New Look Secondary, with Chung off the bench

[dales804]

Don't forget the great fumble on that fake punt that he called for, possibly costing us a playoff game against the ******* Jets.

With a clear path to the endzone if I remember correctly.

 

[patsfan13]

Well GM Bill in drafting Dennard and trading for Talib set the dominoes in motion, McCourty to FS (where he will all pro in a year or 2), Arrington from the outside to the slot, where he is very effective, the secondary has been totally transformed since last year, amazing.

As McCourty settles in this will be a very good secondary by the time the playoff games start.

This development has a ripple effect through the front 7, it has allowed BB to start using players like Mayo & Spikes to be used in a more aggressive manner. I also think the development of K Love is a major factor, he is playing the NT role that only VW has done, this has allowed the team to move VW around and turn him loose to dominate.

Very excited about the D.

 

[Mack Herron]

For me the most exciting thing about this game was that the defense was solid at all levels all night and took the step to "very good." While some faces are the same, it is not the same defense that we saw in the first half of the season. The confidence and level of aggressiveness was the best we have seen. And they have not played their best game yet.

 

[Joey007]

This team is finally looking like that complete team we thought we were going to have all year. Right now my big concern is health. I am also still a little concerned about depth in our receivers, but getting Gronk back will help that for sure.

 

[kkpat]

Aqib Talib casts big shadow - BostonHerald.com

The Patriots [team stats] defense has evolved each week for the last month, and the latest wrinkle provides more options as the team forges toward the playoffs.

The Pats used cornerback Aqib Talib to shadow Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson during Monday night’s impressive victory, and it was a real break from Bill Belichick’s standard philosophy of restricting cornerbacks to one side of the field. Prior to the game, Talib had only played left corner, lining up across from whomever the offense sent in his direction.


By keeping Talib on Johnson, at least until Talib departed in the second quarter with a hip injury that isn’t believed to be serious, the Patriots could dictate the matchup. Johnson, who has been one of the NFL’s premier receivers over the last decade, could have created a mismatch in both size and experience by heading to Alfonzo Dennard’s side of the field. The Patriots made sure not to let that happen.

The 6-foot-3, 230-pound Johnson still caught four passes for 58 yards while the 6-1, 205-pound Talib was in the game, so it wasn’t close to perfect. But it was about the Patriots’ attitude and aggressiveness, pitting a veteran on a veteran and protecting a 5-10, 200-pound rookie from a difficult matchup.

This was a change of direction from Belichick’s typical strategy. He used to tell Ty Law to erase a receiver from the field, but aside from that, the instances of a shadow corner have been rare.

Talib, a first-round pick of the Buccaneers in 2008, has been a borderline shutdown cornerback when he’s been at his best. He hasn’t yet gotten to that level in his four games with the Patriots, but he has delivered an attitude to the secondary, which has attacked the ball with more frequency.

That’s not all on Talib. The Patriots added emphasis to that area after an atrocious game against the Bills in Week 10, which coincidentally was their last week without Talib. Then again, they’ve credited his work ethic and willingness to buy into the program behind the scenes. They like working with him, and they trusted him with a starting job right away, which has led to more defined roles, added comfort in responsibility and a heightened desire to take more chances with schemes and plays on the ball.

“I think his ability as a football player to learn things, new concepts — just like everyone else out there — enables us to do those things,” defensive back Devin McCourty said. “I think him along with Alfonzo Dennard have done a good job of playing on the outside and then Kyle (Arrington) had another big game inside at the nickel.”

In Week 11, the Patriots added some picket-fence looks at the line to confuse Colts rookie quarterback Andrew Luck, and that’s when the blitzes increased. In Week 13, they added more of a pass-rushing element up front by replacing Kyle Love with Brandon Deaderick. And last week, they utilized Talib in a shadowing role.

There’s no doubt Belichick has shown an added interest in trying new things with his defense in the last month, and Talib has played a part in that.

May be he finally has all the pieces necessary to devise complex Defensive schemes which we used to see before 2006. If that happens, watch out NFL....

 

[Observer]

I hope they don't rush Aquib back, he is essential to our playoff quest. He upgrades the performance of the entire defense quite significantly.