Late bloom on Flowers
Pats DE keeps growing in role
FOXBORO — They’ll remember Trey Flowers.
Not quite a household name just yet, the Patriots’ best pass rusher returns to a more prominent stage Saturday night in the playoff opener against the Titans at Gillette Stadium.
Flowers’ impressive postseason debut last year was capped with a monstrous Super Bowl LI against the Falcons with 2.5 sacks and two quarterback hits, including a crucial fourthquarter take down that pushed Atlanta out of fieldgoal range with the game on the line.
Flowers used that performance as a launching point toward a strong 2017 season, when he was the anchor of the defensive front, and set himself up for the potential to enjoy a long career with the Patriots, which is something he’d like.
“That’s way down the line,” said Flowers, who is signed through 2018. “I’m going to do my best, be the best Patriot I can and let that situation take care of itself. I would love to stay here. But right now, I’m working on trying to put them in the best position and do what I can to help my team win now.”
Flowers has the platform to raise his profile on a league-wide scale. He only had 6.5 sacks during the regular season, which was tied for 47th in the NFL, so he didn’t garner a single All-Pro vote or much Pro Bowl consideration.
But consider Flowers’ contributions on the whole. He led the Pats with 48.5 disruptions (6.5 sacks, 21 quarterback hits, 21 pressures) despite an increasing barrage of double teams over 14 games.
And why wouldn’t he be doubled? He had more disruptions than the combined total of defensive end Deatrich Wise (31) and linebacker Kyle Van Noy (16.5), who finished second and third on the Pats. Flowers has disrupted the quarterback an average of 3.5 times per game, so he is bound to make a few plays Saturday night, but he doesn’t care who is watching. Flowers cares more about the local audience anyway.
“I’m just trying to put my team in the position to win as best as I can,” he said. “When it comes down to it, I hope to perform well. I’ll prepare well. When the lights come on, just showcase to my teammates that I can make plays for them to have the best position to win.”
Flowers was an integral factor in the Super Bowl comeback against the Falcons, and his overall performance was an apt summation of his second-half surge in 2016. He had all 9.5 of his sacks during his final 12 games, including the postseason.
And although he never had a shortage of self-confidence, the big game on the big stage assured Flowers of a key element.
“I always had confidence in myself as far as what I’m able to do on the field,” Flowers said. “It’s one of those things that you just realize when you put yourself in big situations, tough situations, you’re able to perform. It gives you the reassurance that you don’t have to shy away from the big plays, the big stage. It’s all just a game. You’ve been playing it since you were young.”
Plus, Flowers didn’t rest on that monumental night. He didn’t explode and then disappear like, say, a Kony Ealy, or Larry Brown, or Dexter Jackson, or Malcolm Smith.
“You’ve always got to stay hungry,” Flowers said. “It’s not about what you’ve done in the past, but what you’re doing now. It wasn’t a standpoint of, ‘I made it. Now, I’m here at the top and staying there.’ No, I knew I had to keep climbing. I had to keep getting better. That was the thing throughout the offseason, this season, keep getting better and continue to improve myself.”
The way Flowers sees it, as much as he has devoted to improve his own game, he also has worked to repay the Patriots’ faith in his development. The 2015 fourthround pick’s rookie season ended due to shoulder surgery after a single regularseason appearance, but the Patriots didn’t discard him.
Rather, Flowers was given a chance, earned a greater game plan and was instrumental at a crucial time. Now as the true anchor of the defensive front, Flowers is seeking a repeat performance to help the Patriots continue to advance.
“Being drafted where I was drafted,” Flowers said, “them taking the chance on me, allowing me to go out there and perform, to give me a chance after my rookie year and still seeing something in me, that they didn’t go out and draft someone or replace me (after shoulder surgery). For them to believe in me, have faith in me to give me a chance.
“Hopefully I was prepared when the time came, and when the time came, I made the best of it.”