FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Four Downs: AFC East

Wish there was some mention of Tommy Kelly/Armond Armstead in here, but as usual it’s the defensive ends and linebackers that get all the pass rush glory.

New England’s lack of a pass rush has been even more of a constant thread over the past several years than poor secondary play: The Patriots pass rush finished 23rd in Adjusted Sack Rate last year, and hasn’t ranked higher than 15th since 2007. What’s more, all they’ve done to address this is over the past two seasons has been to draft defensive end Chandler Jones last year and outside linebacker Jamie Collins this April. Both Jones and Collins ranked among the top five pass-rushing prospects of their draft classes according to our SackSEER projections in 2012 and 2013, so it’s not like we’re down on the specific players New England has added. It’s just important to keep in mind that Jones only had six sacks in 13 starts last year, and Collins has recent NFL history working against him.