How could the front 7 look next year

[JoeShmoe]

Given so far we have a projected roster of the following

Defensive Line (7): Vince Wilfork, Jonathan Fanene, Chandler Jones, Kyle Love, Andre Carter(assuming he comes back), Brandon Deaderick, Myron Pryor

Outside Linebacker (5): Rob Ninkovich, Dont’a Hightower, Jermaine Cunningham, Trevor Scott, Markell Carter,

Inside Linebacker (4): Jerod Mayo, Brandon Spikes, Dane Fletcher, Tracy White

I can see a lot of versatility there and decent depth

Foe example 3-4 you could go Fanene-Wilfork-Carter/Jones then Ninko, Spikes, Mayo, Hightower. Plus you can use Love at NT and move Vince around


Or 4-3 you could you go Fanene, Wilfork, Love/Pryor, Jones then Hightower, Mayo, Spikes

Hopefully Fanene and Jones on the line and Hightower off the edge will be a significant addition.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

Hope Carter comes back, but that went through my head last night... we're looking at Carter insurance (and of course building for the future).

 

[Ring 6]

Given so far we have a projected roster of the following

Defensive Line (7): Vince Wilfork, Jonathan Fanene, Chandler Jones, Kyle Love, Andre Carter(assuming he comes back), Brandon Deaderick, Myron Pryor

Outside Linebacker (5): Rob Ninkovich, Dont’a Hightower, Jermaine Cunningham, Trevor Scott, Markell Carter,

Inside Linebacker (4): Jerod Mayo, Brandon Spikes, Dane Fletcher, Tracy White

I can see a lot of versatility there and decent depth

Foe example 3-4 you could go Fanene-Wilfork-Carter/Jones then Ninko, Spikes, Mayo, Hightower. Plus you can use Love at NT and move Vince around


Or 4-3 you could you go Fanene, Wilfork, Love/Pryor, Jones then Hightower, Mayo, Spikes

Hopefully Fanene and Jones on the line and Hightower off the edge will be a significant addition.

Jones is not a 34 DE.

 

[JoeShmoe]

Jones is not a 34 DE.

Where do you see him fitting Andy? In a 4-3 look?

 

[PatsFanInVa]

Stand him up?

 

[Metaphors]

Assuming a base 3-4, the Pats are missing a starting caliber DE unless Brace emerges...and even he doesn't have optimal height/reach. Warren could be brought back as a stop-gap or Love/Wilfork could play side-by-side, but in general that is a roster hole.

I don't buy Hightower as a pure OLB. I see him being the wildcard where he makes the QB/RB/OL have to think twice before making a decision. Being able to line up anywhere means mediocre QBs won't be able to drop back 3 steps and throw to their first read without consequence. If Belichick just puts Hightower at a position and gives him a single or vanilla role, I hate the pick.

 

[Big-T]

3-4:
Fanene-Wilfork-Deaderick
Jones-Spikes-Mayo-Hightower

4-3:
Scott-Wilfork-Fanene-Jones
Mayo-Spikes-Hightower

Both look fairly solid and better than last year. Now for Janoris Jenkins tonight and the defense will be leaps & bounds better than last year.

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

I'm thinking big beef up front in a 3-4 look:

Wilfork, Love, Deaderick, backups Pyror, Fanene;
ILB Spikes, Mayo; OLB Jones and Hightower,

with possible flip-flop of Mayo & Hightower,

then Ninko, Fletcher, Cunningham, Carter as backups/situational players.

Love the depth and versatility

 

[Rob0729]

Where do you see him fitting Andy? In a 4-3 look?

Maybe not immediately, but Jones will be the elephant role. He will standing as a OLB in the 3-4 and his hand in the dirt in a four man front.

 

[Ring 6]

Where do you see him fitting Andy? In a 4-3 look?

First and foremost as a nickel/dime pass rusher.
In the base 34 he is an OLB.
In a 43 he is a DE.

 

[Ring 6]

3-4:
Fanene-Wilfork-Deaderick
Jones-Spikes-Mayo-Hightower

4-3:
Scott-Wilfork-Fanene-Jones
Mayo-Spikes-Hightower

Both look fairly solid and better than last year. Now for Janoris Jenkins tonight and the defense will be leaps & bounds better than last year.

Really you will see the same personell (or types at least) in the 43 or 34.
We will not use 2 34OLB types as 43 DEs at the same time.
The 34 DL plus a DE/OLB hybrid at RDE is the 43 DL.

Also, I owuld be shocked if both rookies are ready to get a lot of reps in the base defense. Ninkovich didn't die, he just got depth added to his position(s). If we are back to a 34 expect Cunningham to compete for the same role he played in 2010 as OLB in the base, with Jones coming in in the sub, like we did that year with Cunningham, Ninko and TBC, Burgess

 

[WhiZa]

I just don't see Hightower as a 3-4 OLB. He's more of a 4-3 OLB and 3-4 ILB. Jones could play 3-4 OLB or 4-3 DE.

If the season started today I think we'd see a 3-4 front of
Fanene - Wilfork/Love - Deaderick/Pryor
Ninkovich - Mayo/Fletcher - Spikes/Hightower - Scott/Jones

On passing downs it may look like this (including Carter):
Jones/Scott - Wilfork/Deaderick - Love/Pryor - Ninkovich/Carter
Hightower/Fletcher - Mayo - Spikes

 

[Leemo]

3-4:
Fanene-Wilfork-Deaderick
Jones-Spikes-Mayo-Hightower

4-3:
Scott-Wilfork-Fanene-Jones
Mayo-Spikes-Hightower

Both look fairly solid and better than last year. Now for Janoris Jenkins tonight and the defense will be leaps & bounds better than last year.

That looks pretty sick. We agree jenkins could be our man.

I think we should draft both a DB... Jenkins, Fleming, Hosley, Robinson, Hayward, Trumaine Johnson, Taylor or Martin and a BIG 3-4 DE /4-3DT (Think Devon Still, Kendall Reyes, Jerel Worthy, Jared Crick, Derrick Wolfe)

We are pretty set then with a few UDFA's and the guys we brought in in FA to battle it out.

 

[JackBauer]

That looks pretty sick. We agree jenkins could be our man.

I think we should draft both a DB... Jenkins, Fleming, Hosley, Robinson, Hayward, Trumaine Johnson, Taylor or Martin and a BIG 3-4 DE /4-3DT (Think Devon Still, Kendall Reyes, Jerel Worthy, Jared Crick, Derrick Wolfe)

We are pretty set then with a few UDFA's and the guys we brought in in FA to battle it out.

I wouldn't be upset with a DB and DL, but we also need a WR.

 

[letekro]

JOnes has a lot of versatility. Right now, he is best as a 4-3 DE. But I look at his body type (long arms and big booty) and I think he could easily add 20 pounds and become an effective 3-4 DE. Right now, he looks too awkward in space to be a viable OLB, but we shall see.

 

[Marqui]

3-4:
Fanene-Wilfork-Deaderick
Jones-Spikes-Mayo-Hightower

4-3:
Scott-Wilfork-Fanene-Jones
Mayo-Spikes-Hightower

Both look fairly solid and better than last year. Now for Janoris Jenkins tonight and the defense will be leaps & bounds better than last year.

That's exactly how I think it's shaping up to look like right now as well. If Carter resigns he'll probably have the inside track on starting 4-3 DE over Scott though. If in the 2nd round they can pick up something like Jenkins and Still, they could have a top 10 defense this year.

 

[kudzif]

Considering that we are in our sub defence the majority of the time don't you guys think our pass coverage is still suspect.If I'm an offense and see Spikes,Mayo, and Hightower i would automatically check to the pass. Although one good thing is no one is running the ball on us.

 

[THELAWFIRM226]

Front 7 will be fine, it's the secondary I'm worried about. Will we take a safety tonight?

 

[RayClay]

Front 7 will be fine, it's the secondary I'm worried about. Will we take a safety tonight?

Yes. *peers into crystal ball*

 

[WhoaDirty]

Rookie question: Could Mayo play OLB situationally while Spikes and Hightower were in the middle?