Getty Lawrence Guy
If you’re looking for a list of the most likable players on the New England Patriots‘ roster, you’ll probably find defensive lineman Lawrence Guy’s name.
As much of a fan favorite as Guy has been throughout his career with the Patriots, he hasn’t had a strong start to the season in 2021.
The 31-year-old, 11-year veteran does have 14 total tackles and 8 solos, but a deeper look at the analytics exposes Guy as one of the reasons New England is currently ranked 22nd in the NFL against the run.
Guy has struggled so badly that Alex Kay of Bleacher Report believes the Patriots should bench the veteran lineman.
Patriots Advised to Bench Lawrence Guy
In an article written to point out one player from every NFL team that isn’t pulling their weight, Kay called out Guy as the man on the Patriots roster who is falling short.
Kay wrote:
The Patriots are struggling to stop the run in 2021. The team is giving up 122.7 yards per game on the ground, ninth-most in the league. They have now conceded 152 rushing yards to the lowly Jets and another 142 to the Saints in back-to-back weeks. Most concerning, though, is the Patriots are failing to get stops when they need them most. New Orleans backs were able to impose their will Sunday. While it was obvious the Saints were going to run and kill the clock at the end of the game, they still rushed 10 times for 56 yards on a 13-play, 75-yard scoring drive that ended any hope of a comeback. To make matters worse, this all happened behind a New Orleans offensive line that had three backups starting. It’s a collective effort, but starting defensive tackle Lawrence Guy is one of the primary reasons for New England’s failures right now. He’s amassed a meager 14 tackles—none for loss—while playing 93 snaps. With an unsightly 35.3 grade, it’s time for the Pats to rotate Guy out and get backups Carl Davis and Christian Barmore more reps.
Ultimately, rookie Christian Barmore will begin to take over a bigger responsibility on the Patriots’ defensive line. It’s possible Guy could be close to the end of his run of effectiveness. He’s had a long and successful career in the NFL with the Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens and the Patriots since 2017. The former 7th-round pick has won a Super Bowl with New England and he just re-signed for four years, $11.5 million, though only the current season is guaranteed.
Patriots Remaining Schedule
Guy and the Patriots will have an opportunity to do better against the run on Sunday night when they take on Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Here is a look at the remaining schedule for New England this season as well as the results from Week 1-3.
New England Patriots (1-2) 2021 Regular Season Schedule
- Week 1 – Miami Dolphins 17, New England Patriots 16
- Week 2 – New England Patriots 25, New York Jets 6
- Week 3 – New Orleans Saints 28, New England Patriots 13
- Week 4 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 8:20 pm ET – NBC – October 3
- Week 5 – at Houston Texans at 1pm ET – CBS – October 10
- Week 6 – Dallas Cowboys at 4:25 pm ET – CBS – October 17
- Week 7 – New York Jets at 1pm ET – CBS – October 24
- Week 8 – at Los Angeles Chargers at 4:05 pm ET – CBS – October 31
- Week 9 – at Carolina Panthers at 1 pm ET – CBS – November 7
- Week 10 – Cleveland Browns at 1 pm ET – CBS – November 14
- Week 11 – at Atlanta Falcons at 8:20 pm ET – FOX/NFL Network/Amazon – November 18
- Week 12 – Tennessee Titans at 1 pm ET – CBS – November 28
- Week 13 – at Buffalo Bills at 8:15 pm ET – ESPN – December 6
- Week 14 – Bye Week
- Week 15 – at Indianapolis Colts Time TBA – December 18
- Week 16 – Jacksonville Jaguars at 1 pm ET – CBS – January 2
- Week 17 – at Miami Dolphins at 1 pm ET – CBS – January 9
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