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FOXBOROUGH — Over the years the Patriots have made a habit out of acquiring veteran players to bolster the roster during the season.<\/p>\n
This season, there are plenty of examples, but one signing that has flown under the radar is outside linebacker John Simon.<\/p>\n
Simon was released by the Indianapolis Colts in their final wave of roster cutdowns back in September as the Chuck Pagano holdover didn\u2019t fit in new defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus\u2019s 4-3 scheme.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a rough time for myself and my family going through that, but that\u2019s part of the business, and that\u2019s something you have to expect, and you just roll with it,\u201d Simon said reflecting on an unfortunate ending in Indianapolis.<\/p>\n
Simon said he spent the three weeks in between his release from the Colts and signing with the Patriots, \u201cworking out a lot, upset most of the time. That\u2019s part of the deal. I had some workouts with other teams and just trying to stay ready and if any team wanted to sign me just be ready to contribute right away and help that team win a game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Simon also had an interesting perspective on using his release from the Colts as motivation for the rest of the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you need motivation at this point in your career then you\u2019re in the wrong business,\u201d he said in the Patriots\u2019 locker room on Friday. \u201cI think you should always be motivated. I tried to stay in shape as much as I could so when the time came I was ready to help a team win games.\u201d<\/p>\n
In late September, Simon worked out for the Patriots and impressed enough to sign with New England on September 26.<\/p>\n
The veteran linebacker reportedly worked out for the Jets and Patriots, but the chance at his first Lombardi Trophy drew him to New England when Bill Belichick came calling.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe winning culture was something I wanted to be a part of, and I think a good fit for me,\u201d he said. \u201cI came in and had a workout. Thought I had a decent workout and apparently so did they, so I was fortunate to sign here and contribute.\u201d<\/p>\n
As far as the Patriots coaches go, both Belichick and de facto defensive coordinator Brian Flores raved about the addition of Simon on this week\u2019s conference calls after the 28-year-old had a sack, three quarterback pressures, and a run stop in the Patriots\u2019 loss to the Dolphins.<\/p>\n
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\u201cJohn\u2019s done a really good job for us since he\u2019s come in here and has picked things up very quickly, contributed for us right away defensively and in the kicking game. He\u2019s really done a solid job,\u201d Belichick told me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s experienced, smart and has very good football instincts. He\u2019s got good awareness. Even though he hasn\u2019t had as much experience in our system as some other people have, his instinctiveness to kind of just do the right thing on the football field at the right time consistently keeps showing up. He\u2019s been a great addition. I\u2019m glad we have him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Simon\u2019s fourth-quarter sack of Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill was a great example of Belichick\u2019s observations about the veterans smarts and football instincts.<\/p>\n
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On the sack, the Dolphins ran play-action off of an outside zone blocking scheme with Tannehill running a bootleg off of the play fake. The idea here is for the misdirection to hold the backside edge player. However, Simon reads the play perfectly and sees Tannehill keep the ball. Simon goes right for the Dolphins quarterback, and gets the Patriots off the field on third and one.<\/p>\n
Flores marveled at Simon\u2019s versatile skill set and the energy that he brings to the Patriots defense.<\/p>\n
\u201cJohn\u2019s been really a great addition to our team, obviously played real well last week. He\u2019s really developed and grown over the course of the season,\u201d Flores said. \u201cHe\u2019s got a great skill set, does a good job with his pass rush, does a good job setting the edge, plays with good speed, good energy. He\u2019s really done a good job of just bringing energy to the team. He\u2019s been a solid contributor to the team, and we\u2019re happy to have him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that\u2019s just how I play football,\u201d Simon said of his energetic approach. \u201cI just try to go out there and have a physical brand to my name. Anything the team asks me to do that\u2019s what I try to do on a daily basis. I pride myself on being versatile, and we have a lot of guys of that sort on this team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Simon has proven to be a very versatile player as is his calling-card according to his coaches and the man himself.<\/p>\n
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In eight games with the Patriots, he has lined up at both on-the-ball and off-the-ball linebacker and has contributed on five different special teams units.<\/p>\n
Beyond his scheme fit, Simon also had some familiarity with the Patriots\u2019 system after spending three seasons in Houston with former New England defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel and linebacker Mike Vrabel (now head coach of the Titans).<\/p>\n
Crennel was the Patriots\u2019 defensive coordinator in their first three Super Bowl victories and Vrabel, of course, starred as a player for the Patriots in the early part of the dynasty.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are some similarities, there\u2019s a lot of differences too, but I think it definitely helped,\u201d Simon said of his time in Houston. \u201cHim [Crennel] being in this system and running this system before some of the vocabulary words carried over, so it made the transition a little smoother.\u201d<\/p>\n
Along with the coaches in Houston, Simon also played for former Pats DC Dean Peas in Baltimore and one of Bill Belichick\u2019s friends in the college ranks in Urban Meyer at Ohio State.<\/p>\n
The Ravens drafted Simon in the fourth round out of Ohio State in the 2013 NFL Draft, and he was a senior during Meyer\u2019s first year at the helm of the Buckeyes.<\/p>\n
Ohio State finished with a perfect 12-0 record that season and the now Pats linebacker had nine sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss.<\/p>\n
Due to a Bowl ban from the previous regime, Ohio State wasn\u2019t eligible for a bowl game that season.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I think they\u2019re different,\u201d Simon said of Belichick and Meyer. \u201cThat\u2019s not to say one is better than the other by any means, but they both have their styles, and they both get the most out of their players.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the 2017 offseason, Simon was an under-the-radar free agent that had the potential to thrive with an increased role.<\/p>\n
After all, he was behind pass-rushers J.J. Watt, Jadeveon Clowney and Whitney Mercilus in the Texans defense and still notched 26 quarterback pressures in only 205 pass-rushing snaps.<\/p>\n
As a result, the Patriots seemed like a potential fit as they\u2019re often in on underappreciated players that they can get below market value.<\/p>\n
The Patriots and Simon weren\u2019t a match then, \u201call I know is they talked to me this time around,\u201d Simon said with a smile when asked if New England showed interest in him in free agency a year ago.<\/p>\n
But both Simon and the Patriots appear to be happy that he found his way to Foxborough eventually.<\/p>\n
For all CLNS Patriots Videos\u00a0SUBSCRIBE to our CLNS Media YOUTUBE Channel<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n For the most in depth and comprehensive player and game analysis check out Patriots All-22 with host and Patriots beat reporter Evan Lazar.\u00a0Listen and Subscribe HERE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Get the inside scoop on the Patriots every week on CLNS Media\u2019s Patriots Beat Podcast with host Mike Petraglia. Listen and subscribe here\u00a0iTunes<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Stitcher<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Spotify<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n For all your Patriots content needs throughout the 2018-2019 season follow us on Twitter\u00a0@PatriotsCLNS<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0as well as\u00a0Patriots Insider Mike Petraglia\u00a0@trags<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>and Patriots Beat Reporter Evan Lazar\u00a0@ezlazar<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [arve url=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=UOmnhr1mO6c” \/] FOXBOROUGH — Over the years the Patriots have made a habit out of acquiring veteran players to bolster the roster during the season. This season, there are plenty of examples, but one signing that has flown under the radar is outside linebacker John Simon. Simon was released by the Indianapolis Colts in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":131993,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[207,380,397,210],"class_list":["post-73331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-bill-belichick","tag-brian-flores","tag-john-simon","tag-patriots"],"yoast_head":"\n
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