FOXBOROUGH — Marcus Cannon, despite being overshadowed by some of his other excellent linemates, had a very good 2018 season.
Even though Trent Brown got more headlines and a whopping payday on the free-agent market, Cannon had the better season, giving up slightly fewer quarterback pressures (33.5 to 34.5), QB hits (7.5 to 15.5) and stuffed runs (13 to 25.5).
It would have been no contest if you ignored the loss to the Steelers. Let's just say Cannon had a rough night at Heinz Field.
The Patriots allowed 11 quarterback pressures in that game and eight (73 percent) were yielded by Cannon. He allowed nearly a quarter (24 percent) of his season total of pressures in just that one game, and he also committed two penalties.
Suffice it to say, Cannon is aware.
"I’ve seen that game numerous times and it speaks for itself," Cannon told BostonSportsJournal.com this week. "There’s definitely things that happened during that game that I need to correct before we play them again, but we’re working hard at it."
The effect that Watt, a first-round pick playing in his second season, had on the game was obvious. By the end of the game — and actually well before that — Brady was reacting to Watt's rush even when it wasn't all that threatening.
The thing is, Cannon's protection wasn't all that bad. Some of it was on Brady. Remember, this was a few weeks after the Music City Debacle, when Brady was spinning out of passes and appeared to not want to get hit. The loss to the Steelers was pretty much the fork in the road for Brady and the Patriots, and the quarterback was better under pressure after this game.
As you can see in all the clips, Cannon clearly had issues with Watt's quickness more than anything. Whether it was on inside or outside moves, Watt's speed was just too much for Cannon — or at least it Brady was never comfortable with it.
Cannon, who is now in his ninth season, has never been the most talkative guys in the locker room — he's the master of team-first cliches — so he didn't give up much on where he needs to improve vs. Watt on Sunday night.
"I’ve been watching that game, studying that game and a lot of games," Cann said. "They have a good front seven and I’m watching film to get better.
"All their guys are effective, they have a lot of great players on their team. Him, (Bud) Dupree, (Cameron) Heyward, (Javon) Hargrave, (Stephon) Tuitt, they have great guys and that’s not even getting into their linebackers. They all have a lot of good guys on their team. They’re strong and they power the pocket. And the linebackers are fast and move around."
(Adam Richins for BSJ)