I think Bill blew it with these cornerback signings

cardiak said:

I think he panicked and reacted to the Broncos free agent signings all wrong. Paying top dollar for a defensive backfield without being able to create consistent pressure on QBs is like throwing good money after bad. I'm serious, find me one elite defensive backfield that doesn't have a great defensive line in front of it!

Powerful defensive lines are the foundation you build on. With them everyone behind them look better, without them everyone looks worse. Conversely the opposite is also true but not if not to the same extent. Lines are your first wave of attack and if they are good those 3-4 defensive line players can make 7-8 defensive backfield players jobs easier. Or you can bust a nut on two corners who will make 3-4 defensive line players job slightly easier on coverage sacks.

We had a chance to nab some great defensive ends in this years wild free agency to create a dominant pass rush that we've been lacking. But of course our lousy defensive backfield all these years has nothing to do with opposing QBs having all day to play toss with their receivers.... You'd think BB would learn how he won his superbowls when coaching in NY and why he lost them these last two times against NY.

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So a defense with the 5th most sacks in the league with 4th & 5th string defensive tackles and no Mayo for 10 games ISN'T going to further improve with an elite secondary, 1 of the tackles back (at least + any new ones drafted/signed) and Mayo returning?

it works the other way, too


great defensive backfields beget effective D-lines as well.....


give the QB .5sec less, the D-backfield suddenly improves




buy the D-line an extra .5 with great coverage, the QB gets hit a bunch more



there were what, 2-3 really solid top-end DE's that signed during FA.....

they either had to sign a Revis or overpay for Talib.......signing Revis was the right move there


with what they spent on Browner, could they really have landed one of those top DE's, have money to resign Edelman and whatever other moves they have planned?


other than red bryant, all the DE's signed had contracts in the 11-13 million per year range......that's browner, edelman and then some.....i just don't see how they couldn't have gotten one of those DE's and still made the other necessary moved


i am confident they can find some interior help on both sides of the ball via draft......and that extra step the improved coverage allows is going to help the edge get there



i AM concerned about interior DL......but there's lots of time left



just not sure the high-priced DE was an option considering the need at CB and the other pressing issues......that's just a big chunk of change

Stopped reading at "I think he panicked". Belichick does not feel the human emotion known as panic.

I truly believe everyone needs to temper down about the pass rush. This is a reaction to the Bronco loss. Outside of Seattle, no one really touched Manning all season. The Chiefs with Tamba Hali and co didn't sniff him and we are magically going to have a better pass rush than them. Honestly, Seattle had well timed blitz and good run defense because Peyton did have time to throw for most of the game, but had to settle for small gains because of the COVERAGE.

With the removal of Gregory and the addition of Revis & Browner, I'd like to see how many ducks Peyton can get away with next time. Plus don't be all negative untill after the draft.

patsfanincleveland said:

What's a Saturday night without some knucklehead starting a completely clueless thread.

Is patsfans getting punked?

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There's nothing clueless about it. Revis is a great player yes, but without a good line a great corner will get chewed up like anyone else. Elite or not the odds are always against a corner back vs receiver and the longer a play goes on the more those odds are stacked against a cornerback. If we were going to bust a nut in free agency I just wish it was on the line as there were so many to choose from.

Our vaunted offense did not get man handled in our last two superbowls because we faced a superior defensive backfield. I guess will just have to wait an see how it all plays out but we don't have much money left for the line that will likely be without wilfork or with a likely hobbled less effective wilfork. And that's not even addressing a pass rush.

(Psst. Armand Armstead is BB's secret weapon. DO NOT tell anybody.)

Since we've already jumped the shark on this thread. . . .

It's a really ridiculous narrative.
Like I said, we were desperate with Talib, because he was our only option at the time and he's a fragile quitter who walks on the AFCCG over a bruise and only plays for half the season.

Thankfully, Elway relieved us of that desperation right before Revis became available. Honestly, it was DENVER's desperation to improve their defense and steal from us that made us an infinitely superior team already.

Every Patriot fan should send John Elway a huge "Thank you" card.
He really made all of this possible.

cardiak said:

There's nothing clueless about it. Revis is a great player yes, but without a good line a great corner will get chewed up like anyone else.

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Uh, not true. A great corner is a great corner in all facets. Haven't you ever heard the term "coverage sack"...?

BradyFTW! said:

Stopped reading at "I think he panicked". Belichick does not feel the human emotion known as panic.

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Belichick is the Mr Spock of NFL HCs.

"For the body is not one member, but many."

"As it is, there are many parts, but one body."


-Corinthians

If I am not mistaken, the Seahawks starting defensive line does not boast a stable of All Pro talent. That is reserved for the secondary i.e. Legion of Boom. What they do have is a plethora of solid to very good players that come in waves and work extremely well... synergistically with the secondary.

I feel the Patriots defense, as presently constructed on paper, kind of resembles the Seahawks unit. We shall have to wait another couple months after the rest of FA and the draft to see how it all unfolds...

cardiak said:

There's nothing clueless about it. Revis is a great player yes, but without a good line a great corner will get chewed up like anyone else. Elite or not the odds are always against a corner back vs receiver and the longer a play goes on the more those odds are stacked against a cornerback. If we were going to bust a nut in free agency I just wish it was on the line as there were so many to choose from.

Our vaunted offense did not get man handled in our last two superbowls because we faced a superior defensive backfield. I guess will just have to wait an see how it all plays out but we don't have much money left for the line that will likely be without wilfork or with a likely hobbled less effective wilfork. And that's not even addressing a pass rush.

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Really? Because we've seen Revis for a long time and had to play him twice to three times a year for awhile. The guy sticks to receivers like glue. Manning could have ten seconds in the pocket and Revis will still be where he needs to be.

Revis is better and more valuable than Talib by miles.

PATS16N0 said:

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That must be the funniest damn gif I've ever seen. That chick is lucky she didn't break her neck.

This thread is Troll-er-ific!

I knew it...i just knew it Borges had a name on this site. **** off borges

Just posted it in the blueprint for the defense thread in the Draft section - the Seahawks used a 6-2-3 formation, now that is some way to get pressure!

The Pats now have the secondary to use the 6-2-3, a couple of athletic linemen need adding though to get that pressure in no time at all.

So many times on replay you could see the pass rush just a fraction of a second too late. I puzzled over how to fix that because we've got pretty good guys like Chandler Jones, Nink, etc. I think the answer is the secondary and Bellichick has it right. Remember when Talib was in there last year how the defense improved dramatically. This defense with healthy guys will be awesome this year.

Who would you rather the Pats sign, the ever impressive Peppers, who since 2003 has not sniffed a Super Bowl?

How do you get the sense BB panics? He signed two excellent CBs and now Edelman, and restructures Tommy Kelly (viewed as a solid DT when healthy). It is Day 5 I believe, and we are a long way from the start of the season. The Pats have a personnel plan, believe it or not, and generally tend to annoy fans by not making many moves early on as they tend to be very deliberate. Every now and then they grab a high profile player that fits their defensive scheme, because those players tend not to stay on the market for very long.

I still expect the team to upgrade DTs (Jones is very good and Ninko is respectable - have two solid DTs on the field and the D-line is respectable), O-line and TE, whether through draft or free agency. The team need players who can collapse the pocket. If the Pats find those players, whether on the roster now or through addition, then this team will be rolling.

cardiak said:

We had a chance to nab some great defensive ends in this years wild free agency to create a dominant pass rush that we've been lacking. But of course our lousy defensive backfield all these years has nothing to do with opposing QBs having all day to play toss with their receivers.... You'd think BB would learn how he won his superbowls when coaching in NY and why he lost them these last two times against NY.

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Thanks for putting your opinion out there. But I strongly disagree.

It's much harder to find skilled talent at CB then it is to plug in athletes in the front 7. Not to mention that the Pats amassed 48 sacks last year. Clearly the scheme can produce sacks. But BB was limited in how aggressive he could be with his scheme due to the fact that his cornerbacks outside of Talib, just weren't very good or were limited in what they could do.

By adding Revis and Browner, not only has BB upgraded his top CBs, but now the rest of the secondary is moved down a couple of notches in responsibility. I like our matchups against the other team's #3/#4/#5 receiving options versus Dennard, Ryan, and Arrington much more than having those guys have to face #1 and #2 receiving options when Talib is/was not healthy.

Unlike yourself, I believe that BB knows exactly what he is doing, and will address the DL/Pass-rushing situation by signing/drafting the appropriate personnel. It's not big names that produce a good pass rush, it is a system that is filled with the appropriate athletes and personnel.

Chandler Jones is a bona fide #1 pass rusher in our system. Ninkovich is a good complementary pass rusher. We got good production from guys like Vellano and Chris Jones as well. Could we stand to add a couple more pieces? Of course we could. But no way do I want to overpay 3/30 for a 32 year old Demarcus Ware or a 34 year old Julius Peppers.

You don't win Superbowls by investing big chunks of money in 30 year old+ defensive ends. Skilled CBs with good size is the biggest position of scarcity in the pass-happy NFL and we got two of the best at that position. Then you add additional value priced pieces to finish the overall package.

As far as the Pats front 7 - we have gifted/highly drafted linebackers at each position, WILL - Mayo 1st round, SAM - Collins 2nd round, MIKE - Hightower 1st round. And I'm sure BB isn't done yet as far as the front 4 is concerned, expect 1-2 pieces through the draft and 1-2 value priced veteran free agents.