Defensive Line

[Ring 6]

It looks like we will see some big changes on the DL this year.
There are a handful of players who saw playing time that are gone, new additions, and others that may have their roles increased or decreased.

RDE- Jones is the future of our pass rush. Lets hope he is healthy. I would not be surprised to see him play more on the left side too, perhaps moving around based on matchup.

LDE- Ninkovich does a lot of things acceptably but none particularly well. He struggled mightily to generate a consistent pass rush last year, but knew what to do on the occassions he broke through or had a QB flushed out to him. My biggest hope is that we improve this position, but we have not yet. I could see Cunnigham or Bequette having a good camp and taking this role and moving Ninkovich to a jack of all trades DE, OLB, sub rusher, sub LB hybrid role, but i would have prefered John Abraham.

I have little, if any hope for Buchanan this year even if he makes the team. We once again seem thin at DE. Perhaps Collins or Hightower will end up seeing sub snaps there. Justin Francis has JAG who had one good game written all over him to me.

DT- Wilfork. I love Vince as much as anyone but we really need to sub him out more on passing downs. As the game continues to be more pass oriented and our penchant for playing from ahead causes us to be passed on more than most teams, we need more production from inside pass rushers than we have gotten.

DT- Kelly/Armstead Both bring more pass rush hope than anyone we had at DT last year (except Cunningham who was much better than he got credit for). This could be a big area of improvement.
Cunningham, if not playing LDE could return to the inside pass rusher role he did well in last year.

I see potentially more talent, and potentially a lack of depth along the DL.
I'd like to see Abraham signed, and a young DT emerge.

Hopefully we can create some real football discussion about players who will contribute unless someone bring the Tebow to DE argument in.

 

[Joey007]

While I wouldn't hold out hope on signing Abraham I'd still keep it as a possibility. Who knows if at some point he'll come back to his senses and take a cheaper contract to come here.

 

[Joey007]

To me there is no one that is more key to our pass rush success than Jones. If he gets hurt/doesn't play up to expectations it would probably be the deciding factor to whether our pass rush finally gets over the subpar bench mark we've been under the past few years save 2011.

 

[Brady2Moss]

The most exciting guy for me is Armstead, reports make it seem like he's a beast. I'm fully expecting Jones to make a JPP type jump he has the talent.

Defense could be a legitimate top 10 this year, not just points but 3rd down % as well.

 

[supafly]

I have been concerned about the talent and depth on our defensive line since the end of last season. Let's hope that we have a better interior push and that no one gets hurt, because we'll be in some trouble.

Of course we need to hope that both Jones and even Ninkovich step up too while continuing to grow into their roles, which may very well include more responsibilities.

Obviously I would like to see another player or two added who can provide more talent and depth, so that may occur as the summer progresses.

As much as I agree with most that Cunningham is on the bubble, he is still one of our most versatile players on the line, so that may benefit him as long as he shows drive and a good work ethic.

Armstead to me is a complete unknown, and I somewhat disagree with those who automatically feel that he will provide an instant upgrade.

 

[andrewgarrr]

What was the rationale behind the Love and Deaderick releases? Not enough of a pass rush threat?

 

[Joker]

both are shrouded in mystery but the Love release had rumors of uncertain medical culpabilities tied to it...it's all in the Love thread IIRC

the Deaderick release also had these persistent rumors hinting at lockerroom cancer that emanated from the twitterverse...

who knows what the real deal is...we'll just have to wait for Michael Holley to write another Patriot Reign in a few years to find out because we get zero from inside Foxboro.

Love's release is understandable to a degree but Deaderick is a head scratcher for sure..

 

[DarrylS]

IMO we never see or understand the whole picture, we see a game on TV without knowing assignments, we read the columns and associated commentary, we watch the Felger's and other news hysterics of the TV world break it down.. but we never really understand all that well. It is in the details...

So we scratch our heads, not because of what happened, but because we will never know the whole story... but we think we do.

 

[SacPete1]

Agree with just about every point except Ninkovich. I think he is one of more versatile players and is quite disruptive as a pass rusher. I'm very hopeful that Jones makes a leap. I really thought Cunningham was very effective inside on 3rd downs and then he didn't see the field much after his suspension. Would love to see him come out strong from the start. I don't have much in the way of expectations for Collins initially mainly because I see LB/DE as having the most depth at this point.
DT is the most exposed position due to the turnover and perceived lack of depth as you have pointed out. Still think someone will be brought in but don't know if anyone worthy. I've read in different spots about using more 3-4 but just don't see the depth at DT at this point to support this and where would Jones play in this scheme.
good topic.

 

[BTTA]

both are shrouded in mystery but the Love release had rumors of uncertain medical culpabilities tied to it...it's all in the Love thread IIRC

the Deaderick release also had these persistent rumors hinting at lockerroom cancer that emanated from the twitterverse...

who knows what the real deal is...we'll just have to wait for Michael Holley to write another Patriot Reign in a few years to find out because we get zero from inside Foxboro.

Love's release is understandable to a degree but Deaderick is a head scratcher for sure..

I'm very concerned about the apparent absence of sarcasm in this post.

 

[patsfaninpa]

Don't sleep on Fortson at DT. He made a terrible decision leaving Miami early. But, he's not your normal free-agent un-signed player. Highly recruited(5* player on Rivals 1-5) and just never got going because of injuries amid the chaos down there. If Belichick cuts Deaderick and Love. I have to think he's got a lot of confidence in Armstead and Fortson. He paid Fortson more than the minimum to keep him on the practice squad last year.

Buchanan will have to beat out one of; Cunningham, Bequette or Francis. If all are healthy. Which usually isn't likely. I haven't written off the thought of getting John Abraham here either.

 

[PATS68]

It is very simple for me, Love and Deaderick reached their ceiling and there was no more upside. Another key point, if Wilfork is getting double teamed then player X next to him needs to win the one on one battle and I didn't see it. Love was benched for Deaderick and he didn't bring much to the table.

What I see in the two guys (Kelly and Armstead) both are more athletic and much better pass rushers up the middle. These two guys could really open up Jones outside game.

I think overall I see a much better defensive unit all around. Pats have added more size and speed.

 

[patriot lifer]

Depth is a certainly a concern. We are counting on certain players to work out. The team doesn't seem desperate for new DT's or DE's.

I wouldn't write off Francis. He seemed precocious last year for a first year unsigned rookie. I expect that he had a longer road to get in NFL shape and with an offseason, I hope he can make a good push this year. Between Nink, Jones, Francis, Cunningham, and one or two others, I think the End position will be solid.

Jones - He's the biggest variable for the most impact. Mayock thought he was the potentially the best defensive draft prospect out of college when he was originally drafted.

Nink - The dude stays healthy. Played 16 games last year, and 16 the year before too. He had 8 sacks with 5 forced fumbles last year. It's hard to argue with those stats. I think BB loves him because he's one of those players who's very aware and smart on the field of play.

Francis - I think he could vault to #3 on the depth chart. Not sure about it though.

Cunningham - Contract year for the player. Hopefully he comes prepared.

Beyond the top 4, you get into players that will see playing time substantially less. We carried 6 DE's last year which seemed one too many. With injuries, I'm glad we carried them all. Plus, we had DE's lining up at tackle on occasion.

 

[Get it shawtaay]

Good post. Nice to see some DL talk.

man#1 on line - Chandler Jones (early, rush)
man#2 on line - ?
man#3 on line - Vince Wilfork (early), ?
man#4 on line - ?
man#1 off line - Jerod Mayo (early, rush)
man#2 off line - Brandon Spikes (early), ?
man#3 off line - ?

Those, to me, are the certainties. Outside of that its hard to say. Boils down to two questions. Once these questions are answered, Ninkovich's role will be clearer as well.

*Armstead, Kelly, and Collins: They have the potential but do they reach it?
*Francis, Bequette, Cunningham, Buchanan, Fletcher, Vega, Forston, Grissom: Who is the least JAG of the JAGs?

So there's a lot of variance here. Best case scenario, 3/3 of the talented guys step up, 4/8 of the JAGs put their big boy pants on, and we have a really deep DL. Worst case scenario,all the JAGs are marginal and the talented guys flop and we're looking at a mediocre at best front seven.

 

[spacecrime]

IMO we never see or understand the whole picture, we see a game on TV without knowing assignments, we read the columns and associated commentary, we watch the Felger's and other news hysterics of the TV world break it down.. but we never really understand all that well. It is in the details...

So we scratch our heads, not because of what happened, but because we will never know the whole story... but we think we do.

Jim Mora - You think you know - YouTube

 

[tonyto3690]

Rumor is that Love/Deaderick/Lloyd were toxic to the locker room last year, that's why they were released. It had nothing to do with Love or Deaderick reaching their ceilings or any of that nonsense.

And it's really not that surprising because Deaderick has been a reported trouble maker ever since he got here and Belichick has wanted to cut him since 2010.

 

[patriot lifer]

Rumor is that Love/Deaderick/Lloyd were toxic to the locker room last year, that's why they were released. It had nothing to do with Love or Deaderick reaching their ceilings or any of that nonsense.

And it's really not that surprising because Deaderick has been a reported trouble maker ever since he got here and Belichick has wanted to cut him since 2010.

I still think performance would be a contributing factor imo. If they were really good, then they would keep them (like Spikes). Seeing how they couldn't even trade them (I assume they at least thought about it), their ability level was viewed as limited. We know that the Jags were the only team to pick up Love (not sure about Deaderick).

As for ceilings, at this point in their careers (fourth years) they are who they are. There isn't a whole lot of improvement that you see out of defensive linemen or many other positions after a certain point. Some players continue to improve but plenty show modest improvement at best after their first contracts are up. Yes, you get the occasional breakout player like James Harrison, but those players are the exception.

Of course, if they were good in the locker room, then they'd still be around to compete in all likelihood. We can guess that that was the main cause.

 

[satz]

Passing down
DT :
Vince needs a backup. When we lighten the front to play the run with Front 6 . We Have no one to play in the inside with 1 less LB to stop the run.
Maybe Kelly can give him a breather.

DE :
We have 3 DE with Vince , Niko is the only one who can cover and rush with some quality. When we bring one of the ILB on a rush he is the only one who can drop and cover as a ILB .

So you want 2 other DE to be the primary rush guys.
Chandler jones and other guy[who we have no idea] have to step up.We need one more for rotation.



Running down
We always stop the run when needed. so no worries.Front 7 setup never worries me.

 

[RayClay]

I'm not one to bet on potential but, Armstead and Kelly seem like a tremendous talent upgrade over Love and Deaderick. It's great when low picks, UDFA progress, but you are what you are.

So, assuming the new guys aren't total washouts, we're looking at needing role players/backups not starters/rotational players, and we're picking from the same pool as Deaderick/Love came from.

 

[50-yard-line]

I don't think they're done adding DL players yet - don't think they wanted to drop Love. My dream would be to log in and see that they've picked up Seymore and Abraham, but that dream comes with a "pipe" in front of it, I fear.

So maybe one of those guys...

There are teams thick with DL - Cleveland for example. I expect there will be serviceable and signable back-ups at least of Deaderick and Love's level.