Elephant or Weak DE/OLB

[braveht]

Question:

How does this position work vs two tight ends ? It seems hard to switch sides
when it's unclear, when the O breaks huddle,which will line up next to a tackle
and which as an H-back or wideout.

 

[mayoclinic]

It's a fair question. One answer would be that with 2 guys like Jones and Bequette who both have the length and size to 2-gap and the athleticism to drop back into coverage, it doesn't matter. If you play a 4-2-5 that can morph into a 3-3-5 with the DE on either side dropping back into coverage, or a 2-4-5 with both DE's standing up, then you have the flexibility to react regardless of which way the offense commits itself. It will take time for the youngsters to develop and get to that point, but I think that's the ultimate goal, and part of the reason for doubling up on big, athletic DEs who can stand up and play in space. That effectively makes the defense ambidextrous.

 

[mayoclinic]

Here's a discussion of how Jones and Bequette could both fit at the elephant:

Can Jake Bequette, Chandler Jones Fill Elephant Role for New England Patriots? | Bleacher Report

As Willie McGinest notes:

You have to be talented, you have to be tough, because you have to be able to take on the linemen and fullbacks and tight ends and play in the trenches vs. the run game. So you have to be sturdy and strong enough and tough enough to handle that, but you also have to be agile, and smart enough to be able to read coverages and drop back into coverages and understand different receiver sets and motions and be able to read different formations. It's not easy.

Not easy at all. Very hard to find 2 guys with the length, strength, agility, smarts and skill set to do that. But if Jones and Bequette can both develop in that direction, it would give the Pats' defense incredible flexibility, especially with guys like Mayo and Hightower behind them.

One of the most interesting parts of the article is quote of a twitter from Pat Kirwan at CBS Sports:

Talkin w/ B Belichick he's definitly in to the multiple fronts in '12. Draft pics Jones, Hightower, Bequette and Wilson all play multiple spo[ts.]

 

[mayoclinic]

Yet one more take, this time from Greg Bedard:

Between free agency and the draft, the Patriots have not only added more talent to the defense, but most importantly for Belichick, they now have a variety of options at all three levels of the defense: the line, linebackers, and secondary.

The options, for Belichick, are literally endless. “On paper, I think there are some possibilities for that,’’ he said. “It will be interesting to see how it goes with some of those players.’’

The Patriots now have linemen - Trevor Scott, Jones, Bequette, Jermaine Cunningham, and Markell Carter - who can drop back and play linebacker. Hightower is the type of linebacker who can easily move down the line in situations.

In the secondary, Steve Gregory, Wilson, Patrick Chung, Ebner, and Josh Barrett can play linebacker in sub packages and effectively play the run. Cornerbacks Devin McCourty, Gregory, Chung, Wilson, Dennard, Sterling Moore, and Malcolm Williams all have the ability to play safety.

Flash back to the beginning of last season, and the roles for most of the Patriots were fairly well defined - for fans and opponents. And the 31st-ranked Patriots defense got chewed up. Only later, out of necessity, did we see any versatility become evident.

Now, the Patriots set off into an offseason of great expectations with a defense that can emerge like a chameleon when the season starts. No one knows what it will eventually look like. That’s likely the way it will go week to week during the season, especially when opponents try to game plan offensively. The Patriots have the potential to dictate the style of the game defensively with the scheme they choose. Usually that’s what the opposing offense does.

“I do think that with some of the players we’ve added on the defensive side of the ball, guys have different skills and maybe they will be able to do some different things for us,’’ Belichick said. “It’s hard to say exactly what that will be until you actually get them doing it and putting it all together to see how effective we are individually and collectively as a team doing different things, changing things up and how versatile the players are.’’

As a whole, the parts seem to fit the Patriots - The Boston Globe

It will take time to "put it all together", but that kind of versatility could be very useful in countering 2 TE sets, spread offenses, and virtually anything else opposing offenses can put on the field.