Jermaine Cunningham

Forgot about this, definitely a good route to take with Cunningham.

Here’s something to consider when it comes to the Patriots’ final 53-man roster: One of their injured players could initially make the team, then be placed on the NFL’s short-term injured reserve list the next day to open a spot for another player. Last year, the Patriots used the designation on tight end Visanthe Shiancoe, which didn’t pan out. A top candidate this year figures to be defensive end Jermaine Cunningham. He doesn’t appear close to a return at this time, so the Patriots look primed to have either second-year man Justin Francis or five-year veteran Marcus Benard fill his role as a third-down interior sub rusher.

Good analysis from Jeff Howe on Jermaine Cunningham and the use of him as an interior rusher.

There’s a logic to getting Cunningham on the field in the untraditional fashion. He’s a speed rusher with a decent amount of power, but his quickness can throw off interior offensive linemen who are used to blocking much bigger and slower but stronger players.

This is Cunningham’s year. He has the speed and now it appears he has the strength to deal with tackles on a regular basis. His overtime sack with Ninkovich was just a matter of who got to the quarterback first. In this instance, it was Cunningham. He was providing pressure all game and has shown that he’s tough to handle for opposing tackles. He’s certainly come a long way from last season’s healthy nine-game appearance in which he recorded a total of one tackle.

Defensive end Jermaine Cunningham earned playing time in a sub defense package as an interior rusher, aligning alongside Vince Wilfork. It’s an opportunity for Cunningham to continue to increase his role within this defense, and for the Patriots’ sake, it’s an opportunity to insert a unique skill into their sub package, and a move that could especially pay off against mobile quarterbacks. With Jake Locker slated as the first opposing starting quarterback, the Patriots will face a task of an athletic player who can break the pocket and do damage. Having Cunningham on the field adds a player who can pursue the quarterback not only as he stands in the pocket, but also if he scrambles out of it.

This is one of the more interesting personnel developments this year. Does Cunningham really have potential inside? Or is it a move of necessity given the absence of Myron Pryor and how Fanene didn’t work out? We’ll see how Cunningham produces inside, but the lack of a “get-up-the-field” d-tackle at the top end of the depth chart is noticeable.