Matthew Judon is a big fan of quadruple-teaming Christian Barmore
Defensive tackle Christian Barmore has been so dominant for the Patriots, particularly for a rookie, that mere double-teams won’t do the trick. Triple-teams may be necessary. Hell, they could quadruple-team him for good measure.
Wait, that’s not a joke? That actually happened?
Yes, it did. Barmore saw as many as goddamn four blockers in his face when on the field during the Patriots’ 36-13 win over the Tennessee Titans last week. Barmore saw a slight drop in usage to begin with (from 63 percent of snaps to 52 percent) as he works through a knee injury, so it’s a wonder if such an outrageous blocking strategy was necessary. But it was a sign of two things: Mike Vrabel knowing full well how Barmore could wreck things for the Titans up front, and Barmore himself being a force early in his career.
You know who loved it? Barmore’s teammate, Matthew Judon. Not because he doesn’t want to see Barmore eat, but because of the opportunities it can open up for the rest of the defense. The Patriots didn’t quite take advantage of the excessive attention given to Barmore like you’d think, but if teams keep doing it, there’s a good chance they will.
In fact, Judon is encouraging even more blockers. Try the whole offensive line, while they’re at it.
“Yeah, I mean, I don’t know why they need that many people blocking him, but he helps me out, Barmore helps me out,” Judon joked to reporters Wednesday. “Sometimes they got to block him, sometimes they got to block me, but they got to pick their poison and they got to do it fast, and they got to do it on the fly because we play very fast.
“They can put four on him all the time. I suggest blocking Barmore with more people. I think you should take the tackle and the guard and block Barmore all the time and leave the back to me. I think it would be more productive for offenses. But, if they don’t listen to me, they don’t listen to me.”
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But yes, the Buffalo Bills should absolutely listen to Judon. This man’s an All-Pro candidate right now. Telling me he doesn’t understand blocking schemes? Hit him with the ol’ “Everyone Block Barmore” strategy, and he’ll be so utterly unblocked he won’t know what to do with it.
In fairness, the Titans’ plan against Barmore did work, as he was kept quiet. Even Judon didn’t have a sack after Tennessee’s first offensive series of the game. But not every offensive line is going to have the talent to do what the Titans did, or be coached well enough to execute schemes like that on a consistent basis.
Look for Barmore and Judon to both eat well again on Monday night in Buffalo.
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Matt Dolloff is a writer and podcaster for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Have a news tip, question, or comment for Matt? Yell at him on Twitter @mattdolloff and follow him on Instagram @mattydsays. You can also email him at [email protected].