Many Top Pass Rushers to become F/A:

[supafly]

The Jets running game wasn't that impressive, what killed the Pats is the pass defense in critical situations.
- long pass to Edwards on a 3rd down spots that ball at the 8
- Edwards breaks about 10 tackles on a 3rd down and goes 15 yards for a score
- Cotchery is left uncovered across the middle and goes for 58 yards (that was a killer, it was a 3 point game that point)

NFL Game Center: New York Jets at New England Patriots - 2010 Divisional Playoffs

I agree that the pass defense was worse, however the link I provided had a break down of the rush defense, which wasn't too good either:

Unpatriotic Defense

The Jets gained 66 yards on 17 rushes up the middle against New England. The Patriots have struggled all year to stuff the run up the middle in their losses.
In Wins In Losses
Rush PG 11.3 21.0
Yards PG 40.4 87.3
Yards per rush 3.6 4.2
1st down pct 6.7 19.0

When Shonne Green averages 4.5 a carry, and his counterpart Tomlinson averages 4.3 a carry--the run defense is not doing it's job.

It's sad that we all remember the pass defense at the worst part, and it is true, it was the worst part, but the rush defense was incredibly sub-par too.

 

[NEGoldenAge]

I agree that the pass defense was worse, however the link I provided had a break down of the rush defense, which wasn't too good either:

Unpatriotic Defense

The Jets gained 66 yards on 17 rushes up the middle against New England. The Patriots have struggled all year to stuff the run up the middle in their losses.
In Wins In Losses
Rush PG 11.3 21.0
Yards PG 40.4 87.3
Yards per rush 3.6 4.2
1st down pct 6.7 19.0

When Shonne Green averages 4.5 a carry, and his counterpart Tomlinson averages 4.3 a carry--the run defense is not doing it's job.

It's sad that we all remember the pass defense at the worst part, and it is true, it was the worst part, but the rush defense was incredibly sub-par too.

The pass D was much improved by the end of the season. The Pat's run defense was so bad last year that they were forced to move the best NT in the game to DE on several occasions. It also played a large factor in the formations and play callilng on D. If Ty Warren's game remains at the level it was, and Stroud proves to be a better run stopper than G Warren, the Pat's pass D and Pass rush will improve dramatically.

 

[supafly]

The pass D was much improved by the end of the season.

The problem is--that we are talking about the NYJ loss specifically. And yes, the pass defense was very weak in that game...my response to the poster who pointed that out, was that the run defense was not exactly top notch either.

 

[NEGoldenAge]

The problem is--that we are talking about the NYJ loss specifically. And yes, the pass defense was very weak in that game...my response to the poster who pointed that out, was that the run defense was not exactly top notch either.

Ahh, I getchya.

 

[cstjohn17]

The problem is--that we are talking about the NYJ loss specifically. And yes, the pass defense was very weak in that game...my response to the poster who pointed that out, was that the run defense was not exactly top notch either.

I will have to re-watch the game to comment, overall I though the patriots run defense was good enough in that game, they held the Jets to 20 yards below their seasonal average (128 in the game versus 148 for the season).

It is a team sport and their is plenty of shared accountability but IMO the offense laid a bigger stinker, Brady was off and he got sacked 5 times.

Both units were pretty cruddy on 3rd downs as well.

 

[cstjohn17]

Back to the original topic... several good options are available in free agency. My list (in order of best fit):


Cullen Jenkins - would be an end in the 3-4 and kick inside on passing downs, pretty disrutive
Mathias Kiwanuka - Tall, tough, could be a good value if he is healthy
Matt Roth - big LB, some experience in the 3-4, pretty solid player
Ray Edwards - Big strong kid, not much experience in the 3-4 but appears to be pretty athletic
Lawson - experience with 3-4, seems thin, not sure he can hold the edge
Babin - bit of a one year wonder, pretty old
Mark Anderson, Cliff Avril - low cost, low risk trials

3-4 DE depth
Marcus Spears, Barry Coefield , John Henderson, Kris Jenkins - not pass rushers but could help depth at end

 

[BlueThunder]

Back to the original topic... several good options are available in free agency. My list (in order of best fit):


Cullen Jenkins - would be an end in the 3-4 and kick inside on passing downs, pretty disrutive
Mathias Kiwanuka - Tall, tough, could be a good value if he is healthy
Matt Roth - big LB, some experience in the 3-4, pretty solid player
Ray Edwards - Big strong kid, not much experience in the 3-4 but appears to be pretty athletic
Lawson - experience with 3-4, seems thin, not sure he can hold the edge
Babin - bit of a one year wonder, pretty old
Mark Anderson, Cliff Avril - low cost, low risk trials

3-4 DE depth
Marcus Spears, Barry Coefield , John Henderson, Kris Jenkins - not pass rushers but could help depth at end

Jeez...Now you just jinxed us fans...You KNOW BB never does what we think he should do....might as well cross ALL those names off his short list !

 

[cstjohn17]

More fodder, neither of these guys is a dominant pass rusher but could provide some high quality depth and competition at 3-4 end.

Marcus Spears
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Spears_(defensive_end)

Jason Hatcher
Jason Hatcher - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Both were brought in my Mr. Bill "The Grocery Man" Parcells, love him or hate him he is an excellent talent evaluator.

 

[Urgent]

Back to the original topic... several good options are available in free agency. My list (in order of best fit):


Cullen Jenkins - would be an end in the 3-4 and kick inside on passing downs, pretty disrutive
Mathias Kiwanuka - Tall, tough, could be a good value if he is healthy
Matt Roth - big LB, some experience in the 3-4, pretty solid player
Ray Edwards - Big strong kid, not much experience in the 3-4 but appears to be pretty athletic
Lawson - experience with 3-4, seems thin, not sure he can hold the edge
Babin - bit of a one year wonder, pretty old
Mark Anderson, Cliff Avril - low cost, low risk trials

3-4 DE depth
Marcus Spears, Barry Coefield , John Henderson, Kris Jenkins - not pass rushers but could help depth at end

Ah, back to considering potential free agent rushers.

Some feedback:
As noted, Cullen Jenkins would be DL
Matthias Kiwanuka - should be a free agent under the rumored rules, coming off major injury
Matt Roth - basically a Cunningham/Ninkovich type, solid against the run, weaker in coverage, slow, not a playmaker
Ray Edwards - great size, good pass rusher, lacks coverage experience or ability in space, maybe better 4-3 end
Manny Lawson - as noted, far lighter/thinner than normal Pats OLB, but excellent coverage, 3-4 experience, significant improvement last year or two as a rusher
Jason Babin - 30 years old, great year rushing, lacks coverage ability
Mark Anderson - career back-up, TBC sort, third down pass rusher, five starts in last four years
Cliff Avril - tendered by Detroit but should be a free agent under new rules, good size and speed, explosive rusher and good in coverage, Detroit might want him back

Not on your list - Charles Johnson, 4-3 end, young dynamic pass rusher, looks like a Steeler 3-4 OLB

 

[BlueThunder]

Is there really anyone on the list that is alot better than what the Pats already have?

 

[Shelterdog]

Is there really anyone on the list that is alot better than what the Pats already have?

Ray Edwards, although Edwards might not be great in space.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Ray Edwards, although Edwards might not be great in space.

In space, no one can hear you scream

 

[cstjohn17]

In space, no one can hear you scream

We all be screaming if we have to watch their putrid 3rd down defense. Some more stats to absorb.

It is confusing, basically they didn't blitz much, when they did they were ineffective and they can't cover on 3rd down or inside the hash marks.

Not sure how one players solves this, also not sure how they can go into next year and have confidence that the same group of players will be able to dramatically improve. Hell if they can get to average in these categories they have had a greater than 50% improvement.

If Brady didn't play some of the best football in NFL history this team would have been 8-8 last year.


Sudden impact: Ray Edwards - New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston

Key stats:
• Defensive lineman Mike Wright’s 5.5 sacks last season led the Patriots’ defense <-- that is piss poor
• The Patriots defense registered sacks on only 3.7 percent of dropbacks with four or fewer pass rushers last season (tied for 27th in NFL) <-- can't generate pressure without a blitz
• The Patriots rushed four or fewer pass rushers on 73.7 percent of dropbacks last season (fourth-highest percentage in NFL) <-- don't blitz much
• New England’s front seven registered 32 tackles for loss last season (tied for 29th in NFL) <-- no play makers in the front seven

Sudden impact: Donte Whitner - New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston

Key stats:
• Four different safeties started at least one game for the Patriots in 2010 – Meriweather, Patrick Chung, Sanders, and Page <--- this doesn't mean anything
• The Patriots defense allowed 12.7 yards per pass attempt on throws of 21+ yards in 2010 (ranked 24th in NFL) <--- trouble with deep balls
• Opposing quarterbacks completed 68.5 percent of their pass attempts inside the numbers against the Patriots defense (ranked 29th in NFL). <--- 68.6%??? can't cover inside the hashmarks
• The Patriots defense allowed 7.8 yards per pass attempt on third down (ranked 30th in NFL) <--- just brutal, that means an awful lot of 3rd down conversions

 

[Sciz]

Not sure how one players solves this, also not sure how they can go into next year and have confidence that the same group of players will be able to dramatically improve.

Last season, the Pats had seven first year starters on defense, including 3 of the secondary starters and 6 of the back 7. How can you expect them to not improve?

 

[cstjohn17]

Last season, the Pats had seven first year starters on defense, including 3 of the secondary starters and 6 of the back 7. How can you expect them to not improve?

I expect them to improve, hopefully they are able to win a few games on the defensive side of the ball.

Tom Brady was insane last year, it would be nice if the defense can spot him evry now and then.
Tom Brady 2010 Game Log - Pro-Football-Reference.com

QB Rating - last 8 games
117.4
123.1
158.3
148.9
113.4
110.2
107
145.6

 

[Sciz]

Points allowed over last 8 games:
26
28 (Peyton Manning)
24 (3 through 3 quarters)
3
7
27
3
7

The Pats would've won 4 of those games with Julian Edelman playing QB, plus another one if the Pats had kept blitzing Roethlisberger rather than going into prevent in the 4th.

 

[randomk1]

I expect them to improve, hopefully they are able to win a few games on the defensive side of the ball.

Tom Brady was insane last year, it would be nice if the defense can spot him evry now and then.
Tom Brady 2010 Game Log - Pro-Football-Reference.com

QB Rating - last 8 games
117.4
123.1
158.3
148.9
113.4
110.2
107
145.6

His string of games after the Browns loss was freaking insane!

 

[Sciz]

His string of games after the Browns loss was freaking insane!

Random off-topic fact:
Between the first half of 2007 and the last half of 2010, Brady holds the half-season records for completion percentage (74.2), TDs (30), and fewest interceptions (0), plus the top two half-season QB ratings in history (136.2, 128.2).

 

[BlueThunder]

An easier SOS also should help the Pats...they had one of the tougher schedules last year....:rocker:

 

[Urgent]

It's important to note the pass defense inside the numbers, quoted above.

In the Patriots zone defense, linebackers are often responsible for inside-the-numbers zones. And Ninkovich, TBC, and Cunningham did a pretty poor job of coverage, not just rushing. Spikes is also weak in coverage at ILB.

There are a couple OLB's who are very good in coverage, which is something to consider.

Cliff Avril had five passes defensed.
Manny Lawson had six and an INT.

Either of those guys would improve LB zone coverage significantly.
Both have a ton of speed and agility.
Avril is more of a three-down player. Lawson might be more of a third down specialist in the Pats system.

At ILB, Mayo and Guyton should be better at coverage than what they delivered last season.