Patriots Final Grades On Pro Football Focus: Jamie Collins Joins The Elite
By Matt Dolloff
BOSTON (CBS) -- The New England Patriots as a team may be limping into the playoffs after losing four of their last six games, but several individual players played at a high level down the stretch, if not all season. Pro Football Focus has finished grading NFL players for 2015, and some of the results for the Patriots point to players who either broke out or greatly improved - especially on defense.
PFF has a more in-depth description of their grading system, but essentially their analysts score players on how well they executed each individual plays from -2 to +2, then average it out to an overall grade out of 100. A grade of 90 and above grades as "elite."
Joining the ranks of the best at his position this season is Patriots linebacker Jamie Collins, who finished fourth in the NFL with a 91.3 grade. He finished just behind Cowboys stalwart Sean Lee (92.3) and ahead of the Seahawks' K.J. Wright (91.1). For some perspective, Luke Kuechly tops the list at 99.9.
Collins steadily improved his overall grade as the season went along, and played especially well after returning from an illness in Week 13. While the rest of the "elite"-grade linebackers excel at one particular thing, Collins proved to be a great all-around talent; his "worst" grade was an 86.5 in coverage. Collins' steady improvement and well-rounded skill set are a testament to Bill Belichick and his staff getting the most out of his many talents, but Collins has clearly emerged as one of the league's best all-around linebackers. He earned his first Pro Bowl selection this season; could an All-Pro selection be in Collins' future?
Elsewhere on the Patriots defense, Dont'a Hightower finished an injury-plagued season as the 12th-best overall linebacker at 82.2 and the second-best pass-rushing linebacker at 92.8. Jabaal Sheard, who has been on a tear in recent weeks, finished 8th among "edge defenders" at 88.1, between the Giants' Robert Ayers (88.6) and fellow Pro-Bowler Tamba Hali (87.9). Sheard's emergence is another non-surprise among the grades, as he has consistently made some of the most eye-popping plays of the season in the Patriots front seven.
On offense, Tom Brady finished with the third-best grade among NFL quarterbacks with 93.1, finishing behind only Carson Palmer (97.7) and Ben Roethlisberger (97.6). Obviously, Brady would grade highly no matter what, but it's still an impressive feat considering the relative struggles of the New England offense since Julian Edelman went down with a foot injury. Brady also finished with the 12th-best running grade among quarterbacks, a clear indication of his improvement in mobility in recent years.
It may surprise you that Patriots guard Josh Kline finished 19th among all NFL guards with a 79.9, grading just below "starter" level. Kline earned himself a contract extension with his steady, reliable play on an offensive line that has been porous for most of the season.
The Patriots may not have looked good as a team down the stretch as they enter the playoffs, but it's encouraging to know that some of their key players are still playing at a high level. With a fully healthy roster, they remain the team to beat in the AFC.
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
