Will we see more of an attack defense this year?

[cstjohn17]

All of Belichicik's past coaching records indicate that... "Bend, don't Break" works to reduce opponents scoring. So why would he change to a gambling attacking Defense, now ?

They always took calculated gambles, often coming up with crucial 3rd down stops or turnovers. Remember that every time Harrison or Bruschi blitzed someone was getting 1:1 coverage (calculated gamble). The past several seasons the Pats the Pats have not been able to finish plays, maybe a more aggressive attitude will help. 90% of the game is mental the other half is physical.

 

[AzPatsFan]

To listen to you people I would never have guessed the Pats Defense in 2008, was tenth in yielding yards. Or that with its poor third down and red zone statistics, they were eighth in yielding points.

How could such things possibly occur?

BB played sound, no easy scores, Defense. Other teams had to work several plays to score. Maybe their opponents were mostly inept, and stopped themselves. Whatever.... The results stand. The Defense was 10th and 8th.

For all you geniuses, please explain this anomaly.

 

[HEY BRO! WHAT UP?]

To listen to you people I would never have guessed the Pats Defense in 2008, was tenth in yielding yards. Or that with its poor third down and red zone statistics, they were eighth in yielding points.

How could such things possibly occur?

BB played sound, no easy scores, Defense. Other teams had to work several plays to score. Maybe their opponents were mostly inept, and stopped themselves. Whatever.... The results stand. The Defense was 10th and 8th.

For all you geniuses, please explain this anomaly.

They gave up 27 passing touchdowns which was second worst in the NFL. Also, they gave up most yards after catch. Outsiders on Pats, Part IV - Reiss' Pieces - Boston.com Shout out to State for that article. It's pretty odd their defense was ranked 10th overall because I could've swore they were one of the worst in the NFL last season.

 

[stcjones]

With the improvements to the secondary and the additions of more pass rushers will we see a bit of a change from the defense? I got the feeling last year the defensive play calling was a lil reluctant to blitz due to the fact of not having much confidence of leaving the corners in 1 on 1 coverage. With the addition of Bodden and Springs, and the improvement of Wilhite do you guys think will see more of an attack defense this year?

I certainly hope so....!!! Should see a big difference in the amount of blitzes and pass rush this season as like you say.....Secondary seems alot tighter.......GO PATS!

 

[bagwell368]

I expect a lot more attacking, but, I expect strange formations, and strange patterns of guys blitzing. Nothing will be clear, and most QB's are going to be confused and battered to the max.

Thankfully the offense with a real running game will be so intense that I expect to be at about 35:30 minutes of offensive possession a game (the pace they were on until Morris got hurt in '07) - meaning our D will only be out 24:30 a game. Bwhahahhahahaa!! Easy to attack when you are up by 17 points, and they can only throw, with a bum QB at the helm......

 

[mayoclinic]

To listen to you people I would never have guessed the Pats Defense in 2008, was tenth in yielding yards. Or that with its poor third down and red zone statistics, they were eighth in yielding points.

How could such things possibly occur?

BB played sound, no easy scores, Defense. Other teams had to work several plays to score. Maybe their opponents were mostly inept, and stopped themselves. Whatever.... The results stand. The Defense was 10th and 8th.

For all you geniuses, please explain this anomaly.

As mentioned in the posts above, the yardage numbers do not reflect the TDs allowed and the poor 3rd down and red zone defense.

No one ever said BB was a poor defensive coach - quite the contrary. He did a more than decent job given the personnel constraints. But that shouldn't blind people to the deterioration of the defense. Since 2004 BB has been working with an aging secondary and LB corps and a lack of speed and athleticism on defense. The secondary in 2008 was the probably the weakest overall in the BB era, and the soft coverage precluded much attacking. Better overall speed and athleticism should allow for a much more aggressive defensive approach opening up turnovers and other big plays. More defensive flexibilty should allow for more disruptive schemes.

 

[Patspsycho]

If we do switch to a base 4-3, then there really is no place for Bruschi. Assuming Mayo is mike, that makes Bruschi sam which means he has to cover the curl, or wall the #2 receiver, and push everything to the sideline- and he really does not have the speed and explosion for that anymore.

 

[RoughingthePasser]

Two Threads that have some good info:
http://www.patsfans.com/new-england-patriots/messageboard/10/260938-d-line-4-3-3-4-a.html

http://www.patsfans.com/new-england-patriots/messageboard/10/259952-myron-pryor-more-broadly-shape-dl.html

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

To listen to you people I would never have guessed the Pats Defense in 2008, was tenth in yielding yards. Or that with its poor third down and red zone statistics, they were eighth in yielding points.

How could such things possibly occur?

BB played sound, no easy scores, Defense. Other teams had to work several plays to score. Maybe their opponents were mostly inept, and stopped themselves. Whatever.... The results stand. The Defense was 10th and 8th.

For all you geniuses, please explain this anomaly.

We faced a cake schedule last year, not alot of good offenses. So that skews those #'s a bit. The only team with a great offense that we had success against was Arizona, and that was in a blizzard vs. a team that's not used to playing in those conditions. The first game against the Jets was impressive but keep in mind it was early for Favre in that offense. The 2nd time around was bad.

I'm as optimistic a fan as there is, but the defense was not up to par last season and needed work. Judging by this offseason BB felt the same way. Over 1/3 of the defensive spots will have different starters from last season's opening day. And the top 3 draft choices all spend on that side of the ball.

 

[mayoclinic]

We faced a cake schedule last year, not alot of good offenses. So that skews those #'s a bit. The only team with a great offense that we had success against was Arizona, and that was in a blizzard vs. a team that's not used to playing in those conditions. The first game against the Jets was impressive but keep in mind it was early for Favre in that offense. The 2nd time around was bad.

I'm as optimistic a fan as there is, but the defense was not up to par last season and needed work. Judging by this offseason BB felt the same way. Over 1/3 of the defensive spots will have different starters from last season's opening day. And the top 3 draft choices all spend on that side of the ball.

Agreed. Right now it looks like there could be about a >40% turnover on defense on the final 53 man roster (roughly 10-11/24-25 positions): Brace, Pryor, Burgess, TBC, Chung, McGowan, Bodden, Springs, Butler and Crable off of IR, plus possibly Lenon (and that spot would have almost definitely gone to McKenzie if he hadn't been injured). In 2008 there was only half of that amount of turnover (Mayo, Guyton, O'Neal, Wheatley and Wilhite). Only 9 players will likely remain from the 2007 defense (Seymour, Wilfork, Warren, Wright, Green, Thomas, Bruschi, Meriweather and Sanders), and Thomas and Meriweather were new additions in 2007, leaving only about 28% (7/25) of the defensive players from the infamous 2006 meltdown against the Colts in the AFCCG when our aging and slow defense caught up with us.

 

[Sicilian]

They gave up 27 passing touchdowns which was second worst in the NFL. Also, they gave up most yards after catch. Outsiders on Pats, Part IV - Reiss' Pieces - Boston.com Shout out to State for that article. It's pretty odd their defense was ranked 10th overall because I could've swore they were one of the worst in the NFL last season.

I'm in agreement with you that the overall numbers don't seem to tell the same story our eyes did. But to clarify, YAC is more a sign of poor tackling than an overall defensive philosophy or lack of aggressiveness, IMO.

 

[patsfaninpittsburgh]

I'm in agreement with you that the overall numbers don't seem to tell the same story our eyes did. But to clarify, YAC is more a sign of poor tackling than an overall defensive philosophy or lack of aggressiveness, IMO.

Last year looked "bad" because we were blown out against Miami and San Diego. The first half of the Jets game was brutal. Obviously, some changes are required.

A total blowup of the defense would have started with the D line. Therefore, it's really part of the normal transition/ upgrade that a continually competitive team needs.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

In 2008 there was only half of that amount of turnover (Mayo, Guyton, O'Neal, Wheatley and Wilhite).

Yep. On top of that, the new starting CB was brought to replace someone who had left in FA to a monster deal. He was replaced out of necessity, not choice like those being replaced this year.

 

[mayoclinic]

Yep. On top of that, the new starting CB was brought to replace someone who had left in FA to a monster deal. He was replaced out of necessity, not choice like those being replaced this year.

Exactly. Of all the defensive turnover since the 2006 AFCCG loss, Samuel is the only one who can be considered a major loss. Gay was a role player, Hobbs was traded as the position was upgraded, Rodney and Vrabel were only shades of their former selves, Colvin was injury prone and slowing, and Seau was on the wrong side of 40.

 

[AzPatsFan]

We faced a cake schedule last year, not alot of good offenses. So that skews those #'s a bit. The only team with a great offense that we had success against was Arizona, and that was in a blizzard vs. a team that's not used to playing in those conditions. The first game against the Jets was impressive but keep in mind it was early for Favre in that offense. The 2nd time around was bad.

I'm as optimistic a fan as there is, but the defense was not up to par last season and needed work. Judging by this offseason BB felt the same way. Over 1/3 of the defensive spots will have different starters from last season's opening day. And the top 3 draft choices all spend on that side of the ball.

Patsylicious,

I hardly wanted to, or needed to, defend the quality of the transitioning LBs or secondary from last year. I just wanted to make the point that despite the poor personnel, BB's basic ideas on Defense took us a lot farther than a gambling "attacking" Defense would likely have done. Coaching a Top Ten finish, from that crew was amazing.

Now the Defense is so heavily upgraded by mere experience, as we are not going to be starting 5-6 rookies or first time starters, and a lot of new secondary faces, are veterans or now talented sophomores, fresh off a year of starting play. BB added a lot of talented youngsters most of whom are on Defense.

As usual for a Belichick team, the 2008 team got better as the year went on. I can remember the Pete Carrol Defenses, that "attacked". It worked for half a season until, all the novel blitzes that the Coaches had dreamed up were on film for the opposing Coaches to document and counter. In the second half of the year Carrol's "attacking" Defenses were repeatedly burned, and then collapsed.

 

[Ochmed Jones]

His past coaching says "3-4 base", too, but that may be changing.

Didn't BB run a 4-3 defense while he was in Cleveland?

 

[5 Rings for Brady!!]

All of Belichicik's past coaching records indicate that... "Bend, don't Break" works to reduce opponents scoring. So why would he change to a gambling attacking Defense, now ?

Yes.

The PLAYERS are better, the SYSTEM is the same.

People get too hung up on 4/3 or 3/4. We are still two gapping.

Until the day we actually One Gap, nothing has changed but the roster.

BB can take more chances and call more aggressive plays with better talent in the secondary and better LB speed. But the plays are all part of the same system we have seen before.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Didn't BB run a 4-3 defense while he was in Cleveland?

yes................

 

[HEY BRO! WHAT UP?]

I'm in agreement with you that the overall numbers don't seem to tell the same story our eyes did. But to clarify, YAC is more a sign of poor tackling than an overall defensive philosophy or lack of aggressiveness, IMO.

Your right about the poor tackling. However, I'd like to add that the yards after catch was because of a lack of athletic ability with the LB's and secondary. In addition, I think most YAC yards have come from the Pats LB's inability to guard the underneath routes because of a lack of speed.