Bill Belichick Has Only Himself To Blame For This Mess On Defense

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

This isn't a hard one to answer at all. Most of the pieces are there, it is just that they are new and learning a new system. There are still plenty of good players and they should be playing better. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if they turned into a good defense by the end of the year. It wouldn't shock me if they didn't either. At this point I think it is silly to do anything but reserve judgement. I think this team and especially this coach as earned that much.

It's up to the Vets to make a difference,that means older guys like Ellis,Haynesworth,Wilfork and Anderson to step up.......haven't seen it yet but it needs to happen and soon.

 

[FalconHeavy]

Well, damn, why even bother playing the remaining regular season games? Might as well throw in the towel now and try again next year.

AT this rate, even if we reach play offs everyone knows precisely how it will end. If Brady bunch has a bad day, its game over.

Its sad, but its truth. How come a defensive guru can't field a half decent defense for the past 4 years is beyond me

 

[Darolyn72]

Well, I didn't see anyone refute this article based on facts. It was all "In Bill We Trust" he's a Hall of Famer stuff. I was impressed that people are finally looking at this from a critical angle because it is about Championships. I still look back at Bird's 3 Championships and say, he should have had at least 4 maybe 5. One more thing on the flotsam and jetsam on the defense. Vince, Devin and Mayo were top draft picks. How many guys on this D, were undrafted or released from other teams.

The 2003 Pats - Ty Law 1st round pick, Seymour 1st round, Wilfolk, Warren, McGinest, all first round picks. Tedy Bruschi was a 3rd round pick but he was the ALL-time sack leader in College. Vrabel was a star at Ohio St.

Where is the talent? the Playmakers. Where are the Gronk's on D, the Hernandez's. You're counting on Rob Ninkovich to make plays and Rob Ninkovich was not even a great college player. There is a reason why Ryan Kerrigan and JJ Watt were drafted in the top 16. They were AWESOME players in college. And they are continuing that. No one mentions that second 1st round draft pick, what good is another pick next year when TB#12 is a year older. In 2004, they had two first round picks. Know what they did. They used them. Its only the last 3 years Bill has had this obsession with trading out. They used to trade up and get there man whether it worked or didn't. If Vollmer's back issues continue then the 2008 draft will NOW fall in the awful category. There is a reason why they call things trends.

 

[robbomango]

I have been screaming that here for weeks now that we need more run,less pass.

It's great having one of the best QBs to ever play the game,but sometimes coaches put way too much burden on him and don't give the RBs a chance to show their stuff.

On offense we are the Indianapolis Colts of the mid decade,We are the Rams of the early decade and we are the Chargers of the 80s.......that needs to change to more clock usage.

Dan Marino never won a SB despite having two fantastic WRs and a great offense but too much importance by the Dolphins front office was used to put great players around Marino but little on defense and that was a reason why they never got a Championship....the same thing is going on here.....enough great talent around Brady but not enough on D

Don't forget Jim kelley's and the Bills Kgun offense 4 SBs 4 losses:bricks:

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

AT this rate, even if we reach play offs everyone knows precisely how it will end. If Brady bunch has a bad day, its game over.

Its sad, but its truth. How come a defensive guru can't field a half decent defense for the past 4 years is beyond me

It has nothing to do with Belichick's defensive mind....he still has that,probably always will

Unfortunately what he is working with is a group of what appears to be a few old and washed up vets with an inexperienced group of youngsters along with very little leadership on the D and that mixture is not good.

In other words Belichick is like a well known great carpenter who can't fix up a house because he doesn't have the tools needed to do it.

If Belichick is to be blamed for anything,it's whiffing on defensive linemen in the draft...of course hindsight would be necessary so let's say it's just poor selections and leave it at that.

 

[Ghost of Ben Dreith]

In other words Belichick is like a well known great carpenter who can't fix up a house because he doesn't have the tools needed to do it.

To paraphrase another Patriot coach....he has been buying the tools for a while.....its on BB.....no excuses....

 

[JackBauer]

AT this rate, even if we reach play offs everyone knows precisely how it will end.

The key qualifier being "at this rate," when really no one knows what this defense will look like come playoff time.

 

[Deus Irae]

A few pipe dreamers see the defense as one that will 'gel' as time goes on

I don't see how a defense with such a horrid start will be anything but mediocre all season.

Sure,most likely there will be several games where the D looks pretty decent only to fall back into reality the next week when it gives up 35 points.

I don't trust the defense as far as I can throw it and really find it hard to think it will be playoff caliber if we get in the tournament.

There is going to have to be tons of scoring and little defense come playoff time for the Pats to bring home a Trophy this year.....and I think that might be unprecedented as a team with a mediocre defense rarely if ever wins a SB.

Other than (I'm guessing for you here) safety and OLB, where do you see uncorrectable issues with the defensive personnel?

 

[Taxed in Maine]

The offense has run the second most plays and has the most first downs in the league. How much more efficient can they be? At some point the D needs to do its job as well.

Number of plays just proves the point that they need to run the ball more. Running a spread hurry up offense will lead to a high play count, but you are not taking time off the clock.

The offense has almost all 1:30 to 5:00 drives. That also gives opposing teams extra possesions. If my numbers are correct the Bills had 13 possessions, 7 of them in the 2nd half. That does not help your defense.

In the 17 scoring drives this season, not a single one is over 7:00, only 3 are over 5:00.

They need a far more balanced attack. More running, more ball control, and clock management (especially with a 2 TD lead). More long drives that keep your defense off the field.

 

[BSR]

Well, I didn't see anyone refute this article based on facts. It was all "In Bill We Trust" he's a Hall of Famer stuff. I was impressed that people are finally looking at this from a critical angle because it is about Championships. I still look back at Bird's 3 Championships and say, he should have had at least 4 maybe 5. One more thing on the flotsam and jetsam on the defense. Vince, Devin and Mayo were top draft picks. How many guys on this D, were undrafted or released from other teams.

The 2003 Pats - Ty Law 1st round pick, Seymour 1st round, Wilfolk, Warren, McGinest, all first round picks. Tedy Bruschi was a 3rd round pick but he was the ALL-time sack leader in College. Vrabel was a star at Ohio St.

Where is the talent? the Playmakers. Where are the Gronk's on D, the Hernandez's. You're counting on Rob Ninkovich to make plays and Rob Ninkovich was not even a great college player. There is a reason why Ryan Kerrigan and JJ Watt were drafted in the top 16. They were AWESOME players in college. And they are continuing that. No one mentions that second 1st round draft pick, what good is another pick next year when TB#12 is a year older. In 2004, they had two first round picks. Know what they did. They used them. Its only the last 3 years Bill has had this obsession with trading out. They used to trade up and get there man whether it worked or didn't. If Vollmer's back issues continue then the 2008 draft will NOW fall in the awful category. There is a reason why they call things trends.

Are you serious? Wilfork, Haynesworth, Carter, Ellis, Spikes, Mayo, Chung, Dowling and McCourty are all first or second round picks. That's 9 of 11 starters with that level of talent.

 

[JackBauer]

Are you serious? Wilfork, Haynesworth, Carter, Ellis, Spikes, Mayo, Chung, Dowling and McCourty are all first or second round picks. That's 9 of 11 starters with that level of talent.

And really, if only it were so easy to replace players like Law, Harrison, Bruschi, McGinest, Seymour, and Vrabel. Why, if we were only better at it we would be winning Super Bowls every year!

 

[FalconHeavy]

The key qualifier being "at this rate," when really no one knows what this defense will look like come playoff time.

Jack, unfortunately we have not seen anything different from this D and it was the same case in the last 2 years. This year is even worse, as we have absolute scrubs playing safety. Unless BB does something by the trade deadline...

 

[Darolyn72]

Last point on this, until at least next week. He stated it was the deepest draft for defensive lineman in some time and then he didn't take a defensive lineman and traded away a 1st round pick to the Saints? And you see the way some of these guys are playing. Kerrigan, rookie of the month. Watt, is on fire. Sheard and the other tackle the Browns took at #21 whose name escapes me looks great. Wilkerson, Liuget, Cam Jordan.

The Pats had 3 picks in the first 33. They had a holes on the o-line, d-line, specifically pass rush and in the secondary.

Fine, they took Solder, he wasn't the most immediate need but they took him. They decided not to draft a pass rusher and drafted a DB with an injury history who has spent most of his short career...HURT. And he traded away another pick, like they didn't need it. Belichick usually does a great job drafting in the first round and when they target a player it usually works out. I just don't understand where his head was at again this year. It was 2008 all over again. At the time that draft seemed pretty good. Now we realize the 1st round misses.

Henne lit them up and then became Chad Henne. They will face Campbell, Cassell, Henne again, Grossman, Orton, if these guys all torch them are people still going to pull the Frank Drebin and say, "Nothing to see here." We won 3 titles in 4 years?

 

[JackBauer]

Jack, unfortunately we have not seen anything different from this D and it was the same case in the last 2 years. This year is even worse, as we have absolute scrubs playing safety. Unless BB does something by the trade deadline...

Given the system change and the ostensible fact that the level of talent on the defense as currently comprised should be yielding better results, I'm going to be patient with it. Especially considering the lack of quality defenses league-wide to start this season.

And, technically speaking, we only have scrubs playing at one of the two safety positions, unless you consider Chung a scrub.

 

[Rob0729]

A few things:

1.) I don't get the new obsession with Carlos Dunlap. He is playing in a simple system where players notoriously are flashes in the pan within the system. Yes, Dunlap had 9 1/2 sacks last year, but he is on pace this year to get as many sacks as Jermaine Cunningham (the player the Pats chose over) which is 0 at this point. The writer blasts McCourty a couple of times in the article for his sophomore slump, but makes excuses for Dunlap's sophomore slump
2.) Blasting the Pats for not trading up one spot to get Ryan Kerrigan is stupid. Did the Pats know that the Redskins were going to trade with the Jags to jump up there and draft him? Unless the Pats knew the Redskins were trading to 16 and that they were going to take Kerrigan, blasting them for not trading up is stupid since they might have thought he would be available.
3.) Who is Justin Babin? If you are going to blast the Pats for not signing the guy, shouldn't you get his name right.
4.) I love how he makes definitive conclusions about individual players after three games.

There are no doubt that the Pats' defense has major issues and Belichick has made some mistake and some big ones, but this is a typical "I know better than Belichick because I have the power of 20/20 hindsight" type of article.

 

[BSR]

Number of plays just proves the point that they need to run the ball more. Running a spread hurry up offense will lead to a high play count, but you are not taking time off the clock.

The offense has almost all 1:30 to 5:00 drives. That also gives opposing teams extra possesions. If my numbers are correct the Bills had 13 possessions, 7 of them in the 2nd half. That does not help your defense.

In the 17 scoring drives this season, not a single one is over 7:00, only 3 are over 5:00.

They need a far more balanced attack. More running, more ball control, and clock management (especially with a 2 TD lead). More long drives that keep your defense off the field.

The Patriots D has been on the field for 33 drives this year, only four other D units have faced less drives. And despite running the hurry up, the offense is in the middle of the league in time of possession. This idea that the offense isn't taking enough time off the clock is a giant fallacy with no basis. Running more plays in a given drive is the definition of clock control.

The real issue as far controlling the ball is that the defense can't give the ball over to the offense fast enough. They again are bottom of the league in 3rd down percentage, have let up the most fourth down conversions, have let up the most first downs out of anyone and are seventh in the league in defensive penalties.

I really can't understand how anyone is looking at this team and thinking that the offense needs to change in order to win.

 

[JackBauer]

Last point on this, until at least next week. He stated it was the deepest draft for defensive lineman in some time and then he didn't take a defensive lineman and traded away a 1st round pick to the Saints? And you see the way some of these guys are playing. Kerrigan, rookie of the month. Watt, is on fire. Sheard and the other tackle the Browns took at #21 whose name escapes me looks great. Wilkerson, Liuget, Cam Jordan.

The fact that you're trying to conflate all of these players as some soft of indictment of the Patriots drafting priorities really causes me to question the extent to which you've seen any/all of them play this season.

 

[BSR]

And really, if only it were so easy to replace players like Law, Harrison, Bruschi, McGinest, Seymour, and Vrabel. Why, if we were only better at it we would be winning Super Bowls every year!

The point is, it has less to do with where players were drafted as much is it is finding the right players and putting them in position to succeed. The other poster's made the claim that we needed more higher draft picks. What we need is more production.

 

[Deus Irae]

And really, if only it were so easy to replace players like Law, Harrison, Bruschi, McGinest, Seymour, and Vrabel. Why, if we were only better at it we would be winning Super Bowls every year!

Well, to be fair, they'd be more likely to get elite talent replaced if the guy doing the drafting wasn't trading down his high picks.

 

[Darolyn72]

ROBO they clearly did want Kerrigan enough to go get him. Jermaine Cunningham stinks, he's not what they thought they were getting. But you are missing the point. Its not about Dunlap, its everything. If you are telling me they are better off with Cunningham and Ninkovich over almost anyone, then you're lying through your teeth. And again with the "System" well somehow in the Cinci system they get SACKS, what's wrong with Sacks, when did teams sacking the QB become a problem. This team used to sack the QB go check out the playoff years. So stop please, please, please with the system. The Bengals, the Bungles, have a better defense than the Patriots right now. That is embarrassing.