12 November, 2019
Lewiston, Maine, 1:23am
In all of my years
watching the New England Patriots, I don't ever remember a newly-signed wide
receiver fit so quickly into the offensive flow as did Mohamed Sanu on Sunday
night.
The man absolutely floats
when crossing the middle of the field, and has a fine feel for the dead spots
in zone coverages, gets big, snatches the ball out of the air and immediately
turns upfield. In other words, the man is a fundamentally sound professional – a far cry from
what the Patriots have waiting in the wings, should he have not be traded for a
couple of weeks ago.
Not that there's not
talent in waiting, but the combination of rookies N'Keal Harry and Jakobi
Meyers have a grand total of four catches on the season, all of them by Meyers
as Harry was placed on the shelf with a bad hammy before the season even
started – but in practices and in the lone
preseason game he played in, Harry appeared to have come as advertised.
It's a really small body
of work to glean from when assessing what Harry could contribute when he
finally sees the field against the Philadelphia Eagles this coming Sunday, so
if Patriots' fans need a little scouting report on the rookie from Arizona
State, all they had to do is watch the Seattle Seahawks and their terrific
first-year receiver D.K. Metcalf beat the formerly undefeated San Francisco
49ers on Monday night.
Metcalf is similar in
size, route finesse and leaping ability, both specialize in spectacular catches
on the perimeter, back-shoulder and 50/50 balls. Both were projected late
first-rounders and while Harry squeaked onto the first night stage, Metcalf had
to wait until the next night to be taken in the second round.
About the only thing that
either one really has as an advantage over the other, it is the fact that
Metcalf has been playing like a veteran and Harry hasn't played at all - but he
will be counted on to complete a pass-catching corps that has survived an
amount of turmoil that would cripple a lesser squad, and it may turn out to be
one of the better units that head ball coach Bill Belcihick has ever fielded.
Not going to argue apples
and oranges; I realize that he's given quarterback Tom Brady some pretty good
squads to work with in the past, but this is the first time since 2009 that he
knew that he absolutely had to give
Brady legitimate weapons on all three levels – and for one magnificent
week in September, he had just that, and the makings of a seriously scary
receiving corps.
But Antonio Brown turned
out to be a megalo-maniacal sex fiend and serial drive-by tweeter, and was run
out of Foxborough on a rail, and then Josh Gordon flamed out. It got so bad
that at one point they could field only Julian Edelman and his cracked ribs,
and a couple of undrafted rookie free agents. It all turned out ok, though, as
running back James White and tight end Ben Watson chipped in.
White is a staple in the
passing game out of the backfield and is second only to Edelman in both targets
and receptions, while Watson has a history with Brady and the Patriots, even
though it had been years since they had competed on the same team. The
familiarity of both with Brady and the Patriots' offensive system giving the
offense just enough of an advantage to get by on...
...but that wouldn't be
enough once New England reached the meat of their schedule in November, and
with Harry languishing on the IR, Belichick knew he needed something else to
bring his offense at least close enough to the level of the defense to survive
a six-game stretch against legitimate playoff teams.
That something turned out
to be Sanu.
Working alongside All Pro
wide out Julio Jones in Atlanta, Sanu earned a reputation as a natural
possession receiver that complimented the speedy, big-play Jones, and gave the
Falcons tremendous layers on the deep two-thirds of the field – but with the
Patriots, who are a more ball control entity, Sanu becomes a
middle-of-the-field chain mover that compliments New England's horizontal
attack.
The offensive philosophies
between the two teams couldn't be more different, but Sanu's skill set fits
into any attack – which would explain why Patriots' head coach Bill Belichick was so high on
him coming out of Rutgers eight years ago with a reputation for finding the
sticks on third down and paydirt in the red zone...
...an area of the field
that New England has struggled in during the first half of the season, as they
have lacked the size in their receiving corps to win battles on fades and
end-line throws – but with Belichick sending a second-round draft pick to Atlanta for Sanu
and then activating Harry off of the IR, he suddenly has a red zone attack that
provides layers in short-areas.
New England's passing game
isn't explosive as it's drawn up, but relies on their receivers and backs to
win off the line of scrimmage and show Brady their numbers within a couple of
seconds of the snap, then making the first defender miss to find the line to
gain.
White does that on screens
and wheel routes with regularity. Edelman does so on return routes, and now
Sanu does it over the middle. Now if Harry turns out to be anything close to
Metcalf, they will be able to do so on the perimeter, which opens up everything
else.
Harry is as close to a
vertical threat that the Patriots' possess, though he doesn't have vertical
speed. He is a plodder with an insane wing-span and Spider-Man like hands,
which means that his skill set is perfect for their philosophy.
In fact, all of New
England's pass catchers are plodders, with the exception of Phillip Dorsett,
but are all crisp route-runners and tough as nails after the catch – and with Sanu and
Harry added to the mix, the red zone and perimeter shouldn't be such a struggle
any longer.
No comments:
Post a Comment