Kyle Love

Wow, one of the biggest storylines to follow this year was how Love and Deaderick were going to do in contract years and now both are no longer with the team. Hopefully Love is okay, it sounds like he still wants to play and thinks he’ll be fine. Guess the Patriots just didn’t want to take the risk.

This certainly puts a spotlight on Tommy Kelly and Armond Armstead, along with the development of Marcus Forston. 

I’m always a sucker for quick hit thought articles like this. Great point here on Kyle Love and it’s clear from his extension that the Pats are impressed with his progression and see a long-term fit for him.

As we look at the new Pats defense it’s clear that you need at least three or four players like Wilfork and Love in the middle. They might’ve been nose tackles in the old 3-4 but both do have the ability to get up the field. Causing some chaos in the middle of opposing offensive lines is vital with these guys.

With training camp wrapping up last week and the second preseason game in the books one player who has taken a significant step forward in his development, but still is flying under the radar is DT Kyle Love. Love has solidified his starting role next to Vince Wilfork and has been a consistent contributor both in practices and in the preseason games. After re-watching both of the preseason games, Love ha been nearly impossible to block one on one. He plays with good leverage and uses his strength to push the pocket. Eagles OC Jason Kelce was helpless against Love and it forced the Eagles to double team him on a number of occasions. Coming to the Patriots as a UDFA out of Mississippi State two years ago little was expected of him. But, Love has quickly and relatively quietly turned himself into one of the Patriots’ better defensive players. Love isn’t mentioned as one of the young building blocks on the defense like Devin McCourty, Patrick Chung and Brandon Spikes are. But, it might be time more people start taking notice, he is a very good player who keeps getting better.

Defensive tackle Kyle Love surpassed expectations as much as anyone on the defense last season. He was a force alongside Wilfork, and Love’s ability to consistently push through the middle gave the coaches enough comfort to swing Wilfork to the outside in certain situations. Love was good from start to finish last season, which was noteworthy because he wasn’t affected by the lockout like other second-year defensive players. So, with a full offseason, it’s worth wondering how much better he can be this year. Lastly, due to Love’s position, he won’t accumulate the stats to make him a household name, but he’s got a chance get even better in 2012.