I think there are several aspects that will improve the pass rush even without the great John Abraham (Happy 35th birthday to him today, by the way):
1. The fact that we'll have Talib, Dennard, McCourty, and Wilson all playing in the positions they belong at from day one on, and that the secondary is more physical, talented, and has more depth
2. The addition of Jamie Collins as our first pick. Belichick would not have chosen to waste our first pick on him had he not had some serious plans and use for him. There will be options for more blitzes in passing situations with different combinations of which Collins could very well be a part of
3. Better talent and depth on the DL with more of an interior presence with Tommy Kelly paired up with Wilfork etc. There is also the addition of Armstead, and the second year leap of Francis, Jones, and even possibly Bequette (although none of us are holding our breath on Bequette)
4. Better LB play with more talent/depth (additions of Collins and Fletcher), along with the second year leap of Hightower and the constants of Spikes and Mayo
The interior pass rush should be bolstered by Armstead and Kelly, that is very encouraging. We need to do better at the other DE opposite of Jones, which is why Abraham, or Freeney are so intriguing.
Not only does the 4 man rush improve, but we are more able and likely to blitz with front 4 players who are good enough in individual pass rush skills to take advantage of the opportunity the blitz sets up for them. On the other hand when you have mediocre individual pass rushers that can be consistently handled by one man, you are crazy to blitz because you get no pressure AND have fewer men in coverage....that has been our issue, btw.
I think Adrian Wilson is going to have a major impact on our pass rush. If you go back and watch Rodney Harrison in his last few years, he blitzed an awful lot. He rarely got sacks, he rarely hit the QB, but he consistently impacted pass plays by shortening the play with the threat of the pass rush. Often he would blitz all out, and not get picked up until the RB got him, very near the QB. QB threw early because of the presence of the rush. Thats what Wilson brings.
This brings up an important point. Pass rush should not be measured in sacks. If you get 3 a game, at best you stalled 3 drives (not every sack stalls a drive) and would be near the top of the league in sack numbers. The other drives, based upon gauging by sacks you had no rush. Sacks aren't measured in hits on the QB because they are often after the play successfully occurred.
Pass rush is about consistently taking the QB out of his comfort zone, and consistently making the pass play happen quicker than intended. Thats what we need to develop.
IMO, we have improved the interior rush, we seem to have improved the blitz package, but we are still a DE that can consistently get pressure, away from having a fierce pass rush that controls a game.
