Quarterback Cam Newton was in charge of assigning nicknames to almost every member of the 2020 New England Patriots.
The team’s nickname, however, is not Newton’s creation.
He germinated in the position of the artistic spirit of defensive wing Deatrich Wise. Her goal: foreign defender Shilique Calhoun, who has discreetly contributed to the defense of the Patriots’ new image.
“His call is Half Man, Half Mystery, ” said Wise in a previous video conference this week. “You don’t know what it’s combined with. He’s probably an alien. It’s probably an animal. We don’t really know. But the way comes to education every day and what it does in the game is really amazing.
It is a superior, if unconventional, praise for a player who is largely invisible in his first season in New England.
Signed as a loose agent last spring, Calhoun played 266 defensive shots in 2019 (26. 4%; 18th among Patriots defenders) and 237 more in specials (fifth plus). He finished the season with nine tackles, 0 catches, 3 quarterback hits, 0 defeat tackles and 14 presses overall, according to Pro Football Focus. Its fast pass productivity, a PFF statistic that measures tension at one base per attack, ranked 92nd out of 97 edge runners who played at least 180 fast passes.
Calhoun has never been a main player in his three seasons with the Oakland Raiders, scoring half in 26 games.
Despite this four-year era of modest production, the Patriots re-signed Calhoun on a one-year contract this offseat and, until now, it has been a wise decision.
Calhoun remains a situational player, has been in the area for 41. 9% of defensive shots this season, but played a role in two of the Patriots’ first three games.
Against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2, Calhoun recorded the first capture of his Patriots mandate, crossing the line to abandon Russell Wilson. The following week, as opposed to the Raiders, the team that selected him in third in 2016 forced two getaways, which Wise regained for a touchdown in the last quarter.
“It’s improved,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said Friday. “Shilique is a working child. He’s very smart. You can assume a number of other responsibilities, either at the position point or within a position, either passing. , coverage, career defense, stunts, lightning assignments, things like that. . .
“As he reveled more in our defense and with his teammates, his communication, popularity and reactions improved, and the total number of his daily jobs also increased. So he’s done a wonderful task for us and continues to expand his role. defensively, which is smart for him and smart for us and gives him more versatility».
Calhoun’s first forced loose ball last Sunday replaced the momentum, interrupting an eight-game, 77-yard run through the Raiders who had reached the Patriots’ 12-yard line. New England’s victory.
After the match, offensive side Rex Burkhead called Calhoun “one of my favorite players on the team. “
“I love his personality, his way of thinking,” said Burkhead, who scored the Patriots’ three offensive touchdowns in the 36-20 win. “Every day has a wonderful attitude. “
This attitude helped Calhoun forge a role in a New England defensive that lost his most sensible triple pin (Kyle Van Noy, Jamie Collins and Dont’a Hightower) this offse.
Chase Winovich, Derek Rivers and Wise also saw an increase in playing time as a result of the team’s great defensive exodus. Rookie supporters Josh Uche (in the injured reserve) and Anfernee Jennings (zero smartly in the third week) have been calm so far, see more opportunities as the season progresses.
Winovich, one of the patriots’ stars this season so far, praised Calhoun, both of them from rival schools, with Winovich in Michigan and Calhoun attending Michigan State.
“Shilique is mostly very athletic,” the 2019 third-round team said Friday. “I think as a pass smuggler, I learned a lot from him. Some of his moves, you can say he’s probably a very smart basketball player. player at the best school.
“But it’s wonderful. We laughed a lot in terms of opportunities to go out to the area and coordinate other pass games. It’s wonderful to have him as a teammate, despite his roots in the state of Michigan. “
The Patriots’ fourth week game with the Kansas City Chiefs, originally scheduled for Sunday afternoon, was postponed for Monday or Tuesday after Newton and a member of the Chiefs’ practice team tested positive for COVID-19. Assuming the game can be played this week, Calhoun will seek to remain disruptive against Patrick Mahomes and the explosive Kansas City offensive.
“It was mobilized for us, playing various roles, making large-scale plays,” Wise said. “I’m very pleased to see what you can do in the upcoming games. “