Tidbits about the Front Seven (or Six or whatever)

[Fencer]

Several articles overnight offering a little insight into the DL and LBs.

Trimmer DT Vince Wilfork: Achilles an afterthought - espnBoston and others talk about Wilfork declaring seriousness about weight loss, starting last March, with Bianca's active help.

Patriots pin back ears on pass rush | Boston Herald talks about classic NE scheme versatility, with rushers coming from all over the place, Jones occasionally dropping into coverage, etc.

Tom Brady shines, defense dominates and other blogservations from Washington | Patriots.com tells us of a 3-4 in which the 3 are either 3 DTs or 2 DTs plus Will Smith, while the 4 are likely to include players we normally think of as DEs now. Specifically:

New England's defense once again utilized a lot of odd-man fronts against Washington. That 34 look had Vince Wilfork over the nose with Tommy Kelly at left end and either Chris Jones or Will Smith on the right. The linebackers included Jerod Mayo and Jamie Collins on the inside with Dont'a Hightower and Rob Ninkovich on the outside. Chandler Jones actually saw time at both end and linebacker in these segments. The same, in other groups, was true for rookie Zach Moore.

...

The second group of defenders included Sealver Siliga on the nose with Marcus Forston at left end and Smith on the right side. The inside linebackers were Steve Beauharnais and James Anderson, with Darius Fleming and Michael Buchanan on the outside. Logan Ryan, Duron Harmon and Patrick Chung all got reps at safety with that group.

 

[DarrylS]

Our defense will be much better and different, with all of these moving parts what we will sometimes see will defy traditional description... Bill is beginning to prepare for life after #12.

 

[fnordcircle]

I can't perform my husbandly duties if I keep reading all this orgasm-worthy descriptions of our defense. I'm down to spraying a fine mist at this point.

 

[Big-T]

Time to bring back the 4-3 under now there's all the parts to run it properly?

Cha. Jones, Wilfork, Kelly & Siliga on the line.

Buchanan, Smith, Easley (when healthy), Chris Jones, Ninkovich & Moore/Bequette all available to play in a rotation too

Ninkovich can also stand up and play LB at times when needed to go along with Mayo, Collins, Hightower & Anderson.

 

[BTTA]

Siliga seems so important. Would love to think that Vince and Kelly will be strong players this year but we can't count on it. Siliga is the one young guy who can fill in the NT position.

 

[MrNathanDrake]

Siliga seems so important. Would love to think that Vince and Kelly will be strong players this year but we can't count on it. Siliga is the one young guy who can fill in the NT position.

Yup. We will need him for goal line situations, depth, and to keep Wilfork fresh. Siliga could be a key part of the defense.

Chris Jones isn't talked about much here either, but he could very well beat out Tommy Kelly for the starting job.

People forget Jones was a rookie last year and he's taking the second year leap just like Logan Ryan, Harmon, Buchannan, Dobson, and everyone other 2nd year player.

 

[Brady6]

I would like to see a 4-3 under with depth chart:

LE - Dominique Easley, Will Smith
NT - Vince Wilfork, Sealver Siliga
DT - Tommy Kelly, Chris Jones
Leo - Chandler Jones, Rob Ninkovich, Michael Buchanan
Sam - Donta Hightower, Rob Ninkovich, Darius Fleming
Mike - Jerod Mayo, Donta Hightower, Steve Beauharnais
Will - Jamie Collins, Jerod Mayo, James Anderson

 

[captain stone]

Siliga seems so important. Would love to think that Vince and Kelly will be strong players this year but we can't count on it. Siliga is the one young guy who can fill in the NT position.

Which makes today's news even more distressing. This could be a very, very big loss.

 

[ausbacker]

Yup. We will need him for goal line situations, depth, and to keep Wilfork fresh. Siliga could be a key part of the defense.

Chris Jones isn't talked about much here either, but he could very well beat out Tommy Kelly for the starting job.

People forget Jones was a rookie last year and he's taking the second year leap just like Logan Ryan, Harmon, Buchannan, Dobson, and everyone other 2nd year player.

Not to act as a Debbie Downer, but in my mind, people are severely overrating the performances of Siligia and Jones last season. I see them as reasonable depth options behind the starters and not much more at this stage. That's not to say they can't become very good players, but right now, I don't see either as a major loss if they go down.

 

[Galeb]

I can't perform my husbandly duties if I keep reading all this orgasm-worthy descriptions of our defense. I'm down to spraying a fine mist at this point.

Just read the descriptions while you are performing your husbandly duties.

 

[JackBauer]

Given that Wilfork and Kelly are up there and coming off significant injuries, I would argue losing a quality depth piece (I actually think Siliga could have a higher ceiling than depth player) is a major loss.