Patriots: It’s time for Dont’a Hightower to become Dont’a Hightower again

Patriots postseason legend Dont’a Hightower had a relatively quiet, unremarkable regular season, but the team will need him now in the playoffs.

The New England Patriots have had their share of superb linebackers over the run of their dynasty. Willie McGinest, Tedy Bruschi, Mike Vrabel, Jerod Mayo… they all made names for themselves because of their skill, intelligence, versatility, and instincts while playing for one of the greatest defensive minds in NFL history.

Dont’a Hightower is right there with them, nipping at the heels of those New England greats. He’s a two-time Super Bowl champion in his own right, and was absolutely instrumental in orchestrating both of those wins.

Without his shoestring tackle of Marshawn Lynch at the 1-yd line in Super Bowl XLIX, there would have been no opportunity for Malcolm Butler to pick off Russell Wilson and seal the game. And his timely strip sack of Matt Ryan, with less than nine minutes left in regulation and the Patriots down 16 points to the Falcons, was the key turning point of Super Bowl LI.

Here is a man who has already etched his name in Patriots postseason lore; a player with a championship identity forged early-on in college playing for Alabama’s Nick Saban. He’s already demonstrated a knack for making the perfect play at the perfect time on multiple occasions, and always under the brightest lights and with the highest stakes imaginable.

So why isn’t there already a statue of him in Boston, Massachusetts?

Hightower’s case is a perplexing one because he’s so talented and so capable, but for whatever reason, he’s lost in a maddeningly-mediocre defense. Whereas some really great players can still find ways to make their mark in really bad defenses (Gerald McCoy in Tampa Bay, Cameron Wake in Miami, Khalil Mack while he was in Oakland), Hightower virtually disappears for long stretches of time in the middling defenses we’ve seen in New England the past five or six years.

Fans of the team are all too familiar with the way the defense is usually defined these days: bend-but-don’t-break, give up a ton of yards but not a lot of points, and look like Swiss cheese in September but slowly round into form by December just in time for the playoffs.

It’s a tired formula but a true one, and the results speak for themselves obviously. Generally-speaking, the defense needs to do just enough not to screw things up and put the offense in a hole that they can’t blast out of.

Unfortunately for New England, this year’s offense might not have that same level of firepower we’re used to routinely witnessing. Whether or not Tom Brady has displayed signs of his inevitable(?) decline is still a matter of debate. Rob Gronkowski’s rapid deterioration seems a bit more inarguable, as does the Patriots’ lack of big-play potential now that Josh Gordon is gone.

Add in a deeper and more competitive AFC playoff field in 2018, and it’s clear that New England might need a more complete, comprehensive effort from the roster as a whole – offense, defense, and special teams – if they hope to advance to another Super Bowl.

In short, the defense can’t just ride shotgun again this season, and that means its leaders need to step up, starting with Hightower.

His solo tackle count this year (24) is the second-lowest of his career; his lowest mark came in 2017 with 12, but to be fair, he only played in 5 games last season. This season he played in 15. He also finished with his lowest sack total (1.0) since his second year in the league.

Looking beyond the numbers though is where the real trouble lies. Aidan Curran from Pats Pulpit had a great piece way back in September about how Hightower was making uncharacteristic mistakes on fairly-routine plays during the first couple weeks of the season. The film clips reveal a player lacking the usual speed, strength, and explosion he’s been known for throughout his career.

So what exactly is the solution? Or maybe more importantly: what is the problem?

Is it an injury, or the lingering effects from one? Hightower has missed significant time before with hamstring, knee, ankle, shoulder, and chest injuries, just to name a few. He does occupy a position where the subsequent wear and tear can get magnified, especially playing for a team whose season usually ends in February rather than December.

Is it age? Hard to believe it would be… Hightower is still just 28 years old, right at the lip of his prime. Just last season he was testing the waters of free agency as he looked to lock down a lucrative contract extension, which he eventually got from the Patriots.

Is it scheme? Matt Patricia was the only defensive coordinator Hightower knew, from the moment he was first drafted in 2012, until the moment Patricia left a year ago to become the new head coach of the Lions. Possible, but unlikely, as current linebackers coach/de facto defensive coordinator Brian Flores has been with the team for years, and his relationship with Hightower is a long and familiar one.

Whatever the reason may be, it’s no longer valid as an excuse for underperforming against expectations. Not now, not with the playoffs coming to Foxborough in eight days. New England needs just three more wins to capture their sixth Lombardi Trophy and cement their status as the winningest franchise in the history of professional football.

They also need “postseason” Dont’a Hightower, not regular season Dont’a Hightower, if they hope to get there.