CHARLOTTE - The strength of the Patriots defense in 2015, it's been said (and written), will quite likely be its defensive line and linebackers. The mix of youth, experience and talent in the front-seven (or six when the team has five defensive backs) is pretty impressive.
Consider, Chandler Jones, Dominique Easley and Malcolm Brown are first-round picks on the defensive line. Jerod Mayo and Donta Hightower are first-round picks at linebacker. Jamie Collins is a second-rounder who was brilliant by the end of 2014 and ends Rob Ninkovich and Jabaal Sheard are both edge guys with power, savvy and athleticism.
Friday night, the whole group had some flash moments. Two guys in particular stood out when the starters were going against the starters: Easley and Mayo.
Easley was a thorn in the side of the Panthers' offensive line, coming up with a 12-yard sack and a tackle for loss. Mayo had consecutive stuffs on running plays to force the Panthers to settle for a field goal on a red zone trip.
For Easley, it was a noteworthy night because it signaled he's settling in a little. Plagued by injuries in college at Florida and in his first season in the NFL, Easley said his growth in this camp has been "real big."
"I'm just getting back healthy and trying to be productive for the team in any way that I possibly can," said Easley.
He played at different spots on the line - sometimes at end with Chandler Jones moved inside to tackle. Other times as a down rusher in a three-man front.
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"Wherever they want me," said Easley of his varied workload. "We all did our job today and we all got rewarded for doing our job. Everybody did their part and we came out with the win."
"He made some great plays," Ninkovich said when asked about Easley. "Got off on the three-technique for a tackle-for-loss in the run game and then in the three-man rush had a sack on the quarterback. He's done a great job in camp so far and is just gonna continue to get better."
Mayo and Hightower saw their first action of the preseason on Friday night. For Mayo, it was his first game back since last October when he tore his patella tendon.
"It's great to see him out there flying around," said Ninkovich. "Having a guy like that out there, he's a great communicator, very smart. Happy that he's able to be out there yelling calls out.
The first unit allowed just a pair of field goals, doing a decent job bowing up when the Panthers got close.
"We're gonna continue to work well as a unit and get better but I think today was a good day as far as the front communicating well and flying around and doing well against [Cam Newton], a guy that's a scrambling quarterback, keeping him in the pocket so he's not out running around making plays."
The Patriots are so deep in the front-seven, one of the questions going into the season is where and how much guys can play. If the team is running a 4-2-5, that means the three talented linebackers - Mayo, Hightower and Collins - will likely be shuttling in and out. As for the front, the addition of Sheard and the emergence of Easley could be a boon for Jones and Ninkovich who have both carried huge amounts of work the past two seasons. Now, those two will have a chance to get a break and stay fresh and the defense shouldn't - in theory - lose anything. The challenge will be getting everyone enough reps. A good challenge to face.