The New England Patriots are heading toward their Week 16 matchup with the Baltimore Ravens facing some serious questions on the defensive side of the ball. Not only did the unit struggle during last Sunday’s
loss to Buffalo, it also has been without several starters at practice this week.
While linebacker Christian Elliss managed to return on Thursday, four key players remained out for a second straight day. Linebackers Harold Landry and Robert Spillane missed the last two sessions because of knee and ankle injuries, respectively, with cornerbacks Carlton Davis and Marcus Jones nursing hip and knee ailments.
There still is time for the quartet to return to work ahead of New England’s trip to Baltimore. However, the classic “next man up” mantra is already being preached in Foxborough.
“We always have the mindset next man up,” said defensive play caller and inside linebackers coach Zak Kuhr on Thursday. “If it’s whoever — if it’s [Jack Gibbens] or [Jahlani] Tavai, or Ellis has to step up — we have all the faith in the world in those guys.”
“Anytime you’re fully stacked or not, it’s always a challenge every Sunday,” added cornerbacks coach Justin Hamilton. “Every team has guys that are good enough to beat you if you don’t play well. And in the case of those guys, it’s guys that have made a lot of plays for us. But to me, the challenge is the challenge and you hear it all the time at every organization: next man up.”
The Patriots already were without Spillane against the Bills. While he did dress for the game, he was eventually held out as an emergency option after going through pre-game warmups. Earlier this week, he was spotted in the locker room wearing a walking boot on his left foot.
Landry, meanwhile, has been a regular on the Patriots’ injury report. He missed one practice leading up to last week’s game as well, but was eventually cleared and finished with a 74% playing time share as well as one sack of Buffalo QB Josh Allen.
Davis and Jones, meanwhile, are new additions to the injury list.
The former exited Sunday’s game in the third quarter but eventually returned in the next period. Jones, on the other hand, walked slowly and with a limp in the locker room, indicating that he was nursing some sort of ailment coming out of the contest as well.
Should they be unable to go or limited against Baltimore, backups Charles Woods and Miles Battle will be called upon to step up. According to their coach, they are preparing accordingly.
“They both are consummate pros,” Hamilton said. “They are here consistently. They work hard. They ask good questions. They’re attentive in meetings and both guys that kind of mirror what my path was like a little bit when I played. It was always that, ‘Prepare like a starter and stay ready’ and all those things that you hear. But when you get a moment to have some opportunity show up then you’re glad you did that, and both of those guys have steadily and consistently done it.”
The job to be ready for the challenge ahead does not just fall on the players themselves, Hamilton pointed out. The coaching staff also is under pressure to adapt to the new circumstances.
“We got to get the next guys ready to play,” he said. “The Ravens are not going to feel sorry for us and we got to go out there and put our best football on display.”
