He doesn't get the opportunity to lock down an opponent like Stephon Gilmore. He doesn't have the athleticism and flair of Jamie Collins. And he doesn't have the game-turning plays and power of Dont'a Hightower.
But Kyle Van Noy has been the Patriots' most valuable defender to this point, and his quietly huge game in the Eagles' win was just the latest example.
Part linebacker, part edge rusher and full-time Swiss Army Knife, Van Noy has morphed into whatever the Patriots have needed him to be since he was acquired in a trade from the Lions in 2016.
He played on the line as a strongside run stuffer that year. In 2017, he helped fill the void inside after Hightower was lost to injury. Last season he bopped from position to position as a gameplan chess piece.
This year? He's basically been tasked with picking up the pass-rushing slack left in the wake of Trey Flowers' departure. And he's flourished there too.
Despite missing the first game for the birth of his first child, Van Noy leads the team in QB hits, hurries and basically has double the total pressures of the next-closest player (Collins). That was after he posted another team-high 5.5 total QB pressures against the Eagles. Mix in some good pass coverage and his work against the run, and Van Noy again led the defense with nine impactful plays.
You wouldn't think Van Noy had that much impact since he was barely mentioned by the announcers, but that's just part of the subtle genius of his game.
Van Noy must be a complete pain in the butt to play against if you're an opponent. He isn't the biggest, surely isn't the fastest, and doesn't appear to be all that strong. But gosh darn is he tough to block, even for the many right tackles he goes against.
[table id=390 /]
I've never really seen a player play the way that he does. Van Noy has unbelievable patience to set up blockers, and then impressive closing speed once he finds a weakness. He didn't have any of the splash pressures like Danny Shelton or Elandon Roberts did against the Eagles, he just keeps coming down after down and then, suddenly, by the end of the game he's filled out another stat sheet. Van Noy is just an annoying gnat. He kept buzzing around Carson Wentz, and then couldn't keep him contained. It felt like every time Wentz hesitated, Van Noy was affecting the quarterback somehow. Same thing in the running game.
Then there are the subtle plays, like hitting a tight end or running back off the line, that don't show up on a stat sheet that Van Noy pulls off without fail. And, of course, there may be no better pass-rush "game" partner in the front seven. Van Noy is one with the Patriots' defensive system, and that's why it should be a priority for them to retain him after this season.
Van Noy is far from perfect. He still guesses trying to make plays on occasion, and there are times when he gives up the edge in the running game. But more often than not, Van Noy is right where he's supposed to be, or anticipating a play and snuffing it out.
What's amazing is that a player who hasn't been asked to pass rush much during his career, now is by far the best on the team at it.
A year ago, he finished 19 games with seven sacks, 15 hits, 22 hurries, 44 total pressures and 13 stuffs. This year he's at five sacks, 12 hits, 12 hurries, 29 pressures and seven stuffs. And he's only at his halfway point after missing one game. At this rate, he might have a chance to match Flowers' 53.5 pressures from a season ago.
Nobody would have thought that was possible at the start of the season. That's being valuable, if not priceless, to this defense.
Here are the positional ratings against the Eagles:
OFFENSE
[table id=389 /]
Quarterback (3 out of 5)
We went over most of this stuff earlier, but just to reiterate, Brady was solid in this game, he just didn't have much to work with through a combination of drops, players not getting open, some untimely poor protection (overall it was good), and a lack of explosive teammates to open things up a bit. I'd be ticked off too if on one failed red zone trip alone, Julian Edelman dropped a touchdown, and Mohamed Sanu and James White failed to properly run their routes to the quarterback's expectation.
Running backs (2.5 out of 5)
The definition of mediocre. Sony Michel had a couple of nice runs, then another huge drop. It's amazing that when White gets a chance to carry the rock, he looks like such a more dynamic player than Michel. ... Rex Burkhead had a big 30-yard run by that was mostly just a missed tackle, not him making a play.
Receivers (2.5 out of 5)
Much like the rest of the offense, this group was even-steven. For everything someone did right, they went in the other direction just as many times. Even Edelman had two great catches, drew a PI call and threw a touchdown pass, but he also dropped two passes, including a touchdown. ... First impressions of N'Keal Harry was that he's going to have a tough time getting off man coverage and will have to rely on back-shoulder throws and his catch radius to consistently make big plays. He's just not going to run away from anyone. ... Good to see Ben Watson contribute two big plays. The Patriots need more of those. ... Sanu may have been gutting it out on a bad ankle. Hope so, because he wasn't good in this game. ... Matt LaCosse gave a lot more in blocking in this game. Something to build off of.
Offensive line (3.5 out of 5)
Overall, a good performance against an extremely talented and deep defensive line. The best news: Shaq Mason rejoined Joe Thuney in the dynamic guard duo. While Thuney played his usual brilliant game, Mason finally looked like himself from last season with a clean sheet. If Wynn can be effective, maybe we have something here. ... Unfortunately, all of the pressure was split between the other three linemen. ... Order of effectiveness: Mason, Thuney, Newhouse, Karras, Cannon.
DEFENSE
[table id=388 /]
Defensive line (4 out of 5)
Give it up for the big boys inside as Danny Shelton and Lawrence Guy answered the Baltimore game with probably their best game as a duo. They totally controlled the game against some good players. ... Jamie Collins, Adam Butler and Chase Winovich (who impresses every time he plays) were very impactful. ... John Simon played an underrated game. ... There was some leakage in the run game, but not on the level as the struggles vs. Baltimore or the games leading into it.
Linebackers (3.5 out of 5)
Very quiet outside of the sacks by Hightower (knockdown) and Elandon Roberts, because they had trouble getting off blocks against the Eagles line. ... Hightower had a missed tackle on a sack, and an iffy zone drop in pass coverage.
Secondary (4 out of 5)
The starting cornerbacks of Gilmore, Jason McCourty and Jonathan Jones gave up some plays, but nothing to worry about. The other guys get paid too and Wentz got lucky on some throws, and those tight ends are hard to cover. ... Gilmore is starting to get grabby again. That could come up in the bigger games. ... Terrence Brooks was outstanding and he made plays covering (two pass breakups) and rushing the passer (1.5 hits). Expect him to get more looks on defense even with Patrick Chung is healthy. Brooks can be a tackling weapon.
THREE UP
Kyle Van Noy: I think we covered the why.
Danny Shelton: Seven impactful plays for a big guy who stuffs gaps in the running game is very unusual.
Shaq Mason: He's back. Finally. Can he start stacking success and be the dominating lineman this team needs him to be?
THREE DOWN
Ted Karras: Wasn't terrible but his athletic limitations really show up when the Patriots try to run nine screen passes.
Deatrich Wise: Only played nine snaps, probably because he was getting shoved around at the point of attack.
Marcus Cannon: This could have easily been Marshall Newhouse, but Cannon gave up more pressure (4.5 to 3).