Bruschi...Appeared Quicker?

[IcyPatriot]

There has been some talk of Bruschi appearing to be smaller ... he does seem a bit smaller but he also appeared to have regained some quickness. I'm wondering if anyone else noticed Bruschi seems to be quicker than last year?

Opinions?

Game is now being replayed on the NFL Network 1:00 pm

 

[WhiZa]

Re: Bruschi ... Appeared Quicker?

I didn't notice a difference. The hilarious part in the game was when the announcers commented on how fast Lynch was and at the same time he was getting smoked on the return for a TD.

 

[IcyPatriot]

Re: Bruschi ... Appeared Quicker?

I noticed Bruschi has regained the lateral quickness that made his game so great. He's lost a bit on the tackling due to being smaller but it's early yet. I noticed him using his body more to hit people as opposed to wrapping them up like he once did.

 

[Sicilian]

Re: Bruschi ... Appeared Quicker?

Only time I really noticed anything was on his tip in the end zone. He appeared to be moving pretty well there, but other than that I didn't notice a difference. Solid game though.

 

[BPF]

Re: Bruschi ... Appeared Quicker?

An ex-NFL exec disagrees w/you.

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/2008/08/the-brunch-news/

By Michael Lombardi
Posted August 23, 2008

RANDOM THOUGHTS FROM LAST NIGHT…

…NE looks to me that they will have to scheme to make plays on defense. Their front seven is still not fast enough and Ted Bruschi is not the same player he once was in the passing game.

 

[SammyBlueCat]

Re: Bruschi ... Appeared Quicker?

…NE looks to me that they will have to scheme to make plays on defense. Their front seven is still not fast enough and Ted Bruschi is not the same player he once was in the passing game.

I did not see the game so I am wondering about the "front seven".

Did the starters play?

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Re: Bruschi ... Appeared Quicker?

I did not see the game so I am wondering about the "front seven".

Did the starters play?

most of them did. i think vrabel and thomas sat this one out, and those guys are obviously a big part of the front 7.

 

[IcyPatriot]

Re: Bruschi ... Appeared Quicker?

An ex-NFL exec disagrees w/you.

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/2008/08/the-brunch-news/

I did not say he is as fast as once was ... I said he appears quicker than last year.

 

[BPF]

Re: Bruschi ... Appeared Quicker?

most of them did. i think vrabel and thomas sat this one out, and those guys are obviously a big part of the front 7.

Varbel played, Thomas did not play with Woods starting in his place and Warren did not play with Wright in his place.

 

[LloydBraun]

Re: Bruschi ... Appeared Quicker?

An ex-NFL exec disagrees w/you.

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/2008/08/the-brunch-news/

Okay, not to be rude, but what NFL team does not have to scheme to make plays on D???

The front 3 is top notch, the LB'ers are talented and energized by youth, as is the secondary.

This sky is falling mentality is almost amusing!

 

[alvinnf]

I thought Tedy looked quick too, however he seemed to be circumnavigating blockers. That could have only been on the couple of plays where I was focusing just on him. He looks fine, Dan Connoly not so much......

 

[Ichiro]

Every team schemes, but some teams (Giants, Colts), can get pressure by trusting their front 4 to beat one on one blocking. When we rely on our front three, they don't seem to get any initial pressure (remember how long McNabb had before the Spann holding call?). We get good pressure when we run twists and stunts with our d lineman and a blitzing ILB

This is a problem. Our 3-4 defense in meant to stop the run first. But this is now a passing league. A front 4 that shoots the gaps in necessary these days.

 

[emoney_33]

Every team schemes, but some teams (Giants, Colts), can get pressure by trusting their front 4 to beat one on one blocking. When we rely on our front three, they don't seem to get any initial pressure (remember how long McNabb had before the Spann holding call?). We get good pressure when we run twists and stunts with our d lineman and a blitzing ILB

This is a problem. Our 3-4 defense in meant to stop the run first. But this is now a passing league. A front 4 that shoots the gaps in necessary these days.

Teams like the Giants and Colts are rushing 4, where as we are rushing 3, you can't really expect the same results. One of the benefits of the 3-4 is getting that 4th rusher from a multitude of positions, making it harder on the offense to block everyone.

We shouldn't expect to get crazy Giants-like pressure only rushing 3, as good as our d-line is, it's still at least 5 on 3.

 

[Ichiro]

Teams like the Giants and Colts are rushing 4, where as we are rushing 3, you can't really expect the same results. One of the benefits of the 3-4 is getting that 4th rusher from a multitude of positions, making it harder on the offense to block everyone.

We shouldn't expect to get crazy Giants-like pressure only rushing 3, as good as our d-line is, it's still at least 5 on 3.

That's my point. We need to make more of a commitment to shoot the gaps on first and second downs, rather than stick to our gap protection principles. We need to protect our linebackers, safeties and corners in coverage.

 

[emoney_33]

That's my point. We need to make more of a commitment to shoot the gaps on first and second downs, rather than stick to our gap protection principles. We need to protect our linebackers, safeties and corners in coverage.

In preseason?

 

[Deus Irae]

That's my point. We need to make more of a commitment to shoot the gaps on first and second downs, rather than stick to our gap protection principles. We need to protect our linebackers, safeties and corners in coverage.

Why would the #4 defense from last season just piss on everything that got them there?

 

[Ichiro]

Why would the #4 defense from last season just piss on everything that got them there?

I saw the defense declining with my own eyes as the offense came back down to earth in December. AJ Feely leading drives right down the field? Jacksonville holding on to the ball for 7 to 8 minutes?

I'm not saying we are horrible, but teams hold onto the ball way too long against us. We don't get enough pressure when teams are not down by 28 points and can play a balanced offense. Not enough negative plays in our two gap scheme and now (especially without Samuel) we don't have enough speed in our back 8 to generate turnovers. We have to "confuse" offenses, we can't out physical them.

 

[JMarr]

Why would the #4 defense from last season just piss on everything that got them there?

Because this isn't the exact same defense as last year and, as someone pointed out in another thread, the Pats' shock and awe offensive attack for most of last season forced opposing teams to be more one-dimensional on offense.

 

[Deus Irae]

I saw the defense declining with my own eyes as the offense came back down to earth in December. AJ Feely leading drives right down the field? Jacksonville holding on to the ball for 7 to 8 minutes?

I'm not saying we are horrible, but teams hold onto the ball way too long against us. We don't get enough pressure when teams are not down by 28 points and can play a balanced offense. Not enough negative plays in our two gap scheme and now (especially without Samuel) we don't have enough speed in our back 8 to generate turnovers. We have to "confuse" offenses, we can't out physical them.

The defense allowed fewer points per game in the playoffs than during the regular season. The 'loss' of Samuel hasn't made the back 8 slower, since Samuel wasn't a fast corner. If anything, the addition of the rookies plus increased play by Meriweather, along with the speed of Mayo, has greatly increased the speed in the back 8.

 

[Deus Irae]

Because this isn't the exact same defense as last year and, as someone pointed out in another thread, the Pats' shock and awe offensive attack for most of last season forced opposing teams to be more one-dimensional on offense.

No defense is exactly the same from one year to the next. It was still #4 last season, and the coaches aren't stupid enough to listen to calls to scrap that defense.