Defensive Line

[patchick]

NT are usually seen but seldom heard from, or noticed,as they absorb double team blocks, tying up and using up blockers.

Brace entered the game and within a few plays, pursued down the line leveling a G trying to stop him and wrapped up a RB two yards deep behind the LOS. He then ripped the ball loose and Forced a Fumble that Mackenzie recovered. He did it down the line outside the Tackle area so he covered more ground than most NT ever do, shed like brushing away a fly, got into the backfield, and completely blew the play up.

Did Brace line up at NT last night? I thought he played DE with Pryor in the middle, and has been doing the same in practice.

 

[Patspsycho]

Did Brace line up at NT last night? I thought he played DE with Pryor in the middle, and has been doing the same in practice.

Brace was in as LDE, Pryor in NT, and Deaderick in RDE, on 2nd string defense.

 

[Ring 6]

Did Brace line up at NT last night? I thought he played DE with Pryor in the middle, and has been doing the same in practice.

Yeah he was at LDE. Then in suib package he moved to LDT.
I know the forced fumble is nice, but the real encouraging part of his game IMO was his ability to get some pass rushing pressure. He did not look fat and slow and did look very powerful bull rushing.

 

[patchick]

Yeah he was at LDE. Then in suib package he moved to LDT.
I know the forced fumble is nice, but the real encouraging part of his game IMO was his ability to get some pass rushing pressure. He did not look fat and slow and did look very powerful bull rushing.

I agree Brace looked encouraging at DE, and that made the unsubstantiated rumor that he failed the conditioning test look even more suspect.

But I'm confused by the poster who talked about his performance in terms of what's expected of an NT -- and, frankly, by the fact that he's not at NT. I don't see a legit backup NT on this roster, and Brace is far from the prototype for a DE.

 

[RayClay]

Forget how he played, that was a different human than the one sports writers have been telling me about. I could see him getting a lot of play at end with Warren out.

 

[jmt57]

Sounds like we'll probably have a starting lineup of Warren, Wilfork and Wright, with Brace, Pryor and Lewis as their backups. I would think Deaderick is somewhere in that second group as well.

Official Patriots Football Weekly Blog - From the Hart: Monday post-camp practice observations

–The top defense most often fielded a front line of Gerard Warren, Vince Wilfork and Mike Wright. Another group included Ron Brace at left end, Myron Pryor on the nose and the returning veteran Lewis at right end.

 

[jmt57]

Who can the Patriots least afford to lose? How about Vince Wilfork?

AFC East: Most indispensable players by Tim Graham for espn:

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: VINCE WILFORK

Based on the way the Patriots' offense sputtered without Wes Welker in the playoffs last year, he'd be a good choice. Or you could go with the transcendent abilities of Randy Moss. But the Patriots have an emerging group of young receivers, and Brady won three Super Bowls with a hodgepodge of targets.

That's why nose tackle Vince Wilfork is the Patriots' most indispensable non-quarterback. Wilfork is, by far, their most important defensive player. He absorbs multiple blockers on any given play, allowing the players around him to make plays. Remove him from the field, and the Patriots' defense gets pretty ordinary.

As for the rest of the AFC East, Graham listed Lee Evans for the Bills, Jake Long for the Dolphins, and D'Brickshaw Ferguson for the Jets.

 

[jmt57]

Chris Warner of Patriots Daily on the DL going into the Rams game:

Worry Wart - Preseason Game Three vs. Rams

All Aboard The D-Line:
Okay, Vince Wilfork mans the middle and Gerard Warren has taken Ty Warren’s spot at left end. Mike Wright has started at right end, giving up too much yardage on the ground. Last week second-year player/conditioning phobe Ron Brace did solid work on the D-line, albeit against Atlanta’s B team. Time to see if the heftier Brace, Damione Lewis and rookie Brandon Deaderick can take reps against the starters.

 

[jmt57]

New England Patriots' defensive pecking order is coming into focus - ESPN Boston

7. Vince Wilfork's leadership is shining through. It can be a challenge for a nose tackle to be the face of the defense, but that's what has happened with the seven-year veteran. The Patriots had a sturdy front three with Wilfork, Ty Warren and Richard Seymour from 2005-08, but now only Wilfork will be lining up for the Patriots from that group in 2010. The overall depth up front has to be a concern for the team.

11. Gerard Warren has become an important free-agent signing. When the Patriots signed the 10-year veteran to a one-year deal shortly after April's draft, it made a minor ripple. But with Ty Warren landing on season-ending injured reserve, his presence on the defensive line becomes that much more important. So far, so good, for the Patriots when it comes to his acclimation to the team's scheme.

 

[Off The Grid]

Tedy Bruschi comments on the Pats' defensive line.

Tedy Bruschi and Mike Reiss break down the New England Patriots heading into training camp - ESPN Boston

I think this defense has a lot to prove based on the way they were manhandled by the Baltimore Ravens in the playoffs last year. One of the big questions is whether Gerard Warren can be that five-technique defensive end that the run-defense can count on. We saw the Ravens run away from Ty Warren and Vince Wilfork, coming down over and over again on Jarvis Green and Mike Wright. The Patriots saw that, moved Wilfork to end, and then the Ravens responded by running up the middle. That was an example of a team exploiting a weakness in the 3-4 defense, and I think that five-technique defensive end opposite Ty Warren was the weakest link along the defensive line. If you don't have a d-lineman that can anchor and take on blocks in this defense the way the Patriots play it, the linebackers will be helpless against linemen who have unabated angles on the second level, and the outside linebackers will have too much space to defend. In the 3-4 defense, the most valuable players are those guys up front. If Gerard Warren, Ron Brace, Damione Lewis, Mike Wright etc. can't be that one guy to solidify that three-man front, it's going to be a long year.


I like Bruschi's insight and analysis, even when it is painful to hear or read.

CONCUR!! This was a BRILLIANT piece of FootBall analysis!!

 

[Off The Grid]

Spikes better bring that run-stuffing tackling-machine game of his big-time, if that write-up is correct. It would be a nice surprise if Wright's gap-minding skills improved, so we don't have to cheat Spikes further forward and toward Wright's side of the line... but you have to wonder how BB will make a virtue of that necessity, using Wright as a pressure guy on an either/or down with Spikes lining up right on the line or just off it, etc. I'm nobody's football guru but it seems that the 3-4 2-gap system will have some wrinkles this year if we really believe Wright can't cover his responsibilities (but adds a wildcard penetration possibility). Worrisome, but things that worried me in the past have always been opportunities as well. Getting penetration for a tackle for a loss involves a lot of the same skill set as getting penetration for a hurry or a sack; getting that out of Wright and plugging the hole with Spikes may give us something we weren't counting on.

Sorry, just looking for ways my glass might be half-full

Actually, I thought that was very well said, for what it's worth!!

 

[jmt57]

Ten Things We Learned Last Night by WEEI's Christopher Price:

Questions about the Patriots’ pass rush remain

If you need one defensive positive to take with you out of this game, it could very likely be the play of Brace, who had seven tackles to go along with his first-half sack and generally looked aggressive while rotating in on the defensive starters in the early going. A healthy and active Brace could go a long way toward creating some stability along the New England defensive line.

 

[jmt57]

Although it was brought up in this thread http://www.patsfans.com/new-england...ron-brace-looks-like-just-sprained-ankle.html I figured I'd link it here as well.

Good News For Patriots DL Rn Brace: Looks Like Just A Sprained Ankle by the Boston Herald's Ian Rapoport:

looks like Patriots DL Ron Brace will be able to continue the immense progress he showed in Thursday night’s game against the Rams. The 2009 second-round pick from Boston College hasn’t suffered a major injury.

After undergoing an MRI yesterday, Brace’s ankle injury is just a sprain, I’m told by a friend who has known him for years.

Brace will have some treatment today, then see how the ankle responds to some running as a little bit of a test. It’s possible he may not require more than a couple days off.

 

[jmt57]

Stan Grossfeld of the Boston Globe has a great column on Vince Wifork, taking a behind the scenes look at his life off the field at home with his family.

Home Team Captain: Patriots' Wilfork is a family man who also has a lot to tackle away from the field

Wilfork plays touch football with his wife and kids, then basketball with stepson D’Aundre, whom he beats easily. Wilfork says he can still dunk, if he gets warmed up. But when he loses a game of C-A-T, he is miffed.
“I hate to lose in anything,’’ he says.

One of just a handful of players left from the Patriots’ Super Bowl XXXIX team, he also believes he can play just about every position in pro football.

“It don’t matter to me,’’ he says. “I’m an athlete. I tell people that all the time.’’

He played quarterback recently at practice and the defense beat the offense in a reversal of roles.

“It was a day in paradise,’’ Wilfork says. “Brady said I did exactly what he would have done.’’

 

[jmt57]

Mike Wright day at Gillette by Mike Reiss for espnBoston:

"From where he’s started, he’s really had a good career to this point," Belichick said. "And he continues to work hard and build on it. Every year, he becomes more dependable, more versatile, a guy who has more experience and uses it. Some guys gain experience and it doesn’t really seem to help. He’s a guy that gains experience and doesn’t repeat a lot of mistakes from previous years or situations."

Wright (6-foot-4, 295 pounds) is the team's projected starter at right defensive end. Should he go wire to wire as a starter, this would be a big jump for him, as he's appeared in 69 career regular-season games, with 16 starts.

Wright's nine starts last year were a career high, and his December performance in Buffalo -- in which he totaled 10 tackles and a sack -- was lauded by Belichick at the time as a performance that was as good as it gets for a player at his position.

Pats players face tense time with roster cut ahead - NFL - SI.com

Defensive lineman Mike Wright didn't think he'd make the New England Patriots after being signed as an undrafted rookie in 2005. So he knows what some players are going through with the first roster cut a day away.

Wright said Monday it's a tough time for those players trying to hang on. NFL teams must reduce their rosters from 80 to 75 players Tuesday.

He said he was just hoping to make the practice squad after being signed by the Patriots out of Cincinnati five years ago. But now he's in his sixth season after starting nine games last year.

 

[jmt57]

Mike Reiss' mailbag, August 31

Q: I agree with your sentiment (that you've stuck to for a while) that BB will be looking for a DE in next year's draft. With the Raiders pick in mind, and looking at Mel Kiper's early predictions, 5 of the top 17 players are DE's. The Pats are always unpredictable in the draft but I agree finding a stud there is a must to further the overhaul of this defense.

A: I think either a defensive end or outside linebacker would be on the radar with that first-round pick.

Or an offensive lineman, or a running back, or one of those blue-chip wide receivers, or ...

Q: Does DL Darryl Richard still have a chance on the Patriots? I was expecting him to make some impact this year. Last year while on the practice squad, he declined to go elsewhere and the team rewarded him a pay raise. I understand he's practice squad eligible, but looking at his playtime in the preseason games, I'm not sure he'll end up there.

A: I don't expect Richard to make the 53-man roster. With him battling a foot injury, he could find himself released before potentially returning on the practice squad when healthy.

With all the talk about roster predictions recently, I literally had forgotten all about Richard until a few days ago when looking to see who was eligible for the practice squad.

 

[The Brandon Five]

Mike Reiss' mailbag, August 31



Or an offensive lineman, or a running back, or one of those blue-chip wide receivers, or ...




With all the talk about roster predictions recently, I literally had forgotten all about Richard until a few days ago when looking to see who was eligible for the practice squad.

I thought he looked pretty good in the Rams game (got a sack), especially if he is injured. Granted it was against the 2nd or 3rd string St. Louis O-Line...

So, is he eligible for the PS?

 

[jmt57]

I thought he looked pretty good in the Rams game (got a sack), especially if he is injured. Granted it was against the 2nd or 3rd string St. Louis O-Line...

So, is he eligible for the PS?

Yeah, I thought he looked good in that game. He is eligible for the practice squad since he's only spent one year on PS, as does not have a season with nine or more games on the 45-man active roster.

To the best of my knowledge these are the players eligible for the practice squad - though some would obviously never end up there because of their draft status or expectations for this season. I may be wrong about Clayton, Taylor and Jenkins as they have already spent two seasons on the PS.

QB: Zac Robinson
RB: Thomas Clayton, Chris Taylor
WR: Brandon Tate, Taylor Price, Buddy Farnham, Darnell Jenkins, Rod Owens
TE: Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, Rob Myers, Carson Butler
OL: Ted Larsen, George Bussey, Rich Ohrnberger, Thomas Welch

DL: Brandon Deaderick, Kyle Love, Darryl Richard
OLB: Jermaine Cunningham
ILB: Brandon Spikes, Tyrone McKenzie, Thomas Williams, Dane Fletcher
S: Sergio Brown, Ross Ventrone
CB: Devin McCourty, Terrence Wheatley, DeAngelo Willingham, Terrence Johnson

P: Zoltan Mesko

 

[jmt57]

Patriots rookie Brandon Deaderick 'celebrates' an unusual 1-year anniversary by the Boston Herald's Ian Rapoport

A year ago today — August 31, 2009 — Deaderick was the victim of a carjacking and robbery, one that resulted in him being shot in the arm. Back then, Deaderick was a senior at the University of Alabama and he was lucky to be alive. His football future with the team looked dim.

Instead, Deaderick did the unbelievable and actually played in the season opener against Virginia Tech. I remember watching from afar, having just moved up here after covering the Crimson Tide, and being amazed.

 

[jmt57]

Mike Reiss answers a question about possible defensive line groupings.

Chat: Chat with Mike Reiss - SportsNation - ESPN Boston

Q.: Do you think it makes more sense to start Brace at LDE and Warren at RDE and have Wright come in off the bench. Like Jarvis Green when Wright comes in for different situations he excells. I fear he may have a season like Green did last year if he is the full time starter. Green was awesome coming in on passing downs and he was not as effective as an every down lineman.

A.: Yes, if Brace can play like he has the last two weeks, I like that combo. Wright has looked real good as an interior rusher this preseason. I like the idea of keeping him fresh, or at least rotating him in and out.