2017 Pats Will Need Some New Clutch

With the retirement of Rob Ninkovich and the injury to Julian Edelman, the 2017 Patriots must replace two players who came through in some of the biggest moments over the last few season. Whether it was Ninkovich’s timely takeaways or Edelman’s clutch catches, the team would not have two more Super Bowls if not for those two players.

Even Chris Long and Jabaal Sheard had their moments, as did Martellus Bennett. Taken altogether and it’s clear the 2017 will have a different flavor to them, and nowhere will it be more apparent than in the biggest moments. Because as we learned the difference between 42/46 and 49/51 were whether or not our players made the plays with the season on the line.

Will a new crop of players be able to step up and into then spotlight? Let’s take a look at some Patriots who need to find their “clutch”.

1. Danny Amendola — Few players in Patriots history have been as clutch as Amendola, and that was true immediately out of the gate. With Edelman healthy, the Patriots were able to ease back on Amendola, saving him for the playoffs and that philosophy paid off. Now Amendola will be thrust into a more prominent role. Can he stay healthy playing more snaps this season? If he can, the transition from Edelman could be close to seamless. But more than every they’ll need the acrobatic Amendola coming through with big grabs when they need them most.
2. Trey Flowers — Flowers was a breakout player last season and came through with a clutch Super Bowl of his own, including a huge sack that pushed the Falcons out of game-sealing field goal range. Flowers looked really good in his first preseason action of the summer, and there’s little doubt that Flowers needs to be a playmaker this year for the Patriots defense to overcome the loss of three good pass rushers. The problem for Flowers is that he’ll certainly garner plenty of attention from opponent block schemes. Fighting through those double teams and still making plays will be a new challenge.
3. Dont’a Hightower — The other guy who will get plenty of blocking attention from the offense (unlike the Super Bowl) is Boomtower. No one is quite sure if the Pats are going to alter his role at all this year, but I still find it hard to believe he’s going to be a hand-down defensive end. He’s best on his feet, on the edge and at the point of attack, or rushing the quarterback from various spots on third down. Offenses will key off of Hightower and Flowers now, but the Patriots can get creative to free up Hightower. They’ve never need his pass rush contributions like they do this season.
4. Dion Lewis — One wrinkle to be excited about in replacing Edelman is the chance to use more 12 (1 TE, 2 RB) packages. Lewis, James White and Rex Burkhead are all adept pass catchers, and putting two (or even three?!) of them out there at once would be hard for defenses to defend. With Cooks, Hogan and Gronk all able to stretch the field, the underneath stuff should be like shooting fish in a barrel. If they can get Lewis in space underneath with room to run, he could bust off some electric gains. Look for the Patriots to lean on their diverse running backs to help make up for absence of Edelman.
5. Adam Butler — With Flowers and Hightower be the two “must-block” defenders, the rest of the defensive front will benefit from some one-on-one matchups. Lawrence Guy should be ready to put plenty of guards on roller skates as he pushes them back into the pocket, but undrafted rookie Adam Butler should at least get some early opportunities in September to show he can cause some disruption in a real NFL game. He sure has looked excellent in the preseason, with the quickness to split blocks and the kind of effort that has all but assured him a roster spot. Harvey Langi is another undrafted rookie who could get some pass rush looks as well. He’s another relentless effort guy.

It’s impossible to predict which new players will or won’t have the clutch gene when it comes to the biggest moments in the biggest games. Ninkovich and Edelman sure weren’t clutch right out of the game when they both joined the team in 2009.

Ultimately it boils down to preparation and no team will be better prepared than the Patriots. That will put all the players in position to be successful. New faces will just have to execute as so many have executed before them.