Will we finally see more [consistent] LB blitzes?

[tonyto3690]

It's no secret our LBers are big, thundering, huge, moderately slow players. Putting them into pass coverage a ton, especially manned up against a RB or TE is just asking to give up long tiring drives. All three of our starters in Spikes, Hightower and Mayo are considered plus blitzers, and quite frankly not blitzing Spikes nearly every down is probably a mistake (we also saw a lot of this towards the end of the year).

After about the mid point of last year and the emergence of Talib/Dennard as solid CBs that would routinely get burned for 40+ yard gains, we saw a lot more blitzing out of our LBs, especially the aforementioned Spikes. However there were a couple zone blitz plays with Mayo where he timed it perfectly and just lit up the QB.

Anyways, this all to go to say our LBs are clearly best when attacking the QB and not playing in coverage. With our secondary finally looking somewhat solidified, will we see a more consistent, attacking 43 this year? Or will Belichick hope to play Collins with Mayo and Hightower and stay the course and drop 7 in coverage.

 

[Kontradiction]

I think we will. We were seeing it a lot last season after the Talib addition and subsequent move of McCourty to safety. Once Belichick saw that the coverage was holding up in the back end, we saw a lot more instances of Hightower, for example, blitzing up the B gap. I believe it started in the Rams game, which was even before Talib saw his first action with the Pats.

 

[patsfan-1982]

BB goes into every week with a new game plan for each team one week it's bend but don't brake the next week its lots of blitzing, but to answer your question no it will not be a consistent blitzing team that did not work out to good for Houston last year

 

[Kontradiction]

BB goes into every week with a new game plan for each team one week it's bend but don't brake the next week its lots of blitzing, but to answer your question no it will not be a consistent blitzing team that did not work out to good for Houston last year

This isn't fully true. Only partly, in that the game plan does change week to week. The Pats were playing teams earlier in the season that they should have been a lot more aggressive against, but weren't simply because (from what I saw), the coaching staff didn't have enough trust in the back end to cover for it if the rush didn't get there. You could see the progression through the later parts of the season, and the coaching staff did get more aggressive when it came to blitzing.

 

[mgteich]

If Belichick has more faith in the secondary, more blitzes will be called. They are just as likely to be corner or safety blitzes as linebacker blitzes.

The answer to Spikes being useless in coverage is NOT to blitz him on every passing down. Rather, it is to have him out of the game on passing downs.

 

[Big-T]

How about flipping Spikes & Ninkovich?

Ninko always appears to hold up well in zone coverage (and gets his fair share of picks) and Spikes is decent at getting a jump at the snap which would cause havoc coming off the edge and he's very good against the run so you don't have to worry too much about him setting the edge. Not to mention you get him out of having to drop into coverage for the most part.

 

[DocHoliday]

I don't think Spikes would be very effective coming around the edge.

He's better as a North/South run blitzer up the middle.

 

[SONS_OF_BELICHICK]

I think with the improved/deeper front 4 and hte addition of more speed in the LB position and a more stable DB group, I will not be surprised if BB dialed up the blitzes...from all areas. I think the DL is the key. If they can consistently put pressure with the front 4 ....without blitizing ..we are going to be even better

 

[Ring 6]

We will never be a really heavy blitzing team under BB because BB is, by nature conservative.
The decision to blitz is more about what happens if it fails than what happens if it succeeds.
When you blitz you risk giving up the big play to get the big play. If you blitz 6 and don't get there you only have 5 players in coverage.
While the quality of the secondary is a consideration, the quality of the pass rushers is much more vital. No secondary can cover with 5 guys if the blitz doesn't get there.
The biggest hangup in our blitzing is that we have not had pass rushers who you can be confident will beat the one on one blocks that the blitz creates. If we have a front 4 that include guys with a lack of individual pass rush skills such as Ninkovich, Love, Deaderick, Wilfork, etc, we will not be blitzing because it is hopeless that those players will consistently get pressure vs one blocker.
Jones, and hopefully someone else at DE and Armstead and Kelly inside, give us guys that have a better chance of being reliable in beating one on one pass blocking.
That will free up what appear to be a good collection of LBs and DBs blitzers.

 

[AzPatsFan]

Bill Belichick has been adding talent to the Defense for going on four years now. Every squad on Defense is younge, faster and better as a result. This offseasaon Bill has added three defensiveline pass rushers; he has added another pair of OLBs; and has confirmed the secondary changes made last season witht re-signings and added a highly regarded CB and Safety while acquiring the "Big Nickle", Safety/LB that he has sought for a decade.

I beleive we started to see the Defense jell in the second half of 2012, only to re-collapse in the AFCCG under a half dozen injuries.

I think the critical mass has been achieved and this Defense will blossom into a dominant one throughout 2013, even as the Offense struggles somewhat in the early going with its passing game. By Playoff time, the Defense will be fine and the Offense will be humming along better.

We will see how well they do in the Playoffs as usual under BB. I think that the Pats wil be good enough to make a Superbowl appearance.

 

[tonyto3690]

We will never be a really heavy blitzing team under BB because BB is, by nature conservative.
The decision to blitz is more about what happens if it fails than what happens if it succeeds.
When you blitz you risk giving up the big play to get the big play. If you blitz 6 and don't get there you only have 5 players in coverage.
While the quality of the secondary is a consideration, the quality of the pass rushers is much more vital. No secondary can cover with 5 guys if the blitz doesn't get there.
The biggest hangup in our blitzing is that we have not had pass rushers who you can be confident will beat the one on one blocks that the blitz creates. If we have a front 4 that include guys with a lack of individual pass rush skills such as Ninkovich, Love, Deaderick, Wilfork, etc, we will not be blitzing because it is hopeless that those players will consistently get pressure vs one blocker.
Jones, and hopefully someone else at DE and Armstead and Kelly inside, give us guys that have a better chance of being reliable in beating one on one pass blocking.
That will free up what appear to be a good collection of LBs and DBs blitzers.

Sorry stopped reading after first line. Belichick is the opposite of conservative. He just plays smart. He wasn't going to blitz a ton with guys like butler, Arrington, and so on as our outside corners. It's a different story this year as Dennard and talib aren't nearly that bad.

Between 4th and 2. Brady drive vs rams. Casino blitz vs giants. He's been anything but conservative. He just has been protecting his corners.