STAR ROOKIE WISE BEYOND HIS YEARS
Patriots rookie quickly applying his unique skills in NFL
FOXBORO — With the evidence in hand, Brian Brazil made his case to the referees.
The coach of Hebron High in Carrollton, Texas, Brazil had just watched his team lose to Allen, 28-21, in 2011. What had Brazil up in arms was how his defensive end, Deatrich Wise Jr., fell victim to one hold after another without a single yellow flag thrown.
The explanation he received made it even worse.
“The game was over and I took (Wise’s) jersey over to the official, and the jersey was completely ripped. It was torn to shreds. I took it to the officials after the game and said, ‘Not one holding call. Did not call holding once, and I told you before the game (he would be held),’” Brazil recalled. “And they said, ‘Coach, he’s on the backside of the play.’ And I said, ‘Exactly. He runs everything down from the backside.’ ”
That didn’t matter. The officials, despite acknowledging the fouls, believed Wise wasn’t in position to make the plays and, thus, didn’t see it as a violation.
“I guess (the holding) worked,” Brazil said. “I had to get his jersey replaced because I couldn’t use it after that game. It was totally shredded.”
Wise said Thursday that game taught him a valuable lesson.
“High school is when I learned that refs never call a holding call,” Wise said, “and I’ve kind of got to get used to it.”
As Wise enters his third career NFL game this afternoon with the Houston Texans coming to Gillette Stadium, opposing offensive linemen have yet to keep him out of the backfield. Already with two sacks in two games, Wise has drawn an illegal hands to the face call, but no holding penalties yet.
He can see it, do it
All one must do to get a sense of how Wise can dominate at the point of attack is shake his hand. Not only does Wise have fingers that stretch out seemingly to the size of a catcher’s mitt, but his grip can have a crushing effect. Those big, strong hands, combined with 35-plus-inch arm length, make for a daunting physical specimen. Brazil even theorized that the 6-foot-5, 270-pound Wise could have grown into an offensive tackle.
Wise’s coach at the University of Arkansas, Bret Bielema, knows a thing or two about developing defensive linemen, having also coached fellow Pats defensive end Trey Flowers. Bielema said that while Wise’s arm length is a strength, it’s his skill that sets him apart.
“He’s got tremendous eye-hand coordination, which allows him to make really quick decisions with his hands and it follows through on the field,” Bielema said. “Some people can think all the right things, but they really can’t do them. Deatrich has a unique ability to be able to see it and be able to do it.”
Wise said he did not develop those techniques until his redshirt sophomore and junior years at Arkansas. However, at the beginning of his senior season, he broke his hand and had to deal with an AC joint injury in his shoulder. His production dropped significantly, as he made eight sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss in 2015 and just 3.5 and 5.5 his final year.
Bielema said that was “100 percent” due to injury.
It did not scare off the Patriots, as they drafted Wise in the fourth round with the 131st overall pick. But Wise’s injury woes were not over.
Focus firmly on field
While success in training camp practices can be taken with a grain of salt, Wise had plenty of it in early individual and team drills. But against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first preseason game, Wise suffered a concussion. He went through the protocol and did not again play until the season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Another injury might bring a “here we go again” feeling to some, but Wise said that was not the case.
“I actually didn’t have that thought,” Wise said. “I’d been through so much in college, I just remained positive saying that this too shall pass. I was going to keep studying film every week. I was studying O-line tape with the guys . . . and keeping my mind in the game even though my body wasn’t in the game. I’ve been down before, but I wasn’t out. So I knew I was going to come back.”
When he did, he made an immediate impact. Wise had a sack and five quarterback hits in the team’s 36-20 win over the New Orleans Saints last week. He looked basically like
‘Everybody’s giving me praise right now, but I’m staying focused because I have a long way to go.’ —DEATRICH WISE JR. (left) On his mindset as a rookie
the player observers raved about in camp.
And Bielema thinks better days lie ahead.
“The thing about (Wise) is he’s just really long,” said Bielema, who deems Wise as strong a pass rusher as he’s ever coached. “He’s got a long torso . ... Those guys take some time to develop. . . . I don’t think he’s even scratching the surface of what he can be.”
Wise, too, knows he can get better.
“Everybody’s giving me praise right now,” Wise said, “but I’m staying focused because I have a long way to go.”
But, as Brazil noted, the present isn’t too shabby, either.
“I mean, two games, two sacks, I think that’s a pretty good start to his career.”
Maybe when opponents are forced to hold Wise so much they rip his jersey off, people — and officials — will know he’s hit that next level.