billdog3484

whats the difference. the dolphins put 38 points on us not doing it. i dont know what our defense has to do to get better, but I hope somebody in our organization has an idea because our Defense has been pathetic

OhExaulted1

Bad idea. We might not get to the QB but eventually he will get picked off. Our 4-5 wides usually includes Kevin Faulk somewhere. He's as good as Brian Westbrook but never gets the credit.

__________________
I've visited the inner sanctum

IcyPatriot

What he said ...

Mack Herron

4 open receivers is quite enough, thank you.

spacecrime

Because no team has five good WRs?

I've never seen a team use five WRs in one one play. Even empty backfield, there is always one TE and/or RB. Most teams only have three good WRs.

spacecrime

How is Gaffney and Reche five WRs? I count 1 1/2.

Fencer

OK. Some of this is getting silly.

1. "5 WR" formations rarely, if ever, include 5 guys who are listed in the depth chart as WRs. Most commonly, 1-2 of them are RBs or TEs. There are two main reasons for this. First, teams rarely bother activating 5 official WRs for the same game. Second, they generally want to force the defense to keep a personnel grouping on the field that could defend against the run.

2. In a 5 WR set, a key requirement is that one or more receivers get open QUICKLY, before the QB gets leveled. Welker and Faulk are good at that, as were Troy Brown and Deion Branch.

3. Another key requirement is that the QB very quickly recognize who will be open. Brady has always been great at that. Cassell is doing it well now too.

4. It is desirable that the QB deliver the ball very accurately, so that the runner catches it in stride. Brady actually did NOT excel at that at first, although he was never bad. The difference isn't as great as it is in running, but it's another area where Cassell may actually be a bit ahead of where Brady was in the same number of starts.

AzPatsFan

Simply because the Patriots may not have great starting CBs, but they do have a complete number of fairly good ones to array against the wide five.

Back in the Rams Superbowl era, circa 2001, the Rams destroyed "good defenses" that simply had a pair or three good CBs. And a couple of horrid scrubs who were all they could afford. The Pats even then, fit the BB philosophy of having fair to good players all the way down the roster. So the Rams "Greatest Show on Turf" Wide Five, was no where as effective against the Pats.

The Pats can field Hobbs, O'Neal, Webster, and L Sanders, all of whom were starters in this league, before they have to go to rookie Willhite, Richardson or a guy like Spann or Ventrone. Don't forget they had a high draft pick rookie, Wheatley too, until a week ago.

Our devatating offense of last season was a wide five too. Moss, Welker, Stallworth, Gaffney and a Faulk and or Watson/Thomas. Teams simply ran out of adequate defenders even if they had a single guy like Champ Bailey.