Do the Pats have a "Playmaker" on their D?

[iapatsfan]

I am sick of hearing the Patriot Defense talking points about everybody needs to "do their jobs". This defense needs more than that. They need people who can simply beat the players in front of them. For the most part, WR's beat our DB's, TE's beat our LB's and S's, OL beat our DL. With the exception of Wilfork, who on this defense wins 1 on 1 matchups. All of the good defenses have multiple players that win these head to head battles. They have guys you have to account for which frees up players in other positions. Other than Wilfork, who do offenses have to account for on this defense? I have not been one of the people on this board expressing excitement over the potential of this defense. I think people got excited about the 1st two drives of the Saints game, but I attributed those two drives to Saints' mistakes, not Patriots D. Since then, Brees, Ryan, and both Rams QBs have had their way with the number ones on our D. I also think practicing against the Saints and Falcons before the games gave our defensive players some familiarity with those teams which helped hide the major weaknesses this defense has. I think the Rams game was more indicative of what we can expect from this defense. Compare this D to the Patriots' D's of the past and you really see the drop-off in playmakers. Harrison/Milloy over anyone on our teams right now. Law/Smith/Poole/Samuel over anyone we have. Tedy/Ted/Pfeifer/Willie/Colvin are a much better core than what we are dealing with today. With the exception of Wilfork, there is no point in even bringing up the DL. How BB has allowed the D to get in such sad shape is beyond me.

 

[JackBauer]

Pretty overwrought if you ask me.

Clearly this is a defense in transition, with younger players ascending.

I think your playmakers are going to be guys like Meriweather, Mayo, McCourty and/or Butler, Bodden, Spikes, Chung. But these players, with the exception of Bodden, are young so they'll need some time.

 

[UofApatsfan]

Jerod Mayo and Meriweather as of now, especially since they're both moving back to their natural positions. Spikes and Chung certainly might be guys the defense has to "account" for by the end of the year. I completely understand your frustration about the lack of "playmakers" on defense, but the lack of guys who were even able to "do their jobs" last year made it so Mayo and Meriweather had to focus more on doing other player's jobs than making big plays. Hopefully that changes this year.

 

[DaBruinz]

I am sick of hearing the Patriot Defense talking points about everybody needs to "do their jobs". This defense needs more than that. They need people who can simply beat the players in front of them. For the most part, WR's beat our DB's, TE's beat our LB's and S's, OL beat our DL. With the exception of Wilfork, who on this defense wins 1 on 1 matchups. All of the good defenses have multiple players that win these head to head battles. They have guys you have to account for which frees up players in other positions. Other than Wilfork, who do offenses have to account for on this defense? I have not been one of the people on this board expressing excitement over the potential of this defense. I think people got excited about the 1st two drives of the Saints game, but I attributed those two drives to Saints' mistakes, not Patriots D. Since then, Brees, Ryan, and both Rams QBs have had their way with the number ones on our D. I also think practicing against the Saints and Falcons before the games gave our defensive players some familiarity with those teams which helped hide the major weaknesses this defense has. I think the Rams game was more indicative of what we can expect from this defense. Compare this D to the Patriots' D's of the past and you really see the drop-off in playmakers. Harrison/Milloy over anyone on our teams right now. Law/Smith/Poole/Samuel over anyone we have. Tedy/Ted/Pfeifer/Willie/Colvin are a much better core than what we are dealing with today. With the exception of Wilfork, there is no point in even bringing up the DL. How BB has allowed the D to get in such sad shape is beyond me.

Seriously, could you make your presentation any more convoluted and hard to read? Learn how to make a paragraph.

Now, that being said, it's pre-season. I sure don't know what games you've been watching, but this idea that the other teams have been consistently better than the #1s on the Pats defense is BS. The Pats #1s handled New Orleans and Atlanta. Easily. Yes, they tripped up yesterday against the Rams. It happens. But they also didn't game plan. They ran the Vanilla defense with a lot of prevent. You might have noticed that if you actually watched.

This defense is very young. It has players who can be playmakers. Bodden, McCourty, Butler, Meriweather, Mayo, Chung. However, you scoffing at the idea that everyone needs to "do their jobs" is pure ignorance on your part. Seriously. Even the commentators last night understood that. ALL 11 players on the field have to be working together, DOING THEIR JOBS. If they aren't, then the opposition is ELITE enough to find the guy who isn't and take advantage of it. That's football.

BTW, I am sure that BB KNEW that Ty Warren was going to be lost for the season and chose to ignore it.

Seriously, put down the crack pipe, detox yourself, and realize that even though these guys are amongst the elite, they are still human.

 

[Christopher Patriot]

Theres some young guys I believe have played well enough to land on the roster.

1. Terrance Wheatley- majority of us had him a cut but he seems to show more tenacious angles and sure tackling then mr 24.
2. Brandon Mcgowan- The guy just flies around at least showing athleticism along with making some big hits also can play special teams keeper.
3. Daryl Richard- uses his hands quite well for his inexperience shows a penchant to have enough athleticism to move around mammoth tackles, needs to learn to anchor down a little more but I believe his future is bright.
4.Ron Brace- looks to be in much better shape is flying off the line and really digging in as a possible starter, lets hope the injury is not serious. The pick doesn't look as awful now.

 

[Rob0729]

The Pats have five or six potential play makers on defense. Too early to tell if any of them will become playmakers. That is one of the negatives of a young defense.

 

[makoute]

Jerod Mayo and Meriweather as of now, especially since they're both moving back to their natural positions. Spikes and Chung certainly might be guys the defense has to "account" for by the end of the year. I completely understand your frustration about the lack of "playmakers" on defense, but the lack of guys who were even able to "do their jobs" last year made it so Mayo and Meriweather had to focus more on doing other player's jobs than making big plays. Hopefully that changes this year.

Sorry to say, but Mayo is not a play maker. He simply has not been a play maker even his rookie season he wasn't one, he was a tackle machine, but not a pla ymaker.

 

[IllegalContact]

as of right now, no

the pats don't have a playmaker on defense.

that said, all kinds of players can become 'playmakers' if you added a pass rush

 

[RayClay]

They're all young. I'd be ecstatic if they could all do their jobs, hopefully by mid season.

 

[patsfaninpittsburgh]

I am sick of hearing the Patriot Defense talking points about everybody needs to "do their jobs". This defense needs more than that. They need people who can simply beat the players in front of them. For the most part, WR's beat our DB's, TE's beat our LB's and S's, OL beat our DL. With the exception of Wilfork, who on this defense wins 1 on 1 matchups. All of the good defenses have multiple players that win these head to head battles. They have guys you have to account for which frees up players in other positions. Other than Wilfork, who do offenses have to account for on this defense? I have not been one of the people on this board expressing excitement over the potential of this defense. I think people got excited about the 1st two drives of the Saints game, but I attributed those two drives to Saints' mistakes, not Patriots D. Since then, Brees, Ryan, and both Rams QBs have had their way with the number ones on our D. I also think practicing against the Saints and Falcons before the games gave our defensive players some familiarity with those teams which helped hide the major weaknesses this defense has. I think the Rams game was more indicative of what we can expect from this defense. Compare this D to the Patriots' D's of the past and you really see the drop-off in playmakers. Harrison/Milloy over anyone on our teams right now. Law/Smith/Poole/Samuel over anyone we have. Tedy/Ted/Pfeifer/Willie/Colvin are a much better core than what we are dealing with today. With the exception of Wilfork, there is no point in even bringing up the DL. How BB has allowed the D to get in such sad shape is beyond me.

Did you notice it's still pre-season?

Seriously, what drives this? You might want to find a sport like synchronzied swimming to follow.

 

[fair catch fryar]

I am sick of hearing the Patriot Defense talking points about everybody needs to "do their jobs". This defense needs more than that. They need people who can simply beat the players in front of them. For the most part, WR's beat our DB's, TE's beat our LB's and S's, OL beat our DL. With the exception of Wilfork, who on this defense wins 1 on 1 matchups. All of the good defenses have multiple players that win these head to head battles. They have guys you have to account for which frees up players in other positions. Other than Wilfork, who do offenses have to account for on this defense? I have not been one of the people on this board expressing excitement over the potential of this defense. I think people got excited about the 1st two drives of the Saints game, but I attributed those two drives to Saints' mistakes, not Patriots D. Since then, Brees, Ryan, and both Rams QBs have had their way with the number ones on our D. I also think practicing against the Saints and Falcons before the games gave our defensive players some familiarity with those teams which helped hide the major weaknesses this defense has. I think the Rams game was more indicative of what we can expect from this defense. Compare this D to the Patriots' D's of the past and you really see the drop-off in playmakers. Harrison/Milloy over anyone on our teams right now. Law/Smith/Poole/Samuel over anyone we have. Tedy/Ted/Pfeifer/Willie/Colvin are a much better core than what we are dealing with today. With the exception of Wilfork, there is no point in even bringing up the DL. How BB has allowed the D to get in such sad shape is beyond me.

Go through every other team in the NFL's defense and give me a "playmaker" for each one. It's likely that you'll find less of these "playmakers" than you think. The sole purpose of doing your job is to prevent the other team from moving the ball and creating opportunities such as turnovers and loss of yardage...AKA.....making plays. So I guess it begins with knowing what your job is and doing it well.

 

[Deus Irae]

Wilfork and Meriweather

 

[emoney_33]

The entire point of "do your job" is that it usually takes 11 players doing their job to consistently make plays.

 

[UofApatsfan]

Sorry to say, but Mayo is not a play maker. He simply has not been a play maker even his rookie season he wasn't one, he was a tackle machine, but not a pla ymaker.

This is just the optimist in me but I think having a linebacker next to him who also has the range and size to help against the run like Spikes might enable him to be more of a playmaker.

 

[Grizzafted]

there's no question that the talent level on the defense is not what it was in the early part of last decade. But there is a lot of upside and lots of youth. I don't think last night's game is a good indication of how it will perform during the season, and my main concern is still the playcalling, not the personnel. The front seven is not great, but I saw things I liked out of TBC and Brace last night. If they play well it could be alright.

I think this is a team that is going to be working with a lead for a majority of the season, but yes, I am concerned about things like 4th quarter collapses again. I'm not sure we have the speed to play the kind of zones that BB likes, but I'll wait until after Week 2 or 3 to start making real judgments.

 

[iapatsfan]

Seriously, could you make your presentation any more convoluted and hard to read? Learn how to make a paragraph.

Now, that being said, it's pre-season. I sure don't know what games you've been watching, but this idea that the other teams have been consistently better than the #1s on the Pats defense is BS. The Pats #1s handled New Orleans and Atlanta. Easily. Yes, they tripped up yesterday against the Rams. It happens. But they also didn't game plan. They ran the Vanilla defense with a lot of prevent. You might have noticed that if you actually watched.

This defense is very young. It has players who can be playmakers. Bodden, McCourty, Butler, Meriweather, Mayo, Chung. However, you scoffing at the idea that everyone needs to "do their jobs" is pure ignorance on your part. Seriously. Even the commentators last night understood that. ALL 11 players on the field have to be working together, DOING THEIR JOBS. If they aren't, then the opposition is ELITE enough to find the guy who isn't and take advantage of it. That's football.

BTW, I am sure that BB KNEW that Ty Warren was going to be lost for the season and chose to ignore it.

Seriously, put down the crack pipe, detox yourself, and realize that even though these guys are amongst the elite, they are still human.

I do apologize for making the post difficult to read. I was attempting to type a thought as I was thinking it, not type an essay that was going to be critiqued by the ever so intellectually gifted DaBruinz. DaBruinz, please let me know on a scale of 1-10, how difficult was this for you? Also, let me know what level of difficulty you are comfortable with, and I will make the proper adjustments for my next post. I should have known, with a name like DaBruinz, you would be all over any errors in punctuation, grammatical mishaps or paragraphs that were not properly formed. Once again DaBruinz, just let me know what level of difficulty is ok with you, and I will make sure to accommodate your reading preferences. All of the proverbial T's and I's will be crossed and dotted.

 

[VectorPrime]

Sorry to say, but Mayo is not a play maker. He simply has not been a play maker even his rookie season he wasn't one, he was a tackle machine, but not a pla ymaker.

He was injured ALL of last season. Maybe you noticed but he missed a few games at the start.

 

[Deus Irae]

I do apologize for making the post difficult to read. I was attempting to type a thought as I was thinking it, not type an essay that was going to be critiqued by the ever so intellectually gifted DaBruinz. DaBruinz, please let me know on a scale of 1-10, how difficult was this for you? Also, let me know what level of difficulty you are comfortable with, and I will make the proper adjustments for my next post. I should have known, with a name like DaBruinz, you would be all over any errors in punctuation, grammatical mishaps or paragraphs that were not properly formed. Once again DaBruinz, just let me know what level of difficulty is ok with you, and I will make sure to accommodate your reading preferences. All of the proverbial T's and I's will be crossed and dotted.

Dude.... DaBruinz raised a valid point. Paragraph breaks would have been nice.

 

[iapatsfan]

He was injured ALL of last season. Maybe you noticed but he missed a few games at the start.

I think Mayo is a fine player, but he does not make big plays. In the past this defense got by on the bend but don't break philosophy because there was always somebody to make a play. They would let the team move the ball some, but eventually someone would create a turnover, get a sack or something. I have no idea who is going to do those things on this defense.

 

[makoute]

I think Mayo is a fine player, but he does not make big plays. In the past this defense got by on the bend but don't break philosophy because there was always somebody to make a play. They would let the team move the ball some, but eventually someone would create a turnover, get a sack or something. I have no idea who is going to do those things on this defense.

The only guy who have been close is Meriweather, hopefully he will get better.