Some of the most important players for the New England Patriots are the lesser-known, workhorse guys.
Linebacker John Simon fits that category, and he’s one of New England’s ‘Boogeymen’ that doesn’t get much recognition — but, he likes it that way. Simon, 29, has been with the Patriots since last season and he’s spent seven seasons in the NFL. Simon’s snap counts are right behind Jamie Collins, Dont’a Hightower and Kyle Van Noy.
He’s an important piece for this defense, and Bill Belichick spoke about that in further depth during his press conference on Friday.
“Yeah, John’s done a great job for us,” Belichick said. “Came in, learned very quickly, got up to speed in a few days, really. Played a lot of different roles for us, defensively and then those roles have expanded this year quite a bit, I’d say maybe a little bit surprisingly because it looked like he had quite a few roles from last year and then starting this year. But, as the season has progressed and we’ve emerged to where we’ve emerged a little bit to defensively, schematically, his roles have, I would say, expanded not contracted.
“Smart guy, has a lot of different skills, he’s very comfortable doing a lot of things, whether it be in-line play, end-of-the-line play, coverage, special teams. He’s a really smart, tough, dependable player, shows up every day, works hard, does a good job. A guy you can count on – whatever you ask him to do, you can count on it. He’s going to give it to you every day, whether it’s Wednesday, Friday or Sunday. That’s a good thing.”
Versatility and the capability to perform certain tasks on the field is extremely important, but it’s almost just as important to be as reliable as Simon has been for New England. Some of the league’s most talented players cannot be depended on, and that alone will help Simon remain on this roster, while helping the Patriots contend for Super Bowls.
The Patriots are currently 10-1 and will hit the road on Sunday night to take on the Houston Texans.
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