Patriots Defense, Did They Do Enough This Off-season?

Patriots Defense, Did They Do Enough This Off-season?
By: Steve Balestrieri

Bill Belichick has always used both the draft and free agency as equal partners in his team building approach. ...

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PatsFans.com Article said:

Patriots Defense, Did They Do Enough This Off-season?
By: Steve Balestrieri

Bill Belichick has always used both the draft and free agency as equal partners in his team building approach. ...

CLICK HERE TO READ THIS STORY​

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I think the defense is going to be the best its been since 2006. The primary reason I feel this was is not what we've changed but for what we've kept the same. In all likely hood we will start the same LE, NT, RE, SAM, MIKE, WILL, LCB, RCB, FS as we did to end 2012. I cannot think of the last time we've had that type of year over year consistency.

Benjamin Brady said:

I think the defense is going to be the best its been since 2006. The primary reason I feel this was is not what we've changed but for what we've kept the same. In all likely hood we will start the same LE, NT, RE, SAM, MIKE, WILL, LCB, RCB, FS as we did to end 2012. I cannot think of the last time we've had that type of year over year consistency.

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Are you talking about a nose tackle in a 3-4 or 4-3 front?

belicheck010405 said:

Are you talking about a nose tackle in a 3-4 or 4-3 front?

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4-3 front as our 1tech

Benjamin Brady said:

I think the defense is going to be the best its been since 2006. The primary reason I feel this was is not what we've changed but for what we've kept the same. In all likely hood we will start the same LE, NT, RE, SAM, MIKE, WILL, LCB, RCB, FS as we did to end 2012. I cannot think of the last time we've had that type of year over year consistency.

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I remember that defense. No one could run on that defense until the AFC championship game. That was one helluva wall between Seymour, Wilfork, and Warren. Warren had an outstanding year.

Of course, teams could pass on it with ease. Asante eventually stepped up and covered his guy like white on rice, but otherwise the pass defense was lackluster.

This year we have a very talented front 7 and the DB's should be an upgrade over that team.

patriot lifer said:

I remember that defense. No one could run on that defense until the AFC championship game. That was one helluva wall between Seymour, Wilfork, and Warren. Warren had an outstanding year.

Of course, teams could pass on it with ease. Asante eventually stepped up and covered his guy like white on rice, but otherwise the pass defense was lackluster.

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I think you're remembering the pass defense very incorrectly. If we had anywhere near that kind of pass defense we would win the SB with ease.

Take a look at the passing yards given up in the 2006 season where the defense allowed a measly 14.8 ppg.

2006 New England Patriots Statistics & Players - Pro-Football-Reference.com

The offseason...

1. Added interior pass rush.
- The team added Armstead and Kelly, who should upgrade the interior pass rush. The the case of Armstead, we also have a guy that is capable of sliding out as a 5-tech DE when the team is in 3-4 looks and not being a complete liability against the run. On the surface, though, it looks like we've improved the interior pass rush.

2. Added a hard-hitting safety who hasn't been constantly out of position.
- My biggest beef with Chung was that, while he was a hard hitter, he was also constantly out of position and too late to most plays. Adrian Wilson is a guy that is a hard hitter that shouldn't be out of position as much as Chung was. the only issue I see with Wilson is the age wall and the fact that he appears to have lost a step as compared to what he once was. This will make the progression of Tavon Wilson (if there is any) that much more interesting to watch. But, in all, I think the secondary was missing an intimidating presence in the playoffs and particularly against the Ravens. Wilson should provide that.

3. Maintained the status quo amongst CB's.
- The team retained Talib's services for a year, Dennard will not be facing any in-season jail time, and they've brought back Arrington while adding Ryan. So the starting rotation of CB's is back and that's definitely a good thing compared to where the team has been the last few seasons. Now we just have to hope for health.

4. Added a coverage LB.
- Fletcher is returning and the team brought in the athletic Jamie Collins. I expect the team to use Collins primarily as a coverage specialist against RB's and TE's in his first season. He should be an improvement over what Spikes/Hightower/Mayo were not able to give the Pats defense last season. Fletcher provides an added veteran presence.

In all, it's hard to say with any certainty if the team "did enough" on defense. On paper, it looks good. But I'm not sure what they're going to do in regard to the pass rush coming off the edge. I expect Jones, with health, to improve. But Ninkovich could really stand to be upgraded. He, IMO, is best used as a rotational guy and should not be an every down starter at DE. Could Buchanan take it, or will the team sign Abraham?

Jones, Ninkovich, Abraham, Buchanan and Collins works for me. Of course, we still have the possibility of contributions by Francis or Bequette. We also have swing DT/DE Cunningham as a backup.

Belichick did a lot. I expect us to add an additional DE. What is enough? We always can use further upgrades.

BTW, I don't see Collins as a coverage linebacker, but we'll see.

KontradictioN said:

But I'm not sure what they're going to do in regard to the pass rush coming off the edge. I expect Jones, with health, to improve. But Ninkovich could really stand to be upgraded. He, IMO, is best used as a rotational guy and should not be an every down starter at DE. Could Buchanan take it, or will the team sign Abraham?

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We've all seen the horrible statistics that prove that our weaknesses were against the TE/RB/WR3, which coincide with exactly what Kontra is stating.

The lack of any coverage ability from our LB's and safeties (which obviously improved with the addition of McCourty and subtraction of Chung) were easily our 2 biggest flaws, arguably with lack of adequate QB pressure.

These flaws combined with a lousy interior pass rush have hopefully been improved upon. They've certainly been addressed, and I believe that this defense continues to improve much like they did last year. If they could shave another 1--1.5 ppg off of the average, that would go a long way overall; but the pressure on the QB needs to improve for other things to balance.

mgteich said:

BTW, I don't see Collins as a coverage linebacker, but we'll see.

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I'm with you on this. Collins is more of a pass rushing threat and a developmental replacement for Ninkovich should we move on from him after this season.

My response to the Query is succinct:

Y-E-S !!

PatsFans.com Article said:

Patriots Defense, Did They Do Enough This Off-season?
By: Steve Balestrieri

Bill Belichick has always used both the draft and free agency as equal partners in his team building approach. ...

CLICK HERE TO READ THIS STORY​

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Good read. Nice succinct analysis.

No doubt on paper, they've already improved. And by retaining the secondary one may see some improvement in continued play there.

As mentioned Freeny or Abraham may still be in the picture. Let's also remember that trades and pickups of other teams cuts are still in the picture.

So I expect we'll see some more moves as well

This biggest improvement in the defense this year will come from the second year growth of Jones, Dennard, Hightower, Francis, and Wilson. It is amazing how good the team was while relying on those guys for so much last year. This year, they are replacing rookies with second year guys in each of those positions, a huge upgrade.

mgteich said:

Jones, Ninkovich, Abraham, Buchanan and Collins works for me. Of course, we still have the possibility of contributions by Francis or Bequette. We also have swing DT/DE Cunningham as a backup.

Belichick did a lot. I expect us to add an additional DE. What is enough? We always can use further upgrades.

BTW, I don't see Collins as a coverage linebacker, but we'll see.

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Before I offer a rebuttal, may I ask why?

Benjamin Brady said:

I'm with you on this. Collins is more of a pass rushing threat and a developmental replacement for Ninkovich should we move on from him after this season.

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Collins needs to work on his technique when it comes to rushing the passer off the edge. He's raw there and, from what I saw, he used a lot of speed rushing moves in college that were successful there, but may not be there for him in the NFL. Further, he needs to be more stout against the run. The team could conceivably used him as a developmental replacement for Ninkovich. No argument there. But the keyword is developmental. Ninkovich, unless the team makes a move for Freeney or Abraham, will be (and should be) penciled in as the starter at LDE. That would make Collins a specialist that the team could bring in on passing downs. Given that he's already our quickest and most athletically gifted LB, one would assume that he'll initially be given a role as a coverage LB to deal with TE's and RB's.

If this team could add a DE like Abraham I think they certainly did enough.

Also, IMO people are off about Collins. this guy played for a terrible team getting 10 sacks as a DE, I think we're gonna use him as DE as well as just LB.

KontradictioN said:

Before I offer a rebuttal, may I ask why?

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I'm kind of asking the same question. It's not like his small school had plenty of highlights to back this up. What I do know is that he has played safety,linebacker and DE. Besides his off the charts measureables, a few highlight reels and his stat sheet I have no idea what he is capable of as a player on this team. We will know more through training camp and over the next couple of seasons I guess. Of course I'm hoping for world domination here.

I'll get in the camp with those saying the remaining question if DE.

Maybe Francis or Armstead or someone will step up, but that's the one position I remain concerned about. Please add Abraham.

And the Pats might be looking for one more depth corner, unless Dowling is really ready (or ever will be). Good news is, there are plenty of corners hanging around out there.

50-yard-line said:

I'll get in the camp with those saying the remaining question if DE.

Maybe Francis or Armstead or someone will step up, but that's the one position I remain concerned about. Please add Abraham.

And the Pats might be looking for one more depth corner, unless Dowling is really ready (or ever will be). Good news is, there are plenty of corners hanging around out there.

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Can I ask why so many people appear so high on Francis? I felt like the one game in which he excelled was against the dolphins and he benefited from Chandler Jones having a huge impact on the other side. Don't get me wrong I thought he did well for a UDFA but I don't see his ceiling being as high as some in here express.

Am I missing something because I don't claim to be an expert in football so if someone can provide me with informative information I'm all hears and open to constructive criticism.

I don't know if you can ever do enough for your defense but in terms of where they were at and what they have had the opportunity to do I think they have done the best they can, and the question of bringing in either Abraham or Freeney comes down to who they are willing to give up on to open a spot up for them.

CB- re-signing Talib and the expected development of Dennard gives them what appears to be two good starting CB's, and although I am not a fan of Arrington he is a decent slot corner if nothing else. Ryan should add solid depth and hopefully I-Dowling can finally shake his injuries and actually contribute significantly off the bench. Overall their Cb's are in the best shape in years.

S-Having McCourty there from the start as well as the addition of A. Wilson gives them their best starting safety tandem in years, the rest will come down to the development of T. Wilson and how good a player D. Harmon is, and that is impossible to know at this point. I think T. Wilson was always seen as a developmental player and if Belichick is right we should see serious improvement this season. If Gregory doesn't even make the team then it will say something about how Belichick feels about the unit on the whole.

LB- This as good a unit against the run as there is in the league, the obvious problem is coverage and I think that A. Wilson and Collins were brought in to help with these deficits. We are almost certainly going to see more rotation and coverage packages with the LB's this season because they can't repeat last year's performance against the pass. I also expect a much better pass rush from their LB's this season, with Mayo and Hightower, as well as Collins providing more pressure from the unit. Overall I think they have a really good LB unit that can match up with most LB's in the league.

DL-The DL unit is good and deep but not spectacular. The additions of kelly and Armstead should improve their interior pass rush and they are already a very good DL against the run. The key is going to be the development of their DE's, especially as pass rushers. Chandler Jones really needs to have a big year for them and if Francis and Bequette can really develop and take over the other end from Ninkovich then they should be a significantly better unit from last season's. How Belichick looks at Bequette and Francis is really the key to the question of bringing in either Abraham or Freeney. Right now I would hope he brings in the certified pass rusher rather than hope for development but their price tag and playing time will still be serious obstacles. If they want a serious shot at a ring over money and playing time then we could see one of them here, if not it will be Bequette and Francis again this season.


Overall the defense should be significantly better than last year's but there are still many questions to be answered in terms of development, and as always their health will be a key to their performance, as it obviously is for every team. I really don't know what else Belichick could have done and the only thing I really question is the Arrington deal when their were some good CB's to be had at very reasonable prices.