When the Patriots acquired Kony Ealy this offseason by moving down eight spots in the draft, it was a low risk move that made a lot of sense.
With the departures of Chris Long and Jabaal Sheard, New England had a need at defensive end, no matter how nebulous that position name is within their defense. The retirement of Rob Ninkovich only furthered that need, which made Ealy’s slow start to camp, when he was missing in action the first day, even more troubling.
Ealy was remarkably unspectacular in the training camp practices I witnessed. In early preseason game action he looked just as bad. Yes, he started to make some plays here and there but it just wasn’t enough and Ealy was released after the Patriots third preseason game.
He was slow off the ball, unable to defeat blocks and was just generally ineffective and not impactful.
What happened? How can an experienced pro who was a standout in Super Bowl 50 get completely untracked in New England? When Bill Belichick says it just didn’t work out, no hard feelings, what’s at the root of why it didn’t work out?
Most of it fits into New England’s defensive scheme, which is unique. It’s not the first time a promising veteran defender hasn’t been able to do what the scheme requires, with Terrence Knighton being the latest example last season.
Let’s look a little deeper at what the Patriots ask their defensive ends/outside linebackers/edge players to do, and why it can be difficult for some players to grasp.
Right now there are a collection of players who play the “edge” in the Patriots defense. Sometimes it’s standup outside linebackers, sometimes it’s defensive ends with their hands down. Schematically it’s all about having fluidity on the edge.
This goes back to 2014 against Denver when the Patriots started blurring the lines between defensive end and outside linebacker to help fool Peyton Manning and take away the short slant passes that often ate the defense up. This expanded into 2016, when the Pats would take their “defensive ends” like Ninkovich, Long and Sheard, and move them all over the defensive front, especially on passing downs. Some would be rushing, some would be dropping. They’d leave it to then offensive line to figure that out post-snap.
That kind of disguise paid off in some big moments, including Dont’a Hightower‘s game-changing strip sack.
Ealy had some experience playing in space, but it quickly seemed like he was miscast in every role the Patriots seemed to try him in. Whether it was standing, hand down or shifting inside (where he probably came closest to working) Ealy just looked slow off then ball and unable to play free.
Maybe that was partly his fault, or maybe he was just over thinking everything. Hard to tell from the outside, but the results were apparent and his departure was of little surprise.
Another problem for Ealy was the Patriots usage of two-gapping defensive linemen. Someone like Ninkovich and Trey Flowers aren’t Richard Seymour big, but they’re strong enough to hold their ground at the point of attack and set the edge, often through two blockers. Even rooke Dietrich Wise has shown the ability to play with this kind of strength and that’s why he immediately surpassed Ealy on the depth chart.
Ultimately Ealy was caught in Mr Miyagi’s proverbial middle of the road. He wasn’t good at any one thing within the Patriots defense. If you’re not able to stand up to double teams and you’re not really able to play in space it’s hard to find a role in this front seven. Even if Ealy had a great pass rush get-off he might’ve been able to find a way to contribute, but alas even there he was surpassed by another rookie, Adam Butler.
The Patriots are not a team for every player. The combination of required commitment and schemes that demand smart players who can think on then fly post-snap makes it extra hard both on then field and off it.
Luckily, the Patriots gave up little to get Ealy and had no qualms about cutting bait with him early enough to allow him to catch on with another team. Perhaps in another freer scheme he’ll be able to revive his career, but in New England it just wasn’t a match.