or he can make a conscious effort to improve.
It appears Jabaal Sheard did the latter.
Two weeks after sitting out as a healthy scratch for the first time in his career, the New England Patriots defensive end turned in arguably his best performance of the season, recording four tackles, one quarterback hit and three pass breakups Sunday in a 26-10 win over the Los Angeles Rams at Gillette Stadium.
“We know he can rush the passer,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said Monday in a conference call with reporters. “The coverage plays were pretty impressive.”
The Patriots shook up their defensive game plan against the Rams, utilizing more creative blitzes and dropping down linemen into coverage more often than usual. Sheard succeeded at invading rookie quarterback Jared Goff’s passing lanes, and his three passes defended equaled his total from his first 23 games in a Patriots uniform.
“It could be a season for a defensive lineman with the number of balls he had his hands on,” Belichick said. “Very impressive awareness and getting depth to get into the passing lanes, playing the ball. When you drop defensive linemen into coverage, you generally don’t get a lot of production from them in coverage. They take up some space, and usually a quarterback doesn’t want to throw the ball in the area where somebody’s standing. But in terms of making plays on the ball, they don’t generally make a lot of them.”
Sheard also had a hand — literally — in one of the Patriots’ two interceptions. He got pressure on Goff and smacked the young QB’s arm as he released a pass, which fluttered into the hands of linebacker Kyle Van Noy.
“That was a good (job) by Jabaal (on Sunday),” Belichick said. “He rushed well, played the ball well. He’s had a couple of good weeks here, so it’s good to see him string them together.”
The Patriots’ defense as a whole played well Sunday, holding the Rams’ anemic offense to 162 total yards from scrimmage. Sixty-five of those yards came on L.A.’s final possession, which culminated in the only touchdown New England allowed all afternoon.
Chris Long leads resurgent Patriots pass rush >>
Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images’
