E Belichick Unum
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There really is another consideration in all of this. A full-time pass rusher will be in on over 400 pass plays. Granted that a lot of those plays aren't real opportunities (screens, quick slants, etc.) but even cutting the number in half, a guy with 10 sacks has a 95% failure rate.
I believe a key for the Patriots is what players do in those other 190+ snaps. Much like a "useful out" in baseball, there are many meaningful outcomes that don't show up as stats:
- Keeping a QB contained in the pocket
- Being physical and wearing out an OT
- Getting hands up and disrupting the QB's line of sight
- Requiring extra blocking focus to allow others to get better matchups
- Engaging a RB/TE and not letting them out into their pass route cleanly
There are probably more but you get the idea. The Pats have avoided guys that dive into the backfield with their hair on fire every play. If they just wanted sacks and "pressures", that strategy wouldn't make much sense. So they must be looking for something more in players that make up their pass rush. Getting 10 sacks but getting neatly escorted around the pocket with a single blocker on another 200 plays doesn't seem like a good tradeoff.
I know that this will be considered sacrilege, but can we compare the Steelers 3/4 to the Patriots 3/4 and look at QB pressure and QB sacks? I know that the Steelers create confusion and mismatches with zone blitzes, but can anybody seriously tell me that they wouldn't take Woodley or Harrison over any OLB that the Patriots have on this team? And can anybody seriously tell me that the Patriots wouldn't be a much better defense with either of those two players on the field, even if just on third down.
It isn't like we have a great defense, or even a very good defense. We have a very good defensive scheme and a great defensive coach. Our defense has a major hole on the outside and on any other team in the league it would probably be a bottom third defense. The difference maker is Belichick, which makes his refusal to address the OLB pass rushing position even more baffling. With the current offense the Pats will out score teams, put lots of points up early and take the oposing teams out of their game plan. But like the Jets in the playoffs last year, if the opposition makes just a couple of stops early and there is a drop or two early, the opposition can turn the situation around, especially if the Pats can't apply any pressure on their QB. Especially if the Patriots are still one of the worst third down defenses. Especially if the box score reads like the Jets game read, 0 sacks, 0 pressures, 0 knockdowns.
Playoffs are different than the regular season. 14 and 2 means nothing when one loss ends your season.
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