Can Jamie Collins Continue Breakout Postseason, Carry Patriots D to Super Bowl?

You can almost forgive Pro Bowl voters for missing the boat on Jamie Collins. After all, he didn't really take over until after fan balloting had opened.

It's hard to blame The Associated Press or Pro Football Writers of America (of which, full disclosure, I'm a member) for voting Bobby Wagner, Luke Kuechly and C.J. Mosley onto their All-Pro, All-NFL and All-AFC squads.  

Yet, over the second half of the season and into the playoffs, the New England Patriots middle linebacker has metamorphosed. He was once just Jerod Mayo's understudy; now, he's the centerpiece of the Patriots defense. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) graded Collins as the third-best inside linebacker in football—and if the Patriots are going to win the Super Bowl this year, he'll need to play even better than that.

Collins has ideal size at 6'3", 250 pounds. The 2013 second-round pick put up eye-popping explosion numbers at the NFL Scouting Combine, per NFL.com: His 4.64-second 40-yard dash, 41.5" vertical leap, 139" broad jump and blazing cone and shuttle times made him a standout in a field chock-full of athletic linebackers.

What's most impressive about Collins isn't his athletic talent. His breathtaking closing speed and dime-slicing change-of-direction would be meaningless if his vision, awareness and football IQ weren't developing the way they have under Bill Belichick.

When the Patriots hosted the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Divisional Round, Collins needed every one of the many tools he has in his bag to help stop the bleeding and seal the season-saving win.

In the first half, the Ravens' powerful offensive line dominated the Patriots linemen up front. Ravens tailback Justin Forsett gashed the Patriots time and again, and quarterback Joe Flacco worked the ball all over the field. The Ravens went up, 14-0, almost before Pats fans had settled into their seats.

Watching the tape, Collins had been assigned to keep second-level edge contain on Forsett. The dominance of the Ravens guards kept springing him for seven, 10, 12 yards at a time. Even if Collins was getting off blocks and making the tackles downfield, he wasn't helping much. 

The Patriots couldn't get any heat on Flacco, either. He wasn't sacked once.

On passing plays, Collins was used in short zone coverage, and man-to-man coverage on a running back or tight end. Collins excelled. He crushed fullback Kyle Juszczyk on a first-quarter smoke route, nearly intercepted a pass intended for tight end Owen Daniels and outraced the split-wide Juszczyk 40 yards down the sideline, nearly intercepting Flacco's would-be touchdown bomb.

In the second half, Collins was brought up to the line much more often, taking on guards at the point of attack and occasionally blitzing Flacco. The closest the Patriots came to bringing down Flacco was this tremendous individual effort from...guess who?

Collins started this play sneaking up to the line of scrimmage to man up on tailback Fitzgerald Toussaint:

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

After Toussaint released to the outside, Collins passed him off to outside linebacker Rob Ninkovich and checked back to read Flacco's eyes:

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Seeing Flacco wanted to go deep, Collins turned on the jets. He quickly closed while Flacco struggled to find an open receiver:

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Flacco reversed field to escape pressure from defensive lineman Sealver Siliga, and Collins cut back inside:

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Collins, now with an unobstructed path to Flacco, whistled past the ear of left tackle James Hurst, who had no idea Collins was even in the neighborhood:

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Collins hit home, stripped the ball from Flacco and dumped him on the turf. A downfield holding call against Darrelle Revis negated this tremendous individual effort, but it's these all-over-the-field plays the Patriots expect—and need—Collins to make.

In the fourth quarter, it seemed like Collins was everywhere. He made four of his 11 solo tackles on the Ravens' final two drives, covered Daniels and forced Flacco to turf the ball in panic after coming unblocked up the A-gap.

As the Patriots host the upstart Indianapolis Colts, they'll need Collins to lower the boom on Dan Herron and the Colts run game, spy fleet-footed quarterback Andrew Luck and lock down tight end Coby Fleener in coverage.

Jim Rogash/Getty Images

With Patriots cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Kyle Arrington likely to play a lot of man coverage against the Colts' talented (if inconsistent) receivers, Collins' athleticism in the middle of the field in nickel and dime situations will make him responsible for pass-catchers coming out of the backfield, as well as covering shallow and intermediate crossing routes.

The Colts offensive line was able to keep Luck clean against Denver; DeMarcus Ware, Von Miller and the Broncos pass rush couldn't sack Luck once. If the Patriots defense can't apply any pressure, New England may again ask Collins to cheat up to the line and at least threaten to blitz—making those run and coverage responsibilities even harder for him to handle.

Should the Patriots win their sixth AFC title of the Tom Brady/Bill Belichick era (they were 6.5-point favorites at the time of publication, per Odds Shark), Collins will be asked to wear every hat against either Russell Wilson and the defending champion Seattle Seahawks or Aaron Rodgers and the No. 1 scoring offense of the Green Bay Packers.

Slowing them down will be a tall task, but Collins has the talent to achieve it.