GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 25, EXPRESS 8 • 26
BY KYLE CHARTERS
KCharters@GoldandBlack.com
R
ob Ninkovich's season had been off
to a slow start.
Not only did he have only one sack
through the first five games, but the vet-
eran had seen a reduction in snaps early
in the year. But he erased the slow start
with a big day against fellow former Boil-
ermaker Kyle Orton.
In New England's win over Buffalo
Sunday, a big early-season contest in the
AFC East, Ninkovich collected three sacks.
"The quarterback really doesn't move
too much, so I was able to pin the ears
back a little bit more and get after him,"
Ninkovich told the Boston Globe. "I think
Orton in the pocket is different than
somebody that's a scrambler. Against a
guy that's going to be more stationary,
you have more of an opportunity to work
edges more, work counters more, and
you know that he's not really going to go
anywhere."
Ninkovich, who has 31.5 sacks in his
nine-year career, has back-to-back eight-
sack seasons for the Patriots. He could
break that this year, with his four through
six games.
But the defensive end might need
more efforts like Sunday.
"We did a good job executing and
understanding that if we got (Orton)
off the spot, if we got some pressure on
him, that he was going to try to get rid
of the ball quickly," Ninkovich told the
Globe. "He was obviously trying to get
the ball downfield, so the coverage did a
good job, and I was able to get him a few
times."
j
Ninkovich Has Big Day In Big Win
New England Patriots
Rob Ninkovich had three sacks of Kyle Orton on Sunday, bringing his season total up to four.
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