DaBronxPats14

Not sure if this was posted or not but thought I'd show BB's Defensive play. Good to see BB have confidence in Jones & D H'T, sure paid off!

Defensive Snaps: Jones earns trust - espnBoston

A look at the snaps played by Patriots defenders in the team’s season-opening 34-13 win over the Titans :

LB Jerod Mayo – 65 of 65
CB Devin McCourty – 64 of 65
CB Kyle Arrington – 63 of 65
DE Chandler Jones – 58 of 65
DT Vince Wilfork – 55 of 65
S Patrick Chung – 51 of 65
DE Rob Ninkovich – 50 of 65
S Steve Gregory – 49 of 65
S Tavon Wilson – 42 of 65
DT Kyle Love – 40 of 65
LB Dont’a Hightower – 40 of 65
LB Brandon Spikes – 38 of 65
CB Ras-I Dowling – 36 of 65
DE/DT Jermaine Cunningham – 23 of 65
DT Brandon Deaderick – 16 of 65
DE Trevor Scott – 7 of 65
DT Ron Brace – 6 of 65
CB Marquice Cole – 6 of 65
S Nate Ebner – 5 of 65
CB Sterling Moore – 1 of 65

(Including penalties.)

ANALYSIS: Right defensive end Chandler Jones hardly comes off the field, which is an indication of how quickly he’s earned the confidence of the coaching staff. While other players were part of a rotation, Jones was not. … Linebackers Dont’a Hightower and Brandon Spikes split time in the nickel. Both came off in the dime as Jerod Mayo is the lone all-packages linebacker. … Cornerback Ras-I Dowling was the nickel back, and when he came on to the field, it pushed Kyle Arrington into the slot. … One line of thinking was that maybe Vince Wilfork would see a reduction in snaps with more depth on the line, but that wasn’t the case in the opener. He had a heavy workload. … Jermaine Cunningham saw time at defensive end in the base defense and also as an interior rusher in the dime package, and was productive based on his snaps, also drawing a holding penalty. … The top three safeties – Patrick Chung, Steve Gregory and Tavon Wilson – were part of a rotation.

patchick

Reiss has the always-informative breakdowns...

Defense: Defensive snaps: Jones earns trust - New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston

Offense: Offensive snaps: Where's Welker? - New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston

On offense, the only thing that really leaps out is Welker's limited snaps (by Welker standards, anyway; he was still on the field for 2/3 of plays, despite the run-out-the-clock focus at the end.)

Defensive snaps have plenty of interest. Three rookies playing 40+ snaps is huge. And how about six different DBs playing the majority of snaps in a game where the game plan focused -- very successfully -- on stopping the run?

Mike the Brit

Very interesting. One thing that stands out to me is this. Looking at the snaps for Mayo, Spikes and Hightower, there were only 2.2 linebackers out there per play. Was someone else playing linebacker, or were the Pats really in sub defense so much? If so, it's all the more impressive that they were so stout against the run.

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They say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Well, Pats fans should be invincible by now. [Fitzy, 16 November 2009]

Still here to learn

Big-T

Ebner got 5 snaps? I can't even remember him getting in the game at all.

I think Wilson spent a bit of time in the hybrid LB/S role, that might go some ways to explain it.

resdubwhite

Vince still playing a lot of snaps. For his own health I hope they find a way to spot him some more breaks.

Big-T

I think he will see a reduction in plays when it comes to more pass heavy teams.

With the likes of Denver and the no huddle he might see less time and someone like Cunningham who should have more stamina could see an increase.

IllegalContact

the pats were up more than 2 scores most of the game.....I think you will see this under those conditions

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“ I think good coaches will coach with the personnel they have, and if you only have one (good) linebacker, you’re not going to play a 3–4. ”
—Hank Bullough, who installed one of the first 3–4 defenses with the New England Patriots.

MrNathanDrake

Cunningham will be a starter by the end of the year

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Sicilian

Jones and Ninkovich (I think) played some snaps without a hand on the ground, so in a way you could consider them linebackers on those plays. I think the DE/OLB tweeners are going to make the positional ratios appear more skewed than the scheme actually calls for.

Metaphors

My thoughts:

- The DE rotation seemed very effective. I've always said that ends start to lose something after 40 snaps and really drop off the cliff after 50. I would like to see Jones get fewer snaps if Cunningham/Scott earn a heavier workload. Ninkovich seems to have the look of older Vrabel so it was nice seeing his snaps capped at 50. Having 4 productive DEs will go a long way in helping the defense stay effective in the 4th quarter of games.

- Gregory played 49 snaps. Would have thought he was inactive except for the occasional shot of him during timeouts. Without seeing the coaches tape, I'm assuming he was patrolling the deep middle. If that is the case, the Titans certainly didn't test him...so maybe not seeing him around the ball is a good sign.

- On the flip side, Wilson getting 40+ snaps was a surprise and he showed up. Obviously the interception was big, but he was constantly in frame at the end of plays. If that is a reflection of his instincts and quickness, I can see him being a mistake-eater like Arrington was last year.

- Wilfork is amazing. He shouldn't be upright in the 4th quarter after 50+ snaps but he was still a monster late in the game. With Love (40 snaps which is perfect for him) the space between the OTs was a traffic jam. If RBs can't get started and QBs can't step up into a clean lane, the defense's job becomes much easier.

- I know he is a favorite of some on this board, but I was thrilled to see Sterling Moore getting no defensive snaps. When/if Dennard gets healthy, Moore may become a depth/inactive DB that just waits for injuries and can get plugged in everywhere. He was more often than not the weak link last year and seeing him on the sidelines is addition by subtraction.

- Welker's relatively low snap count may be a surprise, but he better show more if he wants to prevent it going even lower. He didn't seem to be doubled yet wasn't getting open like expected. Didn't look quick or elusive on screens. The pass off his facemask on the 1st drive was ugly. Not going to push him off the cliff yet, but considering how last season ended and this being a contract year, not a great start for Welker.