I think a lot of Ayers’ pass rush success in Chandler’s absence was schemed and not really because he was dominant. That said, he was VERY solid filling in and even I am surprised that he’s essentially disappeared.
The easy answer is that BB loves Chandler and Nink and feels there’s too much drop off to Ayers, at least in the running game with setting the edge.
Now, if the Pats were to get a lead going forward and it becomes a pass-defense heavy situation I think we could see some more of Ayers. Or even on third-and-long, but still, against Andrew Luck you can’t just pin your ears back and go after him, you need to maintain discipline and not let him squirt out, so even then they still might stick to a three man rush with a spy dropping out.
I’d like to see them lock up Ayers this offseason and give him some time to acclimate into to defense a little more. As I’ve said many times, they can’t run Chandler and Nink into the ground. There has to be at least a bit of a rotation with a third guy at DE. Ayers could be a solid third guy, but it seems clear he’s not there quite yet.
