Andre Patterson Defends Shamar Stephen: "He Does What We Coach Him to Do"
Vikings defensive tackle Shamar Stephen is an easy target of criticism for Vikings fans and writers alike. A look at the stats shows that the veteran was one of the least productive three-technique tackles in the NFL last season, recording just six pressures and one sack in over 300 pass-rushing snaps. Pro Football Focus backs that up, giving Stephen the 93rd-best grade out of 118 qualified DTs for his play in 2019.
As a result, a great deal of discussion this offseason has been spent on the prospect of finding a replacement for Stephen in 2020. Especially after the addition of nose tackle Michael Pierce – who has never been known as much of a pass-rusher – the idea of the Vikings finding a player who could generate interior pressure from the 3T spot was an appealing one.
Recent developments have shaken up that picture. Pierce opted out of the 2020 season because of serious health risks, a decision that was clearly the right one given his circumstances. Now, Stephen seems like a strong candidate to continue to start at one of the interior positions. He might be a more natural fit at nose tackle anyways, but could also be out there at 3T if Jaleel Johnson or Armon Watts plays the nose.
While the thought of Stephen remaining a starter might not be an attractive one for many Vikings fans, co-defensive coordinator Andre Patterson wants it to be known that he thinks the criticism of the UConn product is misguided. He gave an impassioned defense of Stephen's play on Friday, which was focused on the role he plays in allowing the Vikings' linebackers to make plays.
"Eric Kendricks will tell you that part of the reason that he went to the Pro Bowl are those two big bodies sitting in front of him," Patterson said. "They allow him to run from sideline to sideline and be free. Their number one job in their life is to not let anybody touch Eric. People write stuff about Shamar Stephen, and I get it because everybody just looks at stats. But if you watch film and you ask Eric Kendricks if he had to pick anybody to go to the game with that he'd make sure that guy was there, I guarantee he'd tell you it's 93. Because 93 is not going to let anybody get to the second level and block Eric."
Patterson's explanation was that Stephen isn't asked to do what many teams ask their three-tech to do. So even though his pressure stats are putrid, that doesn't mean he's not adding value by eating up blockers at the line of scrimmage and preventing them from getting to the second level. The Vikings don't want Stephen to be Aaron Donald or Grady Jarrett, which he clearly isn't. They want him to essentially be a second nose tackle up front, and Patterson believes he does that at a high level.
"They're doing what we coach them to do," he said. "Some people take that three technique role, and that guy's a penetrating guy. He's trying to get in the backfield and get tackles for loss and is better on his pass rush because he's moving forward, but we don't ask our guy to do that. We ask our guy to keep Eric Kendricks free. We want to flatten out the line of scrimmage. Don't let any linemen leave the line of scrimmage, the inside guys, and let Eric free. So those guys are just going out there and executing what I coach them to do, and that's why that position is so important because we want to keep those linebackers free, and Eric and Anthony Barr are able to make plays because of the way those two D-tackles play."
It was a very interesting, passionate answer from Patterson, who clearly has seen some of the vitriol directed towards Stephen and is sticking up for his player. It makes a lot of sense; Stephen is a strong, powerful tackle who plays with good leverage and is tough to move in the run game.
However, it's worth questioning whether the Vikings were making the correct strategic choice last year by essentially punting on the idea of creating interior pressure on early downs. With Linval Joseph no longer the havoc-wreaker he once was, there was no one troubling opposing quarterbacks up the middle unless the Vikings rotated defensive ends to the interior. Kendricks did have a career year, so Patterson has a point.
In 2020, the Vikings may be forced to adjust their strategy somewhat. With no Pierce, the leading candidates for playing time up front are Stephen, Johnson, and Watts. Hercules Mata'afa, James Lynch, and Jalyn Holmes will also be part of that competition. Assuming Stephen remains a starter, whoever is alongside him will likely offer more as a pass-rusher than Joseph did last year and Pierce would've this year.
Vikings Defensive Tackles Preview: Who Will Emerge at Three-Technique?
Another interesting thing mentioned by Patterson is that all of the defensive tackles have to know how to play both nose tackle and three-technique, because defenses can essentially force them to swap roles based on their alignments and blocking schemes.
"Because of the way we play, our noses have to know how to play three-technique and our three-technique has to know how to play nose, because the offense can make those guys have to play those roles," Patterson said. "As we go through practice they all have to learn how to play nose and how to play three. I'm going to put the best combination out there that gives us the best opportunity to succeed. When it's all said and done and we go through the evaluation at camp, I'm going to put the best two D-tackles out there that give us the best opportunity to be successful."
The competition for those two starting jobs in the middle is going to be one of the most fascinating to track over the course of training camp. Based on Patterson's comments, it seems like Stephen – despite the stats – has an inside track to claiming one of those spots.
Check out all of our Vikings 2020 season preview content right here.
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