Tag: Elandon Roberts

Watch Tom Brady throw a 38-yard TD to a Patriots linebacker

What a play.

New England Patriots linebacker and fullback Elandon Roberts may change his tune about which position he likes playing most.

Roberts admitted he likes playing linebacker more than his new job, fullback, which he started playing after a rash of injuries at the position. But he also scored a 38-yard touchdown on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins in Week 17. Perhaps that’ll his perspective on playing offense will be different after he got a taste of the end zone.

On a first-and-10 in the third quarter, Roberts lined up in the backfield, and ran a wheel route, which went completely uncovered. The rest of the Patriots skill players were on the other side of the field, and the Dolphins went with them. So Roberts was free to run into the end zone for a touchdown, which tied the game at 17-17.

As open as he was, the pass wasn’t perfect, so the catch was fairly impressive.

[vertical-gallery id=77779]

Patriots LB/FB Elandon Roberts had the quote of the year about running through players

“I think that’s why Bill likes me.”

Bill Belichick has never shied away from having players play on both offense and defense. Remember when wide receiver Troy Brown used to play in the defensive backfield, too?

Now thanks to some injuries, the New England Patriots coach has been using linebacker/captain Elandon Roberts at fullback, too, and he’s been doing a pretty good job of opening up holes for running backs the past few weeks.

Roberts was fired up after playing a big role in Saturday’s AFC East-clinching win over the Bills. He was asked about his mindset about playing physical football and he provided one heck of a quote:

Tom Brady seemed to love it, too, as he used that quote on Instagram on Sunday:

And here is video of Roberts providing that quote, but be warned: you’re gonna hear a bad word!

Too good.

Tom Brady invokes epic Elandon Roberts quote in Instagram post

“I’ll run through a (expletive) face.”

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady leaned into the buzz about his block during the team’s win over the Buffalo Bills in Week 16.

The 42-year-old quarterback served as the lead blocker on N’Keal Harry’s reverse. Brady managed to get his shoulder on Tre’Davious White for a fairly effective cut block. Brady knocked White backward and onto the ground. So the quarterback celebrated his efforts on Sunday with a self-deprecating Instagram post, in which Brady quoted Patriots fullback and linebacker Elandon Roberts, who went on an explicit (and hilarious) rant after an impressive game from New England’s run game (35 carries, 143 yards, one touchdown).

Brady is apparently feeling pretty tough after locking up the AFC East title for the 11th consecutive year. He wasn’t bad as a passer either, completing 26 of 33 for 271 yards and one touchdown.

[vertical-gallery id=77287]

Elandon Roberts goes on funny, expletive-filled rant about playing fullback

“I run through (expletive) face.”

New England Patriots linebacker Elandon Roberts was not afraid to admit why he enjoys his new fullback role following his team’s 24-17 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday at Gillette Stadium during Week 16.

Roberts, who entered the season as a defensive and special-teams contributor, has started to see an uptick in his offensive snaps. He’s become the Patriots’ fullback after injuries to James Develin and Jakob Johnson.

“I run through a (expletive) face,” Roberts said. “Offense, defense, special teams. Whatever you want.”

It’s also helped that Roberts has the privilege to be playing among one of the best linebacking corps in the NFL. And he knows going up against those guys prepares him well when he needs to lay a block on an opponents’ linebacker.

“I mean ain’t nobody coming down her like us folk,” Roberts said. “Ain’t nobody coming down here like (Dont’a) Hightower, Jaime Collins, Me, Bent (Ja’Whaun Bentley). Nobody.

“So, I mean, if they want to stop getting that pressure they can come downhill. If they don’t come downhill, I’m gonna hit them in their (expletive) mouth. Because that’s my job.”

Roberts said despite his new-found admiration on the offensive side of the ball, he still prefers making a tackle on defense.

“When I hit a (expletive) on defense? That (expletive) is about to be (good),” Roberts said.

[vertical-gallery id=77287]

Patriots clearly thankful for LB Elandon Roberts’ work at fullback

Bill Belichick says Elandon Roberts delivered “probably one of the best blocks we’ve had all year.”

New England Patriots linebacker Elandon Roberts is probably the hardest hitter on the team. And so Bill Belichick has been taking advantage of that skillset on both sides of the ball.

Roberts has been contributing as a fullback in the weeks since the Patriots placed James Develin and Jakob Johnson on injured reserve. New England used Roberts on four snaps during the Patriots’ 13-9 win over the Cowboys in Week 12 and seven snaps in New England’s 17-10 win over the Eagles in Week11.

“Elandon’s got a very physical style of play, and he’s got a good skill set,” Belichick said Tuesday in a conference call with reporters. “He can run. He’s a very compact guy with good lower-body strength and leverage and power. I think we’ve all seen that on the defensive side of the ball and in the kicking game. We lost a couple fullbacks here on our roster with James Develin and Jak, so we’ve used Elandon some at fullback. He had a big block in the (Dallas) game at the end of the game in the four-minute offense — probably one of the best blocks we’ve had all year.”

The linebacker, nicknamed “The Hammer” in his rookie season, has graduated to delivering blows to both offensive and defensive players. Here’s a look at the two blocks Belichick highlighted on the conference call.

The offseason wasn’t kind to Roberts. The Patriots got linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley back from injury, and Jamie Collins rejoined the team in free agency. Through no fault of his own, Roberts ended up buried on the depth chart. As a result, Roberts’ snap count on defense is way down. He received 41% of defensive snaps at linebacker in 2018, but is down to 23% in 2019. But that hasn’t stopped him from contributing in his first year as a team captain. His special teams contributions are up from 17% in 2018 to 35% in 2019. And of course, he’s gotten snaps on offense.

“He does everything you ask him to do,” McDaniels said. “What a great teammate. That’s why he’s a captain. He’s a good player, and he’s a great teammate. He’s unselfish. We’ve asked him to play a lot of different roles. I think he played in the kicking game a number of snaps, on defense, on offense — whatever he can do to help the team. He’s got a great attitude. He’s physical. He’s aggressive. He loves contact and hitting, and he made a few really important blocks that would have made James Develin very proud towards the end of the (Cowboys) game there. We have a lot of confidence in him in that (personnel) grouping.”

[vertical-gallery id=75081]