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DB Nate 'War Daddy' Ebner (3x Super Bowl Champ, USA Rugby)

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Bubble watch: Nate Ebner
July, 1, 2013
By Mike Rodak | ESPNBoston.com

NAME: Nate Ebner

bos_a_ebner01jr_200.jpg

AP Photo/Charles Krupa
Nate Ebner faces some competition in his bid to keep his spot with the Patriots.

POSITION: Safety

AGE: 24

2012 STATS: 15 games (no starts), 14 tackles

INJURY STATUS: Did not participate fully in OTAs/minicamp with unknown injury.

CHANCE OF MAKING 53-MAN ROSTER: 65%

WHY HE SHOULD MAKE IT: Ebner remains an intriguing NFL prospect, coming from a rugby background with little experience on defense when he played football in college. He carved a role out on special teams last season, and if he builds on that, could provide significant value in a phase of the game the Patriots consider important. With some moving parts in the secondary, there is also potential for Ebner to gain experience on defense this preseason.

WHY HE SHOULD NOT MAKE IT: The Patriots' roster is deepest at linebacker and in the secondary, bolstered by four draft picks (Jamie Collins, Logan Ryan, Duron Harmon, and Steve Beauharnais) this April. All of these players figure to have some role on special teams. Moreover, the Patriots are well-stacked at safety: Beyond veterans Adrian Wilson, Steve Gregory and Devin McCourty, they have Harmon and 2012 second-round pick Tavon Wilson. That makes Ebner potentially the sixth player at his position, putting him at risk of not making the cut.

CLOSEST COMPETITION: CB Marquice Cole, S Tavon Wilson, LB Mike Rivera
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http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/new-england-patriots/post/_/id/4744887/bubble-watch-nate-ebner-2
 
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Follow-up thoughts: Nate Ebner
July, 1, 2013
By Field Yates | ESPNBoston.com

Few knew of Nate Ebner before the Patriots selected him in the sixth round of the draft last year, but he quickly grew a following because of his unlikely path to the NFL. Earlier today, colleague Mike Rodak highlighted Ebner in the latest installment of his "Bubble Watch" series, noting the potential for Ebner to gain more experience on defense this season.

Ebner, who was unable to fully participate in offseason activities due to an unknown injury, played in 15 games as a rookie and contributed primarily on special teams. Safety was a position of flux for the Patriots, but Devin McCourty eventually settled in next to Steve Gregory to solidify the back end of the defense.

It's a distant memory now, but Ebner, who played just three defensive snaps during his final year at Ohio State, flashed ball skills and range during training camp last July and August. He made a handful of plays on the ball, showing reactive athleticism to move laterally on reads, and seemed to grow more comfortable as training camp rolled on.

By the time the season began, Ebner was largely relegated to a special teams role, as he played just 34 defensive snaps last regular season. But while we have a sense of what Ebner is on special teams -- a core special teamer who can help as both a coverage and hold-up player -- what makes him intriguing is what he could become defensively.

If he can develop enough to be a contributor in sub packages, that will enhance Ebner's value and help him stick around for a long time in New England. If he turns out to be best suited as strictly a special teamer, he'll continue to draw a parallel to Patriots special teams ace Matthew Slater, who nominally is a wide receiver, but has just one reception in five pro seasons. He's also become a captain and leader for the team, paying credence to the fact that each NFL roster needs core special teamers who can impact the outcome of the game each week. If Ebner evolves into another Slater-like prospect that doesn't have a large defensive role, that's still very good return on an initial investment of just a sixth-round pick.
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http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/new-england-patriots/post/_/id/4744890/follow-up-thoughts-nate-ebner
 
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@DougKyedNESN Think Ebner is on the roster bubble since he hasn?t played this preseason? He was a beast on ST last year, hate to lose him. ? Matt Murray (@MattToTheFuture) I do believe Nate Ebner is firmly on the roster bubble, if not slightly on the outside looking in to the bubble. Ebner was a quality special teams player, but so are Duron Harmon, Marquice Cole, Adrian Wilson and Kyle Arrington, all of whom are better defenders than Ebner. It?s still possible Ebner makes the 53-man roster, but it would likely come at the expense of Steve Gregory or Tavon Wilson. And Gregory offers nice depth at both safety positions, and it?s doubtful the Patriots would give up on a second-year, second-rounder so quickly. Wilson has probably been the weakest safety out of the players who are expected to make the team ? Adrian Wilson, Tavon Wilson, Harmon, Devin McCourty and Gregory. The hype for Ebner was high last year, but it appears he just hasn?t made the strides necessary on defense to keep warranting a roster spot. Crazier things have happened in Foxboro, though.
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Read more at: http://nesn.com/2013/08/shane-veree...pon-danny-woodheads-old-third-down-back-role/
 
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Patriots: Nate Ebner punt recovery key to victory
By Jennifer Toland TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
[email protected]

FOXBORO — What ended up being the biggest miscue of the night happened with just over 3 minutes left in overtime.

Broncos returner Wes Welker waved off a punt, and the ball ended up hitting off teammate Tony Carter. The Patriots' Nate Ebner recovered the ball at the Denver 13, setting up Stephen Gostkowski's winning 31-yard field goal.

“I don't want to make too much out of it,” Ebner said. “I was just covering punts like I always do. The punt returner was waving it off. You've just got to be ready to make a play.”

Welker acknowledged his mistake on the play.

“I felt like it was a lot of traffic and it was a high ball,” he said. “I didn't want to get into a situation where someone was running into me or something else, and I ended up with the situation I didn't want to happen in the first place. I have to do a better job of getting up there and getting those guys out of the way and making sure it doesn't hit them.”
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http://www.telegram.com/article/20131124/NEWS/131129968

 
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He's an under-the-radar Buckeye in the NFL, but he's doing well.

Belichick’s high praise for Ebner. The Patriots used special-teamer Nate Ebner on defense at various times against the Vikings. Ebner has mainly been a special-teams contributor, even going back to his college days at Ohio State, but Belichick has seen Ebner’s confidence and ability on the field grow.

“I would probably put him in the, not the all-time top, but maybe in the top 5 percent all-time of players that I’ve coached from where they were in college to how they grew in the NFL,” Belichick said. “Nate had almost no defensive experience at Ohio State. He’s adapted in a relatively short amount of time -- going into his third year so it’s really two-plus years -- adapted very well to the knowledge of our defense, to the understanding of opponents’ offenses, to instinctiveness and reading and recognition at a position that he plays right in the middle of the field, which is among the most difficult -- inside linebacker and safety, where the volume and the number of things that can happen are the greatest, where you have to really see everybody on the field, all 11 guys. His development has really been outstanding.”

http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/new-england-patriots/post/_/id/4768311/leftovers-from-the-gillette
 
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