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Breaking Down What Eric Rowe Brings to Patriots

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eric rowe patriotsMatt Patricia and the Patriots defense have a shiny new toy to play with in second year corner Eric Rowe. Mike already gave a great breakdown on Rowe’s acquisition, but I’m addicted to making GIFs and wanted to take a closer look at New England’s newest player.

When watching tape on Rowe, one thing that immediately stands out is his size. Listed at six-foot-one, Rowe has at least two inches on every corner currently on the roster. As Mike noted, Rowe should provide the Patriots an option in match-ups with larger receivers and maybe even tight ends. Additionally, I think Rowe’s size makes him a better option in run support than any of the current corners on the roster.

Against the Lions, Rowe was forced into action in the second quarter after an injury, and was given the tough assignment of  matching-up with Calvin Johnson on the outside. A tall task for any NFL corner, let alone a rookie. Yet, if I dare say so, Rowe looked pretty damn good against Megatron. Take a look for yourself.

The first two plays he lined up in off coverage and was bailing out so that he didn’t get beat deep (can you blame him?). Calvin stopped his route both times and picked up easy yardage. Fine. You can work on that.

However, what really impressed me with Rowe was when he lined up in press coverage. While he wasn’t jamming Calvin at the line, he showed an ability to turn his hips and run with his receiver. Rowe looked in phase with Johnson on all three of these throws to the end zone, including a nice PBU on a slightly under-thrown ball, but still, Rowe was there. While the Lions ended up scoring, it’s hard to fault Rowe on the that play. That’s a damn good throw and catch in a tight window.

The second game I watched was obviously his match-up against the Patriots (let me tell you, this was not a fun game to re-watch). Rowe was targeted a whopping 12 times against the Patriots, surrendering just 42 yards in the process.

Going after Rowe was clearly a part of the Patriots game plan, however, Rowe won the battle on this day. Rowe finished the game with two pass breakups, one near interception and a body bag to take back to Philadelphia with James White inside of it. Rowe looked every bit the part of an NFL corner in this game, and matched up individually on James White, Amendola, Chandler, KMart & LaFell. Quite the night’s work for the rookie.

As an aside, watching some of these clips, it really makes you hope Chris Hogan or Malcolm Mitchell can get something going for this team vertically. For the most part, Rowe was able to shut down the Patriots deep passing attack on this night.

I also liked what I saw out of Rowe on special teams. This play was from preseason, but I think it highlights what Rowe can bring to the table as a gunner. That’s a solid effort from the rookie, manhandling his would-be blocker and barreling his way to the ball to make the play.

Prepare yourselves for a bit of a hot take, BUT… I think Rowe is already the third best corner on the roster. We’ll have to see come week one how the snaps shake out, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it took some time before Matt Patricia felt comfortable utilizing him in the defense. However, in my opinion man coverage is man coverage no matter where you go, and that’s how I see the Patriots using Rowe. Again, we’ll see.

Going into this season I thought the secondary was the strongest position group on the team. I think Rowe makes this secondary better. Be afraid NFL. Be very afraid.

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Comments

  1. When you say “third best corner”, is that ahead of Cyrus Jones and behind Butler and Ryan?