Arkansas connection
DEs Wise, Flowers team up just like old days
FOXBORO — The Patriots’ budding duo of pass rushers are going Hog wild.
Defensive ends Trey Flowers and Deatrich Wise, who played college ball together at Arkansas, combined for three sacks in the season-opening loss to the Chiefs, validating their respective expectations for the 2017 season.
“It was awesome,” Wise said. “It was like old times. The last time we had a sack together it was in the bowl game against Texas. That was awesome playing alongside with him, him giving me the calls and vice versa, talking on the sidelines and stuff. It was kind of cool.”
Indeed, the last time the tandem suited up together Flowers (one sack) and Wise (half-sack) each got to Tyrone Swoopes as the Razorbacks routed the Longhorns in the 2014 Texas Bowl.
Flowers, a fourth-round pick by the Pats in 2015, quickly broke out down the stretch last season when he had a team-high 9.5 sacks in his final 12 games, including 2.5 takedowns in Super Bowl LI. Flowers was one of 11 players in the league to notch multiple sacks in Week 1, so his march for double digit sacks got off to a promising start, especially considering he is averaging nearly a sack per game since Week 8 of 2016.
Wise, a fourth-round pick in April, would have been taken higher if his career at Arkansas wasn’t marred by injuries. He got off to a terrific start in training camp, but the rookie suffered a concussion in the preseason opener against the Jaguars. Wise had a sack, two quarterback hits and a pressure in just 17 snaps against the Chiefs, as he was essentially restricted to pass-rushing situations.
The efficiency was even more remarkable in comparison to last season when the Patriots only had five occasions when a player racked up at least four quarterback disruptions (sacks, hits, pressures) in a single game. That list included Chris Long (twice), Flowers, Dont’a Hightower and Jabaal Sheard.
“What I learned about myself is I can bring a pass rush to the team, and I’ve got to be consistent every day in practice so I can be out there more,” Wise said of his pro debut. “It felt real good knowing that my talents are very valuable to the team, and when third down comes or a pass-rush (situation) comes, I can give it my all for the team.”
Wise referred to Flowers as a big brother type. Though Flowers has again taken Wise under his wing this year, he stressed it’s got nothing to do with their Arkansas roots, but something more important.
“It’s not showing favoritism to him or anything,” Flowers said. “Anybody who is willing to learn, anytime they ask questions about technique or concepts or play calls, I’m open ears.
“He is definitely coming along. Anytime you’ve got a young student of the game like that, you’re always proud of their success. Anytime you’ve got guys who are willing to work on their craft, I think that’s what it’s all about. It’s not about being the last one off the field or how long you stay on the practice field. It’s about really focusing in on your craft.
“Anytime you’ve got guys who hold pride in being a perfectionist, being precise with their craft, it’s definitely a positive.”
The Patriots will heavily rely upon Flowers to lead their defensive line this season, so his debut reinforced those expectations. He added a quarterback hit and a pressure for a four-disruption game.
If Wise can stay healthy and garner an even greater role, it would ease the burden on the edge, which was an issue against the Chiefs. The Pats defense definitely need someone opposite of Flowers to beat one-on-one blocking assignments due to the double teams their reigning sack leader will corral.
And if it happens to be a couple Arkansas guys who become the leaders of the pass rush, Flowers and Wise will pridefully take that on.
“You could say it’s cool,” Flowers said of the positive start to their reunion. “I don’t know if it’s the Arkansas connection or if (the Patriots) just went out and got some pretty good players. But it’s cool.”