High praise for Pats’ LB
Defensive mates happy to have leader back
FOXBORO — The importance of having Dont’a Hightower healthy and leading the defense this season isn’t lost on his teammates.
“Having him back with us is huge,” linebacker Marquis Flowers said after practice yesterday. “He’s our leader on defense.”
Hightower is one of the best run stoppers in the game, not to mention an incredibly effective blitzer.
The Patriots linebacker, who missed the playoffs last season with a torn pectoral muscle, is also a player who historically has thrived in the most important games, making gamechanging plays in the big moments.
His ability to deliver in the clutch is one of the reasons Hightower has been so vital to the Patriots success.
Flowers, meanwhile, touched on what else makes Hightower so special: “He just makes everyone around him better.”
And he does it in several ways. On the field, in between making those huge plays, he’s making sure everyone else is in the right position to give them a chance to do their jobs and make stops.
As we’ve seen in recent years, that comes with the ter- ritory of being the signal-caller. Sometimes Hightower has to change the defense on the fly depending on what he sees, and make an adjustment.
“He has an amazing I.Q. That doesn’t get talked about enough,” said linebacker Kyle Van Noy. “He knows the adjustments. He puts everyone in the right positions. That’s my guy. He’s like my brother now. I’m glad to have him on my team.”
Off the field, Hightower has become a mentor, tutor and big brother all wrapped in one. That’s the behind the scenes element that doesn’t get mentioned as much.
“He’s everything you want as a player, as a teammate, and just as a person,” said Van Noy. “He’s a natural-born leader.”
One who takes the time to stay late watching film if someone needs the extra help getting a handle on a defensive concept or scheme.
“He’s never told a guy ‘No.’ He says if you want me to come watch film with you, he’ll watch film,” said Flowers, who’s in the linebacker room with Hightower. “That’s how much he wants everyone to be on the same page and get everyone right. It’s like having another coach. He helps out lots of guys. Everyone wants to pick his brain.”
Flowers said Hightower knows where every player is supposed to be on every play.
“You can say, ‘Dont’a, how does this (play) go?,’ ” Flowers said, “and Dont’a will always give you an answer.”
The 28-year-old former first-round pick is entering his seventh season with the Patriots. He and special teams ace Nate Ebner are the only players left from the team’s 2012 draft class.
Hightower, who intercepted a Danny Etling pass during 11-on-11 drills yesterday, says he now gets kidded a bit by being the old man on the block, but he’s happy to pass along the knowledge he’s gained along the way.
It was that way for him at Alabama with Rolando McClain, and the same way when he arrived in Foxboro. Former linebacker Jerod Mayo initially helped him digest the defense.
“It means a lot to me that my peers know if they have a question about the defense, they don’t have to bother Flo,” Hightower said with regard to de facto defensive coordinator Brian Flores. “Because he has so much on his plate. They can come to me.”
Hightower says he’s always had an ability to pick up things quickly, and progress faster than others, especially when it comes to the playbook and defensive schemes. Making sense of it all for the younger guys isn’t a problem.
“The coaches do a great job with all the young guys,” said Flowers. “But it’s good to get it from a player’s perspective.”
Especially one who has made so many great plays. His game-saving tackle on the final series of Super Bowl XLIX, when he kept Marshawn Lynch from rushing for a touchdown one play before Malcolm Butler’s interception, is legendary given he did it with one arm. And a busted one at that, as he was playing with a torn labrum.
Then, his strip sack of Matt Ryan in Super Bowl LI was pivotal to the team’s comeback from 25 points down in the third quarter.
“Man, he’s just a great football player. I look up to him. He’s a mentor to me,” said linebacker Harvey Langi. “I just watch what he does. He’s someone I can talk to. He’s a good teammate, and a good friend.”
Defensive end Trey Flowers said Hightower is the “standard of excellence” for everyone else.
It doesn’t get much better than that.