‘Always organized’ Harold Landry setting the tone for Patriots’ pass rush

Few players in recent memory had a more impressive New England Patriots debut than Harold Landry.

A free agency pickup in March, Landry registered 2.5 sacks in the season opener against the Las Vegas Raiders. The Patriots ultimately ended up losing that game, but the outside linebacker’s performance was still impressive and put him atop the NFL leaderboard in sacks after Week 1.

For his position coach, however, none of that came as too much of a surprise. Speaking to reporters at Gillette Stadium earlier this week, Mike Smith said that Landry’s performance against the Raiders was merely a continuation of training camp.

“He’s got explosive get-off. He was mixing in his power, making these guys set him normally, and just how aggressive he plays,” Smith said. “He’s a smart guy, he knows how to rush, he knows how to set them up. He’s a student of the game. He studies. We talk about it all week, what the game plan is. He executed what Harold does and I just loved how he mixed up some things and just keeps those tackles honest.”

A second-round draft pick out of Boston College in 2018, Landry started his career in Tennessee under then-Titans head coach Mike Vrabel. In his seven seasons in the AFC South, including one missed entirely due to a torn ACL, he registered 55 sacks in a combined 103 regular season and playoff games.

Even though he had only one Pro Bowl nomination to show for, Landry was a reliable member of Vrabel’s defense both on and off the field. Now a member of the Patriots via the three-year, $43.5 million offseason deal he signed with the club, he continues to display the same traits.

This has allowed him to set the tone for the New England pass rush as a starter on the edge and a team captain.

“We go over pass rush and we go over tackles and the offensive line, and we all get together and ask him, ‘How do you see who we’re playing this week?’ He reads off his report, and he’s detailed,” explained Smith.

“He’s a smart kid. You can tell he puts the time in. As a coach, you can tell the guys that don’t put the time in, and that’s how we build our plan. Let’s get on board. Let’s all get on the same page. There’s a lot to it. There are protections, there are chips, there are thumps — there are going to be a lot of different things that go with that. But he’s having that plan. He’s just always organized. He hit me last night at 10 o’clock about something; about this move, about that move. That’s why guys like him have some success.”

In Week 1, Landry’s success was one of the few positives to take away from New England’s 20-13 defeat. It also was something to build off of moving forward, and to serve as a blueprint for the rest of the defense.

Landry, after all, is a veteran in the Vrabel system and as such uniquely familiar with what it asks of the players. This, in turn, allows the 29-year-old to lead by example, something he does day in and day out, according to his position coach.

“He might not be the most vocal guy, but the way he works and the way he prepares, he’s always full-go in practice” Smith said. “He’s always doing the right thing, all that type of stuff. He might not be the vocal leader, but that’s OK. He’s going to do it by the way he plays.”

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