No, I just think that NE has not done a good job of getting to the QB without blitzing. The blitz has always been a part of their pass rush package, but I just think that they were more successful only sending 3-4 in years past.
Again, it depends on your expectations. The way offense is played today, pressure on a QB is extremely hard to get. Every play has checkdowns if pressure begins to appear, and most offense are blocking 4 with 6 if there is no blitz.
I do not consider rushing one OLB out of our 3-4 a blitz. That is a standard package.
I think Mike Vrabel has gotten a ton of pressure all season long as the 4th rusher. We arent talking sacks here, but pressure.
I agree you dont see boatloads of pressure from our down lineman, but you dont see that from any team, with the exception of seeing AGAINST some teams that cannot pass block well.
You also have to remember that our defensive system is not pass rush friendly.
We will never be great at pressuring the QB on early downs unless we have players who are far, far better than anyone at their postion.
Sure you can see teams like Indy, chicago, tampa get pressure out a base, but they do it at the expense of team defense and defending the run.
Our DL are required (in the base D) to ENGAGE the OL first, then read pass, then disengage and rush. There is absolutely no way those DL are going to get as much pressure as a DL who job is to AVOID blocks, get penetration and hope he finds a ballcarrier on his way to the QB.
Having issue with the amount of pass rush we get in our base D is really having issue with our overall defensive philosophy. It is a fact that getting pass rush pressure out of our base D is a low priority in our defensive system.