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Hello. I'm going to take a moment to sell you on new draft pick Dominique Easley. I may not be able to convince on the status of his injuries, but if the staff believes he's fine, I'm not going to argue.
Here is a series of five pictures, taken over the span of roughly one half of play (I start late and trickle slightly into the second half) between Florida and Miami. These are not all of his impactful plays, just the most blatant and eye-opening. You can watch his whole game here (video embedded at the bottom).
The first four take place over roughly three drives and 10 minutes of game time:
Exhibit A: Why Easley is a great pick. Guess who he is. He does this almost every snap. Everyone else is still set. pic.twitter.com/7VhwOn3udQ
— Rich Hill (@PP_Rich_Hill) May 9, 2014
Exhibit B: Seriously, Easley, give the others guys a chance. This isn't fair. pic.twitter.com/DWWrjyZrxo
— Rich Hill (@PP_Rich_Hill) May 9, 2014
Exhibit C: Dominique, man, it's still the first quarter, take it easy, alright? pic.twitter.com/X2Hk9Hqtb9
— Rich Hill (@PP_Rich_Hill) May 9, 2014
Exhibit D: D, it's not funny anymore. Why are you playing 5 tech and still bull rushing the tackle back into the QB? pic.twitter.com/iGgno6aq2k
— Rich Hill (@PP_Rich_Hill) May 9, 2014
The final frame comes from the start of the second half:
Exhibit E: This is what Belichick is talking about when Easley disrupts and someone else closes.
This is the potential a healthy Easley offers. An insanely dominant first step that can disrupt the offensive line before anyone else can get out of their stance. This is after he already had surgery on his torn ACL in the final game of the 2011 season. He can come back and perform at this level again.
You'll also note that he has played out of the 3 tech, the 1 tech, the nose, and the 5 tech in all of these pictures.
Now picture this type of disruption surrounded by Rob Ninkovich and Chandler Jones, with Vince Wilfork (or Sealver Siliga) manning the point. This is how turnovers are forced when the secondary is playing tight press coverage. This is how the defense takes a step into a whole new level of dominance.
Here's his full video: