Predict the Opening Day Defense

[maverick4]

Who do you think will be the defensive starters on opening day?

- At safety I think it will be Meriweather and Sanders
- At corner I think it will be Bodden and Wilhite
- At OLB Burgess (on passing downs, Woods on obvious running downs) and A.Thomas.
- At ILB Mayo, just Mayo with Guyton on obvious passing downs. Bruschi will be more of a situational player or backup, not a starter, leading to the next point.
- On the D-line I won't be surprised if we start out with as much or more 4-3 than 3-4. Seymour and Wilfork inside, Warren and Green/Burgess outside depending on the situation.

 

[Liverpool_Patriot]

I agree with nearly all of it except Springs could open in Week 1 vs Buffalo since he is the corner who knows T.O the most. I do believe Wilhite will start in week 2.

 

[Frezo]

Whoever starts will have to be prepared to be on the field for the duration of the series. The Bills are No Huddle now. So specifically, who starts?

 

[Feep50]

Springs..... no question

 

[Marqui]

I cant imagine not starting Springs against TO

 

[farn]

I can totally see Whilhite & Bodden as the starters both for the season and for the Bills game.

I see Guyton, Mayo, Thomas, Woods... mostly because I'll believe the 4-3 when I see it in regular season games. Not to say I oppose it, in fact I would like to see more of it. It's just been said so many times that BB would go to 4-3 because of injuries to the LB corps and he never does.

So, I see Warren, Wilfork, and Sey on the DL.

Safeties will be Sanders and Merriweather. THat combo is the one I'm most confident in (as far as starting, not necessarily production).

 

[HEY BRO! WHAT UP?]

Pretty much what we saw last night. Did you notice how much more damage Wilfork does when he's in a 4-3 alignment? He was flat out owning fools last night. Here's how I see it.

Early downs:

DE: Warren
DT: Wright
DT: Wilfork
DE: Seymour
OLB: Thomas
MLB: Mayo
OLB: Guyton
CB: Springs
CB: Bodden
S: Merriweather
S: Sanders

Passing downs:
DE: Green
DT: Wright/Warren
DT: Seymour
DE: Burgess
OLB: Thomas
MLB: Mayo
OLB or DB: Guyton or Wilhite or Chung
CB: Springs
CB: Bodden
S: Merriweather
S: Sanders

 

[Frezo]

The Bills will have Mr Ugly in detention for 4 games. If the Pats play the run as well as they did last night and since the Bills have Owens and Evans, they will have to be pass happy to beat the Pats in this game. I say the Pats start out with a pass rush defense.

Warren, Wilfork, Seymour, Burgess
Thomas, Mayo, TBC
Bodden, Springs
Merriweather, Sanders

 

[pats1]

Early downs:

LE: Warren
LDT: Wright/Brace
RDT: Wilfork
RE: Seymour
SLB: Thomas
MLB: Mayo
WLB: Guyton/Woods
LCB: Springs/Wilhite
RCB: Bodden
FS: Sanders
SS: Meriweather

Passing downs:

LE: Burgess
LDT: Green
RDT: Seymour
RE: Banta-Cain
LLB: Thomas
RLB: Mayo
LCB: Springs/Wilhite
RCB: Bodden
NB: Wilhite/Butler
FS: Sanders
SS: Meriweather

Chung?

 

[pats1]

Who do you think will be the defensive starters on opening day?

- At safety I think it will be Meriweather and Sanders
- At corner I think it will be Bodden and Wilhite
- At OLB Burgess (on passing downs, Woods on obvious running downs) and A.Thomas.
- At ILB Mayo, just Mayo with Guyton on obvious passing downs. Bruschi will be more of a situational player or backup, not a starter, leading to the next point.
- On the D-line I won't be surprised if we start out with as much or more 4-3 than 3-4. Seymour and Wilfork inside, Warren and Green/Burgess outside depending on the situation.

When has Burgess played at OLB to justify that prediction?

 

[farn]

So everyone's jumping on the 4-3 bandwagon except for me ? Don't say I didn't warn you (or remind me for my foolishness if the 4-3 is used more than 75% of the time).

 

[363839]

Do we call it a 4/3 if Bergess is at the LOS?
Than do we call it a 5/2 When Adalius puts his hand in the dirt, too?
We might want to factor Ron Brace in the mix.
Now it's 6/1 with Mayo minding the lone linebacker role.
Either way you cut it, we're going to have a real good front 7 on D.

 

[pats1]

Do we call it a 4/3 if Bergess is at the LOS?
Than do we call it a 5/2 When Adalius puts his hand in the dirt, too?
We might want to factor Ron Brace in the mix.
Now it's 6/1 with Mayo minding the lone linebacker role.
Either way you cut it, we're going to have a real good front 7 on D.

No, but we call it DE when you never stand up.

 

[maverick4]

With Tedy gone now, not sure if we have the ILB depth now for a predominantly 3-4.

 

[HEY BRO! WHAT UP?]

With Tedy gone now, not sure if we have the ILB depth now for a predominantly 3-4.

The defense is switching to a 4-3. Bank on it! Even with Bruschi, the Pats are better equipped to run a 4-3. The prospect of having a starting 3 of Mayo, Thomas and Guyton really excites me. Also, this will allow Burgess to concentrate on what he does best, rush the passer as a DE.

 

[italia44]

With Tedy gone now, not sure if we have the ILB depth now for a predominantly 3-4.

Mike Dowling on WCVB says that this means the pats are going predominate 4-3.Tedy just would not fit in a 3-LB alignment.
Bad news for Pierre Woods,IMO

 

[Mack Herron]

BB has always sought to put the best players on the field. In past years, 4 LBs were always among them, but I do not see it now. In addition to the big three, they still have Green and Wright, and now Brace and Pryor. (Even Williams and Adams have shown something.) Burgess and TBC have been 3rd down DEs so far. After Mayo and AD, I'm not even sure who will play LB in the base defense. Would you add Guyton and Woods instead of, say, Guyton/Woods and Wright/Green/Brace/Pryor?

 

[bucky]

Mike Dowling on WCVB says that this means the pats are going predominate 4-3.Tedy just would not fit in a 3-LB alignment.
Bad news for Pierre Woods,IMO

I don't see the Bruschi link at all. Tedy was the starting Mike in 2001 when we played 4-3 exclusively. His retirement has nothing to do with the formation and everything to do with his ability to play the game in general.

However, I must admit the LB position is looking quite weak for the 3-4, especially OLB. So we may be seeing 4-3 as the core D with some 34 thrown in at times.

 

[DarrylS]

Does Paris Lenon fit into any of these equations???

 

[farn]

Does Paris Lenon fit into any of these equations???

How could he NOT ??? He is the greatest athlete to wear #46 !!!

Seriously, this Bruschi move does put a damper on my "watch for the 3-4 defense regardless" quote... Maybe I'll need to rethink my strategy. But... Woods isn't in danger - but rather in danger of playing a bit less.