BradyManny

I've been wondering this recently - did the Pats know they would be primarily a 4-3 base defense team this year when they drafted in April? And if not, would it have changed anything?


Am I wrong, or were they running 3-4 in minicamps? It seems to me that 4-3 was something that arose in camp when they realized a) Mayo was the cornerstone of the defense now, and he could be best utilized as a 4-3 MLB, perhaps b) with their personnel at OLB, 4-3 gave them the best chance to win.

Looking at who they picked - looking at the D-linemen, there's certainly a lot of versatility there and all those guys can play in either a 3-4 or 4-3. Their only pick at linebacker was McKenzie, and to me, it seems like he was drafted to be a 3-4 SILB, but we know he played 4-3 OLB in college.

I do wonder, if they had known they were going to play more 4-3 back in April, would some of those edge rushers - the DE/OLB hybrid guys - have been more in consideration?

shatch62

According to Pro Football Weekly it seems to the Pats (Belichick) had to know he was going to be shifting to a 4-3 set.
ProFootballWeekly.com - Belichick adapting scheme to personnel

Hindsight is 20/20 but with the loss of Mayo I wish they had drafted or picked up a veteran ILB/MLB to be in the mix. Alexander is a fine ST player and Guyton has shown enough to think he could grow into a good player but right now we have a hole in the inside.

jmt57

As I recall the general consensus was that the Pats would go after a linebacker early - earlier than the McKenzie pick - as well as a corner and a safety. I think most people were surprised with the Brace and Vollmer selections thinking that inside and outside linebackers would be chosen before offensive and defensive linemen.

In hindsight we shouldn't have been all that surprised because Belichick drafts more on player value and we fans tend to focus more on position need. However, given the number of defensive linemen selected in the draft you may be correct in your theory that BB was at minimum considering the use of the 4-3 on certain downs or against specific teams this season.

Patspsycho

well that's what he's always said he does- drafting on the best talent available (and the ones that fit best in the Patriots system), never on need.

xmarkd400x

I'll tell you what... It looks like the Pats are playing a 4-1-6 or a 4-2-5 most of the time.

ctpatsfan77

According to Reiss, before Mayo went down, they were still playing mostly 3-4. . . .

That said, if they knew they were switching to a 4-3 before the draft, it makes some of their decisions even more curious (like, you know, passing on players that seemed tailor-made to play a hybrid DE/OLB role).

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letekro

IIRC, Pats1 reported that they were playing predominantly 4-3 while he was at camp, an observation for which he was ridiculed (including by me). Turns out his eyes were right.

Bertil

Good point...they were moving in this direction before last year. Remember the failed Tank Williams experiment? The can use Brandon McGowan and Patrick Chung as their LB/S hybrids. It gives their D an infusion of speed and versatility, the lack of which had cost them 2 Super Bowls (arguably).

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olschool

I think now that the copycat teams are playing the 3-4, that there aren't as many of those players available.

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chris_in_sunnyvale

Perhaps he was looking longer-term at the contract statuses of Seymour and Wilfork. Looking at this year (less LB talent...make up for it on DL) and beyond (will Seymour and Wilfork be here?) probably lead to this kind of DL focus in the draft.

Regards,
Chris