Notebook: Elandon Roberts provides surprise pass rush boost for Patriots

In a conference call with the media on Monday morning, Patriots coach Bill Belichick praised the pass-rush skills of inside linebacker Elandon Roberts, noting that when it comes to getting after the passer from an interior spot, it can be tougher than it looks.


“For an inside linebacker, sometimes it’s hard for those guys to just excel as pure pass rushers,” he said. “But one thing they can do is time up their blitzes. And then, in addition to that, I would say recognize and try to take advantage of the way the offense blocks them.

“I think Elandon has had an opportunity to blitz a number of times over the last couple of years, and he’s certainly gotten better at it. He has good speed and he’s aggressive,” he added. “But the real key is not just running in a straight line and getting blocked, but being able to read on the run and make the right decision based on the way the play unfolds in front of you. That’s, again, not an easy thing to do, but he does a pretty good job of it. And he’s getting better. He had several big plays for us (Sunday).”

Roberts was able to come away with a career-high two sacks in Sunday’s win, including one play in the second half where he came flying up the middle untouched on what looked like a delayed blitz and went crashing into Miami quarterback Matt Moore. In the last few seasons, one of the things that distinguished both Jamie Collins and Dont’a Hightower’s work as rushers from the inside linebacker spot was an innate ability to maneuver in those inside gaps and find opportunities to reach the quarterback. If Roberts can reach a point where he’s half as good as they were, the Patriots could have an intriguing new dynamic on the defensive side of the ball.



Injury updates

Per a league source, right tackle LaAdrian Waddle suffered a low ankle sprain in Sunday’s win over Miami, and While the hope is he only misses one week of action. However, his health certainly bears watching in the coming days, especially when you consider the depth at the position behind Waddle. The 6-foot-6, 315-pounder has stepped in and seen the bulk of the reps at the right tackle spot since Marcus Cannon went down with an ankle injury earlier this month. He hasn't redefined the position, but has played relatively well as Cannon's replacement. … The news doesn’t sound as optimistic around special teamer Nate Ebner, who suffered a knee injury on New England’s fake punt in the first quarter and did not return. Per Ian Rapoport and Mike Garofalo of NFL Media, Ebner isn’t expected to return this season. Our own Doc Flynn took a look at that injury and some of the other health issues surrounding the Patriots here.

Mason’s streak is done

And then there were none. Offensive guard Shaq Mason, who was the last man on the roster to have played every possible snap this season, missed three snaps in Sunday’s win over the Dolphins. Mason had been the only player on offense or defense to take part in every snap this season, a stat we wrote about last week here. (Fine, go ahead and call us a jinx.) In the locker room after the game, Mason took it in stride, saying that the win — and not the streak — was the most important thing. For what it’s worth, the last two guys to go wire-to-wire and play every possible snap in one season for the Patriots were Tom Brady and Ryan Wendell, both of whom accomplished the feat in 2013.