Q. Year after year we continue to see the best defensive team win the Super Bowl, yet our offseasons here in New England have been a pulsating lament about Tom Brady's lack of weapons. Enough! In the AFC title game Brady got the ball for eight drives (14 times the week before) and the Pats D stopped the Broncos ONCE (the one where the national anthem was still playing I think). If Brady gets the ball 10 times instead of eight the game changes dramatically, the weapons he has prove to be good enough and maybe New England is in the Super Bowl to face Seattle instead of the Broncos. Until the focus returns to a tough, physical, deep, talented defense we will all continue to fool ourselves into thinking Brady's lack of weapons stopped his Super Bowl ring collection. Doesn't Bill Belichick and staff see this? -- Dean (Rumford, Maine)
A. I think they do, Dean. Look at the significant investments they've made on that side of the ball in recent years -- the last four top draft picks were all on defense: defensive end Chandler Jones, linebacker Dont'a Hightower, linebacker Jamie Collins and safety Tavon Wilson. They extended the contracts of linebacker Jerod Mayo and defensive end Rob Ninkovich at significant dollars. They paid cornerback Aqib Talib at a high-end rate. I think there is solid personnel here and I expect more talent to be added to the mix in 2014. The question I have, and I don't really have an answer for it because it's at a level of X's and O's outside my box, is whether the scheme is the best fit for the personnel based on the way the game is played today. Pressuring opposing quarterbacks is critical and I wouldn't classify the Patriots' approach as a pressure D.
Q. Very impressed with Seattle's defensive ends. How do the Patriots defensive ends compare? Would you switch? -- Bob (Manchester, N.H.)
A. Bob, on the surface it seems like it's like comparing footballs to soccer balls because the ends are used in different ways. I'd be interested in a tape study that compares how the Seattle defensive ends were utilized in the Super Bowl compared to how the Patriots ends were utilized in the AFC Championship Game (I'll put it on the list and hope to get to it at some point). My initial sense is that we'd see the Patriots ends doing more chipping and sacrificing their initial rush to disrupt the timing of the passing game that way, whereas the Seahawks relied on the ends (coupled with physical play on receivers) to generate a rush to create that initial disruption. If the tape study confirmed that, it would reflect my perception of a difference in defensive philosophy between the clubs. I think Patriots defensive ends Chandler Jones and Rob Ninkovich are good players that any team would want. So I want to learn more about how they are being utilized in comparison to how a trend-setting defense like the Seahawks might utilize them.
