Is anyone else concerned about our lack of pass rush?

[Snarf]

I felt our lack of pass rush has KILLED us the past couple of years. Not only that, but strong pass rushing against us has hurt us. You'd think Belichick would be stacking us with pass rushers...

In a game where disrupting the quarterback has become one of the keys to victory, we seem to have gotten WEAKER, not stronger there. We've lost Vrabel and gained no one better.

So what's the plan? Let opposing quarterbacks stand back there for 5 minutes and complete yet another 3rd-and-15?

 

[P4E*]

Speed kills.

 

[APatrioticVirginian]

Yes I am thats why I say trade Seymour for Peppers

 

[P4E*]

Jason Taylor would be an ideal fit. even if it's only for 3rd down situations. Peppers for Seymour in a trade would never happen.

 

[Mosi Moose]

I'm also concerned, but really believe that BB will address it (combination of 2 of the following 3 things: the draft, signing of Taylor, or he knows / believes in something with Crable). However, if we don't use #23 on a pass rusher, then I'll really start to get worried.

 

[Rossmci90]

Im very concerned, if there is still a lack of pass rush then i imagine we'll see 3rd and longs continuing to be converted as last year.

 

[Adam Seward]

I hope he pulls the trigger on Matthews and/or English in the draft.

 

[Mack Herron]

Now that we have some corners who can cover the QB will have to hang on to the ball longer and that improves our pass rush. Also, it enables us to blitz more often as the coaches gain confidence in the coverage, freeing up guys like Mayo and Guyton who have good speed. Getting AD back will help. Finally, I fully expect help in the draft. Even though an OLB will not start, being a designated rusher on pass downs is something we have done for a while. No worries.

 

[mayoclinic]

I felt our lack of pass rush has KILLED us the past couple of years. Not only that, but strong pass rushing against us has hurt us. You'd think Belichick would be stacking us with pass rushers...

In a game where disrupting the quarterback has become one of the keys to victory, we seem to have gotten WEAKER, not stronger there. We've lost Vrabel and gained no one better.

So what's the plan? Let opposing quarterbacks stand back there for 5 minutes and complete yet another 3rd-and-15?

Yes, I think it's fair to say everyone is concerned. There are still options in FA and the draft - Jason Taylor (possible), Julius Peppers (unlikely), or 1-2 rookies (Connor Barwin, Robert Ayers, Larry English, Aaron Maybin, Clay Matthews, etc.). I think it's reasonable to assume that this hasn't gone unnoticed by the FO, and that given their maniacal attention to plugging all of our other holes, they probably have a plan in mind for this area as well.

 

[satz]

I think you are looking at this in the wrong way. we could not cover anyone in the middle of the field and hence go lighter keep dropping an extra person.

so when we rush 3 or 4 person lets be honest their is going be 5 OL abd 1 RB?TE so effectively negating any rush.

peppers i do not think will help if a gaurd and tackle double him everydown. all the big plays he makes is in single blocker scenario.Put him in the bad coverage situation asking him to sack against 2 OL he will be not be effective.seymour 12.5 sacks double teams all the time is anamoly i wish AD played on his side more so we could have seen seymour hit 15-16 sacks at that rate.

I do not think any rookie is going to contribute in the OLB spot this year .again a realistic approach even though everyone assume BB cheats by putting players on IR and training them illegally i for one do not.
do crabel will have TC to develop and learn. He might be working out in a gym but i am sure he is not training in gillette or being trained by patriots coachs to play .

 

[tanked_as_usual]

concerned is not a word I would use when discussing pro football

but I do believe the pats do not have a pass rush at this time

 

[JSn]

peppers i do not think will help if a gaurd and tackle double him everydown. all the big plays he makes is in single blocker scenario.Put him in the bad coverage situation asking him to sack against 2 OL he will be not be effective.seymour 12.5 sacks double teams all the time is anamoly i wish AD played on his side more so we could have seen seymour hit 15-16 sacks at that rate.

Dude, math is your friend, though.

Seymour requires a double team. Wilfork requires a double team. Warren requires some serious OL attention. Opposing offenses don't have enough guys to the pocket clean enough against that line-up on passing downs.

 

[Nestapats]

Maybe i'm wrong about this, but i got a feeling during the year that the lack of pressure had to do with Vrabel's decline in production and of course the injury to AD. This is why i felt pretty comfortable with the Vrabes trade, cause i felt it was the right thing to do, move on.

I don't agree with a lack of pressure the last couple of years, but just last season. 2 seasons ago we had about the most sacks in the league. I'm positive that we'll select a pass rushing OLB with either the 23rd or 34th pick. I don't see Taylor coming anymore due to cap-space we're going to need to sign our guys.

 

[PatsFaninAZ]

I think it's an issue. We were below average in sacks last year, after being 2d and 5th in the two years prior. That's a pretty big decline. We had no points on defense last year either, and I think QB rushes are instrumental to pick 6s. Getting points out of your defense is huge.

So, pash rush is something to think about.

I also don't understand why we never talk about the o-line. That's where I tend to focus. It let us down in our one loss in the 18-1 season, and it was not great last year. Cassel is more mobile than Brady and he lead the league in times sacked. We all learned pretty well last year that every time a guy gets through it is a potential season ending situation.

 

[satz]

Dude, math is your friend, though.

Seymour requires a double team. Wilfork requires a double team. Warren requires some serious OL attention. Opposing offenses don't have enough guys to the pocket clean enough against that line-up on passing downs.

seymour does not draw double team all the down so does vince ,but having AD means a gaurd and tackle always will have help on that side so if sey or ad are having good effect you can see 1 blocker move that side.

Ty was injured and also for some reason our weak side had trouble as when so much attention is drawn by the Left side , vrabel and ty should have all pro years. Last season you saw that from vrabel[12.5 sacks]. You need pressure so a RB/TE is kept into block .But we kept running nickel to cover the middle forcing an OLB in coverage. so now you are rushing 4 against 5 OL... that 1 blocker can be moved to which ever player sey ,ad,vince or ty who is being effective that day.

this year we dropped our OLB all time in coverage which frees up blockers even more and that is when you have issues as now the TE and RB are being released for pass catching .No big LB is going to cover a 50 lb less RB or TE which was horrible to watch.

 

[mgteich]

With our version of the 3-4 and our DL, we should be able to tie up at least four OL's (you say five) with the DL with NO PASS RUSH FROM THE LINE. Obviously, if the offense doesn't double team Wilfork and Seymour they will have their share of sacks.

IMHO, sacks should come from the edges: OLB's, corner blitzes and safety blitzes. ILB's need to plug the line, the DL won't do everything. The ILB's also need to cover anyone coming across the center. The ILB's (as the DL) will have occasional sacks when blocks aren't held.

The open question is why we haven't seen sacks and pressure from our OLB's. Some of the reason is that the OLB's can't trust their secondary to do their job. Our secondary needs to be able to cover better and then be more available for run and pass blitzes.

SOLUTIONS
1) Improve the secondary, so linebackers don't have to be defensive backs. This has been accomplished. Bodden and Springs will replace O'Neal and Lew Sanders.
2) Maintain our DL. With the Wright re-signing, we will have the same line as last year, with some improvement as Wright and LeKevin get more experience.
3) Transition to the OLB's of the future to replace Vrabel and Thomas with reasonable depth. I expect that Thomas will be here as long as he is a top performer. His salaries are $4.9M for 2010 and $5.9M for 2011. The salaries are set up so that decisions will need to be made. We've drafted Crable. I would add two OLB's this year, one who is ready to contribure some this year.
4) Plug the hole for 2009. We have tendered Woods and will bring him back, presumably to start. We also have brough back Banta-Cain for passing downs. The combination may be our OLB opposit Thomas for at the first part of the year (presuming that we don't sign Taylor).

BOTTOM LINE
OLB is the ONE issue that MUST be addressed in this draft. Given that, the issue WILL be solved. The question is whether we add one or two players. This depends partly on Belichick's evaluation and future plans for Crable, Banta-Cain, Woods and Redd.

Dude, math is your friend, though.

Seymour requires a double team. Wilfork requires a double team. Warren requires some serious OL attention. Opposing offenses don't have enough guys to the pocket clean enough against that line-up on passing downs.

 

[signbabybrady]

I can understand concern over our pass rush as last year it was not great and we have lost one of our best rushers...

But we are getting back one of our best rushers in AD and at this point he is better than Vrabel.Warren's groin significantly limited his ability to rush. Green was hurt too. Not to mention Woods got hurt, we never saw Crable, and we had guys off the street by the end. Thats what we get back from our team that was missing last year as far as pass rush....

Also we bring back Tully who was a pass rush specialist with us before and add a couple of guys to the secondary who should cover longer.

We aren't done yet either there still could be a Jason Taylor or something or we could add a OLB thru the draft.

Eitherway I think our pass rush will be better than last year and since our secondary should be better and since Tom should be back it is another area where an 11-5 team improves...

 

[KY Pats Fan]

I certainly am. The lack of pass rush has exposed the weaknesses in the secondary. The 3-4 scheme is designed so that the pass rush is normally generated by a blitzing LB and the Pats just haven't had anyone on the outside with explosive speed. I'm hoping Crable and Guyton can fill that roll. (Even though Guyton is an ILB).

 

[spacecrime]

I felt our lack of pass rush has KILLED us the past couple of years.

You sound like iapatsfan.

Our defense for the last couple of years was rated 4th and 10th in the league. We went 27-5 over the past couple of years. How is that "KILLED us?"

You guys who became fans in 2007 need to understand that teams, even the Patriots, do not go undefeated year after year. This is like 2005, when all the bandwagoners who became fans in the three-out-our-four years thought we sucked and tried to pinpoint the "problem" because we were so "bad" as to not make the superbowl. Unrealistic expectations from bandwagon fans.

Every team can use improvement, including the Pats. But to say our defense sucks is to show a lack of balance and comprehension about the basic game of football.

 

[patsfaninpittsburgh]

Thanks crime!!!!

I guess the only way our defense could be good is if they pitch 16 shutouts and have every defensive play end in yardage lost.

With a full offseason and the young kids we have, why would somebody be worried?

It's hard to blame Tyree's miracle catch on a lack of pass rush.