Ex-NFL scout: Even with loss of Hightower, don't expect many schematic changes for Patriots D

FOXBOROUGH -- For a closer look at what the injury to Dont’a Hightower injury means to the Patriots, we spoke on Thursday with Matt Williamson, a former NFL scout. He acknowledged Hightower's injury is “a big loss” for New England moving forward for a few reasons, including the fact that the veteran linebacker allows them to scheme up multiple looks with his versatility.



“He’s not only a leader, but he’s also really versatile. You can put him on the line of scrimmage as an edge player, he can blitz off the edge, he can play in run support and he’s a good cover guy. In terms of talent and versatility, he’s their best guy on the defensive side of the ball when it comes to those sorts of things,” Williamson said of Hightower.

“The way this defense is designed and part of it is because they’re such a good team, and they’ll never pick in the top 10 and get a shot at guys like Khalil Mack and Von Miller, is that they have big people who are physical and and run stuffers. That’s just the way that front seven is designed, for the most part. That way, they can still hold up against the run and make nickel their base defense and maintain some team speed. The difference? In the end, you don’t really rush the passer all that well. Last year, that was fine. I mean, they rushed three more than any other team in the league as a result. They know that it’s not one of their strengths, but instead, the goal is to flood the zone with big bodies, make it tough to throw, and tighten up in the red zone. It doesn’t work for everybody, but because they have the personnel, it works for them.”

He added: “Going forward, even with Hightower out, I’d expect more of the same — lots of three-man rushes, putting bodies into coverage and unearthing someone and getting more out of them than anyone else in the league could every hope to. But it’s a big loss.”

It’s worth speculating as to whether or not this will lead to a bigger role and more expanded responsibilities for the likes of Kyle Van Noy and David Harris.

“Maybe. I mean, it might take some magical coaching,” he said. “I mean, it’s not like Van Noy has been sitting around waiting for this. He’s already played almost as many snaps as anyone else when it comes to the front seven. He’s already being counted on pretty heavily. It’s not like it’s time for him to step up, because he’s already doing his job. He’s an OK player, but in most defenses, he wouldn’t be a 95 to 100 percent snap guy.

“I think really Harris has a chance to be the guy. Harris is one of those guys coaches love. He’s an extension of the defensive coordinator out there on the field. He’s really smart. He’s tough. He gets everyone aligned properly, and he’s a big-time run defender,” he added. “The thing is though, it’s not 1995. It’s 2017. He’s a thumper, but he’ll probably get picked on when it comes to coverage.”

Williamson has some good things to say about the secondary, and he believes that things will eventually right themselves when it comes to coverage. But that won't erase some other issues.

“This year, there have been some problems, one of which was clearly communication on the back end, which meant they were giving up easy yards. Those will be cleaned up — a Bill Belichick-coached team will always clean those things up before the end of the season. And I like their secondary talent.

“But I look at that front seven, and I wonder who their most dynamic player is going to be over the second half. Who is going to be the guy who makes those plays? Hightower is that guy for them. I like (Deatrich) Wise and (Trey) Flowers, but neither of them is a top 20 talent, at least at this stage of their careers. They’re good players and getting better. But their not that elite front seven talent like so many other good teams have,” he added.

“If Brady was going against his own defense, he’d love picking on those linebackers, with guys like Dion Lewis and James White and (Rob Gronkowski). I wonder if they run into a really deep passing attack, that they might just get nickel-and-dimed to death.”