Special teams is a specialty for Aaron Patrick.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s something I\u2019ve grown to love more and more,\u201d the 28-year-old Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive end said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s one of the three phases of the football game. Football is made up of offence, defence and special teams, and whenever you can find some type of niche to put your stamp or put your name on the game in that phase, then I think that\u2019s what you should do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrick did precisely that while establishing his name in the NFL game over 17 regular-season contests with the Denver Broncos (2021-22). He was also an outside linebacker with Denver.<\/p>\n
Before joining the Broncos, he was with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2020 and 2021.<\/p>\n
\u201cEarly in my football career, I learned the different ways to get yourself on the football field,\u201d said Patrick, who was born in Dayton, Ohio and played college football at Eastern Kentucky.<\/p>\n
\u201cI realized that I could put a type of personal stamp on the game (on special teams) that I don\u2019t think anybody else could. That has kind of travelled with me wherever I\u2019ve gone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I went to the Jaguars and when I went to the Broncos, it was the same thing. Coming here, I was able to find places within our scheme where I was able to do some of the same things that have been part of my career for however many years.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 6-foot-5, 250-pounder\u2019s versatility has been on display in Saskatchewan, where he has moved to the defensive line while maintaining his trademark level of excellence on special teams.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe can set the tone of the game pretty quickly on the opening kickoff,\u201d Head Coach Corey Mace said. \u201c(Special Teams Co-ordinator) Kent Maugeri calls him a Junkyard Dog. He\u2019s one of those.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe loves running down there and he loves contact and he\u2019s making plays \u2014 and he\u2019s playing defence, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a heck of a player. We knew what to expect when we got him and he has been that.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is a good thing that Patrick relishes contact, because there is plenty of that when he is on the field. He is routinely double-teamed.<\/p>\n
\u201cListen, I\u2019ve seen quadruple-teams out there,\u201d he said with a smile. \u201cI take it as a sign of respect.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur coach does such a good job of putting a good group together. If they do want to double-team me or triple-team me or whatever, awesome. We got a team full of guys who can go make a play.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019ve just wasted multiple blockers on me, then you just let three other people who are really great players come down there and do the same thing, so it works in our favour.\u201d<\/p>\n
What, one wonders, is it like to be quadruple-teamed?<\/p>\n
\u201cIt happens so fast,\u201d the amiable Patrick replied. \u201cYou\u2019ll be running sometimes and you\u2019ll see a guy come over. Then, all of a sudden, you\u2019ll see three or four people. I\u2019m thinking, \u2018There\u2019s no way! If three or four of you are on me, somebody has to be open!\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cLike I said, it\u2019s respect. It\u2019s just one of those things where, \u2018This is what they\u2019re going to do? Great. This is how we\u2019re going to combat it.\u2019 We just figure out what we\u2019ve got to do. No matter what they do, there\u2019s always something we should be doing on our end to play our best brand of football.\u201d<\/p>\n
The formula is a success. The Roughriders sport a CFL-best 12-5 record entering Saturday\u2019s regular-season finale against the B.C. Lions (5 p.m., Mosaic Stadium).<\/a><\/p>\n