Rowe steps up
Cornerback playing to earn starting role
FOXBORO — Naturally, everyone assumed Eric Rowe had the answer.
“They all think I know,” Rowe said. “All my friends ask me: ‘What really happened?’ I don’t know. I don’t have an inside scoop for you. Shoot, you know as much as I know.”
Rowe, of course, is referring to the Malcolm Butler benching, a coaching decision that lifted him into the starting lineup for Super Bowl LII. He played 95 percent of the snaps. If Bill Belichick caught 95 percent of the criticism for the Patriots’ cataclysmic defensive performance, Rowe was the recipient of the other five. His struggles were mostly overstated. He did record a team-high three passes defensed.
Rowe doesn’t know what exactly transpired, but as he surveys the makeup of the 2018 secondary, he knows how opposing offenses might operate come September.
“We’ve got (Stephon Gilmore) on one side, and teams may not decide to throw over there,” Rowe said. “So it’s either me or the slot. We know that, and we’ve got to get ready for it.”
Entering his third year with the Patriots, Rowe seemingly has a hold on the No. 2 cornerback job. He has seen virtually all the reps opposite Gilmore, whose red-hot finish to the 2017 season and impressive start to the summer has him looking like a top-tier cornerback.
Gilmore looks like a stud. After him, there’s some uncertainty at cornerback, which lost Butler in free agency.
“Someone’s got to step up,” Rowe said. “Right now, I know Steph is on one side. We’ve got me and Jason (McCourty) kind of competing for the other outside spot. Whichever one is in there, we’ll fill it up and act like nothing happened.”
Few cornerbacks can match Rowe’s length. He’s a former college safety whose frame is ideal for checking tall, physical receivers on the perimeter. A year ago, because of the presence of Gilmore and Butler, Rowe covered in the slot. He spent most of his offseason focusing on the position, learning the nuances of dealing with all the traffic over the middle.
And the Patriots turned to Rowe as a slot corner in some enormous spots. He was assigned to Pittsburgh’s JuJu Smith-Schuster (a big slot receiver) and Eli Rogers (a traditional slot target) in the Week 15 showdown at Heinz Field. At times, Rowe struggled, surrendering an easy 18yard touchdown to Rogers in the first quarter, but he ultimately saved the game and the AFC No. 1 seed when he deflected Ben Roethlisberger’s bullet to Rogers in the end zone, creating the interception for Duron Harmon.
This year, though, Rowe’s assignment aligns with his natural skill set — he’s on the perimeter again.
Matched up against the 6-foot-2, 220-pound Cordarrelle Patterson in a oneon-one rep yesterday, Rowe pressed at the line of scrimmage, knocked Patterson off his route and forced the incompletion.
Rowe’s top priority going forward: Staying healthy.
His first season with the Patriots was hampered by an ankle sprain that occurred days after the Patriots traded for him. He missed the opening five weeks of the season, and suffered a hamstring injury that affected him later in the season. Last year, a groin injury sidelined Rowe from Weeks 5-12. He never found a rhythm.
“Last year, I mean, I would stretch, but I didn’t do a good job of stretching,” Rowe said. “That’s why I pulled my groin, and it kept recurring.”
To ensure this doesn’t happen again, Rowe stretches five times a day for about 10-15 minutes per session. He hopes the tissue injuries that have plagued him won’t flare up in 2018.
Rowe knows the Pats are counting on him to fill the void left by Butler. He knows Gilmore is on the verge of superstar status, which means quarterbacks will be looking elsewhere.
Rowe is confident they’ll have a hard time throwing his way, too. “I know that if I can stay healthy, I can really take my game to another level,” he said.