Big OL goal: Keep Jarrett in check
FOXBORO — No one would have blamed a Patriots fan for not knowing who Grady Jarrett was before Super Bowl LI. But during and after, there’s no way one can plead ignorance on the Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle.
Of course the Patriots won in historic fashion, but had the Falcons held on, maybe Jarrett would have been the game’s MVP.
During last regular season, he registered three sacks. He then proceeded to match that number against the Pats in a dominant effort by the 6-foot-1, 288-pounder out of Clemson who is now in his third year in the league.
Jarrett has yet to record a sack this season, but he’s been plenty disruptive for a defensive line that added fellow tackle Dontari Poe in the offseason. Watch any Falcons game and there’s Jarrett beating blocks and getting into opposing backfields. That big, breakout game in 2017 hasn’t surfaced, but it could come Sunday night against a Pats offensive line that has the same personnel that couldn’t contain him a little over eight months ago.
You probably won’t see right tackle Marcus Cannon matched up with Jarrett as much as guards Shaq Mason and Joe Thuney and center David Andrews. Still, Cannon has watched as much film of Jarrett as anyone and knows his capabilities.
“He’s a big, physical guy and he’s fast for his size,” Cannon said. “He’s just always working. He’s got a high motor. He’s always trying to get to the ball wherever it is.”
In some ways, how the Patriots handle Jarrett may act as a litmus test for the offensive line, which has underperformed for much of this season. Although the line largely kept quarterback Tom Brady clean with no sacks allowed against the New York Jets on Sunday, only 12 teams in the league have allowed more than the 16 the Pats have given up so far.
But the performance against the Jets has to be viewed within the context that New York has struggled to generate much of a pass rush at all this season. Although the Falcons haven’t exactly been dominant in that respect either, the talent is there to make for another stressful and painful night on Brady.
And that is why it’s so important to keep someone like Jarrett at bay for four quarters. Brady has dealt with a left shoulder injury from repeated blows by opposing defenses. Another Brady-crunching display from Jarrett — or anyone, for that matter — could put the whole Patriots season in jeopardy.
“It’s a new year, and all we can go by is what we’ve seen on film,” Cannon said. “And what we’ve seen on film is a great player.”
And if the Pats can make Jarrett look a little less great this weekend, consider it a considerable step forward for the unit.