Mike
Patterson - Philadelphia Eagles 2005
1st Roundd draft pick, 31st overall
Information about Mike Patterson, Philadelphia Eagles 2005
1st Roundd draft pick, 31st overall
OVERVIEW - Quotes from Philadelphia
Eagles 2005 1st Round draft pick quotes from Mike Patterson
One of the premier nose guards in the collegiate ranks, Mike
Patterson was nicknamed "Baby Sapp," as his style
of play is very similar to that of Oakland's Warren Sapp.
Both rely on their suddenness off the snap, instincts and
aggression to make plays in the backfield, despite yielding
considerable bulk and size to the offensive linemen.
Patterson teamed with Shaun Cody to give the Trojans the
premier tackle tandem in college football: both garnered first-team
All-American honors as seniors.
Patterson moved to the Los Angeles area as a high school
sophomore to live with a cousin and his family. The All-CIF
wrestler and defensive tackle earned PrepStar and Super Prep
All-American honors as a senior at Los Alamitos (Calif.) High.
He recorded 94 tackles with seven sacks and 18 stops behind
the line of scrimmage in his final prep season.
He arrived on the Southern California campus in 2001 and
expected to redshirt, but injuries forced him on to the field
as a reserve defensive tackle for the team's final 11 games.
Patterson struggled a bit to adapt to classroom work and the
playbook during his first year at USC, but made considerable
strides over the course of his career. He finished his rookie
year with only nine tackles, but registered three sacks, five
stops for losses and caused and recovered two fumbles.
Patterson started the first six games of the 2002 campaign at
nose guard before shifting to tackle for the next four games,
then moved back to nose for the final three contests. He totaled
37 tackles (27 solo) with 5½ sacks, 11½ stops
for losses and four fumble recoveries.
During the Trojans' march for a share of the national title
in 2003, Patterson had a career-high 55 tackles (36 solo)
with seven sacks, 13½ stops for losses of 61 yards
and returned three fumble recoveries for 68 yards. Those figures
earned the nose guard first-team All-Pac-10 Conference honors.
As he entered his senior year, Patterson was the subject
of constant double-team coverage. Despite those stacked odds,
it was he doing the stacking (and disengaging) at the line
of scrimmage, as he earned consensus All-American and All-Pac-10
Conference honors as a senior. He recorded 45 tackles (25
solo) with six sacks, a team-high 16 stops behind the line
of scrimmage, two forced fumbles, a conference-high four fumble
recoveries and two pass deflections.
The three-year starter finished his career with 146 tackles
(96 solo), 21½ sacks for minus-139 yards, 46 stops
for losses of 213 yards, four forced fumbles, 13 fumble recoveries
(team record) and three pass break-ups.
ANALYSIS
Patterson has excellent quickness and plays with recklessness
and an aggressive style. He shows good pursuit speed to cover
ground from sideline to sideline. Might be a little too short
to play the two-gap system, but his explosion, long arms and
strength make him ideal to handle the trash and double teams
at nose guard.
Patterson plays very quick in the short area, as his clocked
40-yard speed indicates. Does a very good job of avoiding
blockers and making plays. In the past, he needed to use his
hands more to shed quicker, but showed marked improvement
in this area as a senior. Now uses his hands effectively to
hit and shed, moving down the line to make the play.
Can anchor and read, doing a nice job of taking a side to
beat the blocker or attack the gap. When he is quick to spot
the plays, he reacts well to blocking schemes and is stout
at the point of attack, consistently getting leverage and
getting his feet free. At times, Mike will run underneath
blockers and that causes him to take a bad angle, causing
him to then has to chase down the ball carrier from behind.
Plays with a high motor and is quick and sudden coming off
the edge of a blocker. His brute strength (Patterson earned
several weight lifting honors with the Trojans) and wrestling
experience makes him a very disruptive force, as he gets a
lot of his tackles (one-third) in the backfield.
He keeps a low center of gravity vs. the run and can anchor
and neutralize with his lower-body strength and very long
arms. Extremely difficult to block one-on-one because of his
power and low pad level. Physical hitter, wraps up strongly
and is a good pass rusher with above-average foot speed to
fight through traffic en route to the quarterback. A little
slow recognizing the run and pass, but has the foot speed
to get there once he spots the play. Patterson shows a great
short-area burst and has good change-of-direction skills.
Gets adequate depth dropping back in zone coverage and breaks
on the ball well, but struggles with his man-to-man cover
skills, resulting in him generally being replaced in nickel
situations. Can easily beat the single block with his speed
and power. Effective pushing the pocket if the center attempts
to block him and can also do it when the center gets help.
Will rip or swim off the bull rush and has a very good burst
to push and close the pocket. Patterns his play and is even
nicknamed "Baby Sapp," in honor of Warren Sapp,
but his backfield penetration agility is superior to that
of the once-dominant Oakland Raider.
INJURY REPORT
No injuries reported.
AGILITY
4.83 in the 40-yard dash ... 520-pound bench press ... 700-pound
squat; ... 410-pound power clean ... 34-inch vertical jump
... 9-foot-9 broad jump ... 32-inch arm length ... 9¼-inch
hands ... Right-handed.
HIGH SCHOOL
Attended Los Alamitos (Cal.) High. ... Earned Prep Star All-American,
SuperPrep All-Far West, Prep Star All-Western Region, Long
Beach Press-Telegram Best of the West second team, Los Angeles
Times All-Orange County, Orange County Register All-Orange
County first-team, Long Beach Press-Telegram Dream Team first-team
and All-Sunset League honors as a senior ... Posted 94 tackles,
18 stops for losses and seven sacks in 2000 ... As a junior,
his honors included All-CIF Division VI Defensive MVP, Long
Beach Press-Telegram Dream Team second-team and All-Sunset
League first-team honors ... Patterson also was an All-CIF
wrestler at Los Alamitos.
PERSONAL
Sociology major ... His family lived in Sacramento, but he
moved south and lived with relatives in order to play football
at Los Alamitos High ... His sports hero is NFL star Warren
Sapp. "He's my favorite player, for sure," Patterson
said. "He was one of the short guys and we have similar
body types. He worked very hard and now he is one of the best.
So that's who I try to emulate. I try to work really hard
to be the best. We have different attitudes, but I love the
way he plays. But I don't hear the 'Baby Sapp' nickname much
anymore. It's almost like I'm finally making a name for myself."
... Born Sept. 1, 1983 ... Resides in Los Alamitos, Calif.
