Fencer

Look at the Patriots' stats for the glory years of their defense -- 2004 or one of the years close to it.

2004 New England Patriots Statistics & Players | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Most of the sacks came from OLBs. Most of the rest came from DEs. A few came from interior DL (and we can't know exactly where who was lined up on which sack play anyway), ILBs, or DBs (especially Rodney, but he was often an honorary LB anyway).

The sacks were of course distributed among a lot of players. But they also were concentrated at the classical pass rushing positions.

That doesn't mean scheme can't substitute for pure pass-rushing talent; I think a significant fraction of Vrabel's or even Willie's sacks came when they were essentially unblocked. But if the OLBs can't rush, the Pats are not going to get to the QB pleasingly often.

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DaBruinz

As I have mentioned NUMEROUS times, what made the Pats Pass Rush so successful was that they could bring the Pass Rush from ANY LB position. They've not been able to do that in the last few years because they haven't had the personnel. They have it now and they should be able to do a much better job of getting pressure on the QB.
Yes, it was primarily the OLB who got the sacks, but I can remember plenty of times that they brought Bruschi or Phifer or Johnson and it fouled up the blocking scheme allowing either McGinest or Vrabel in with much more ease.

eom

this post makes me want to beat myself unconscious with a hammer.
most sacks come from olb and d-line....really?

so, I guess if sacks (really, pressures -- I'm sick of hearing about sacks) were created by scheme we'd see corners leading the team in sacks?

Joker

I seem to remember the defense pressuring the gaps with overloads to create pressure from different positions on the line...in KEY spots in the game. These past few seasons I find myself screaming at the TV over the lack of pressure at key moments and the seemingly blase approach to blitzing. It's probably just my own flawed perception, I haven't looked at the stats that break these things down, but I sure would like to see some inside as well as outside pressure this season.

makoute

What do you base "they have it now" on?

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Fencer

Please don't restrain yourself from doing so on my account!

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"To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness." -- Oscar Wilde

mmasterkillah

LOL, not the best analysis I've ever seen, but I had a good time in this thread.

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Fencer

I was setting out to consciousness-raise against an extreme viewpoint. And, frankly, I was surprised at how few of the sacks came from DBs.

Obviously, the fraction of hurries/hits that came from DBs would be a lot lower yet.

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"To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness." -- Oscar Wilde

patsfan-1982

BB dose not zone blitz a lot

eom

I believe the jets are widely regarded as one of the best defenses in the league, best against the pass, as well as very successful at generating pressure.

scheme or players?