Defense wins championships

[sb1]

After watching that game tonight the Pats seem miles away on that side of the ball.

Hopefully some good things to come in the next few years...

 

[Big-T]

You need an aggressive take the game to the offense kind of a defense, not a passive reactionary one.

It all starts with the scheme and trickles down from there.

 

[Archeryaddict12]

Brady has enough weapons, we need a loaded defense. Tom can do his magic, but the D needs help.

Load up on D bb!!!

 

[mayoclinic]

You need an aggressive take the game to the offense kind of a defense, not a passive reactionary one.

It all starts with the scheme and trickles down from there.

I agree. We have a fair amount of talent on the defense, but we need a more aggressive and more physical approach. I think there's a failure of coaching, heresy though that may be.

 

[ausbacker]

Brady has enough weapons, we need a loaded defense. Tom can do his magic, but the D needs help.

Load up on D bb!!!

I can't help but wonder if having a elite QB and the subsequent cap hit is going to make it difficult to pair an elite D with said QB.

Perhaps the Patriots can continue to add good players and change up the scheme. The Pats D seems far too passive for mine. The Seahawks chased the game. At times, it feels like the Pats sit back and wait for the opposition to make their mistakes rather than forcing them.

Fingers crossed for a healthy run next season.

 

[Archeryaddict12]

I can't help but wonder if having a elite QB and the subsequent cap hit is going to make it difficult to pair an elite D with said QB.

I don't think so. Just have to make the right decisions and hope the injuries aren't as bad.

 

[fnordcircle]

I think Belichick is too stuck on the 'Bend don't break' type of defense because he likes playing the percentages. But if you don't have a team that can consistently get off the field on 3rd down and stop the run when they know the run is coming it won't work.

I think Belichick is unparalleled at team building but I really wish he would bring in a DC who would put in a different system. This season was the first decent defense we've had in a long, long time, but I'm not 100% confident we'll be improved next season especially if Talib walks.

The game has changed and aggressive, attacking defenses win championships. Letting the other team rack up yards like you're Ali going for the Rope-a-Dope defense doesn't work anymore.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Brady has enough weapons, we need a loaded defense. Tom can do his magic, but the D needs help.

Load up on D bb!!!

Agreed on the weapons, although I would like to see the interior OL upgraded at C and/or one of the G spots.

Hope for help at DT/DE as the priority this offseason

 

[Onedaful]

Yep time to go ham on the defensive side of the ball. Bring in some mean, aggressive s.o.bs

 

[manxman2601]

After watching that game tonight the Pats seem miles away on that side of the ball.

Hopefully some good things to come in the next few years...

Go back and watch the first few games of the season before the injuries. Not Seahawks good but still a damn good defense.


And I said this in the game thread. This is not a bargain bin defense. If you include Talib but exclude Tavon Wilson (not a regular), that's still six first rounders and two second rounders that are seeing the field on an almost play by play basis. I think the Seahawks have two first rounders and a second rounder. It's not about spending big, it's about scouting and scheme.

 

[SeymourTrophies]

Brady has enough weapons, we need a loaded defense. Tom can do his magic, but the D needs help.

Load up on D bb!!!

No, no. You've got it all wrong. We need four pro bowl caliber receiving options for Tom. You can score almost ten points in a super bowl with that.

 

[Archeryaddict12]

No, no. You've got it all wrong. We need four pro bowl caliber receiving options for Tom. You can score almost ten points in a super bowl with that.

Yep. Tom can do his magic. But he needs a defense to help stop the other team. He can't do it all.

 

[mayoclinic]

Go back and watch the first few games of the season before the injuries. Not Seahawks good but still a damn good defense.

And I said this in the game thread. This is not a bargain bin defense. If you include Talib but exclude Tavon Wilson (not a regular), that's still six first rounders and two second rounders that are seeing the field on an almost play by play basis. I think the Seahawks have two first rounders and a second rounder. It's not about spending big, it's about scouting and scheme.

I agree. It's about having a consistent vision and finding players who fit, and then coaching them up and using them appropriately. The Pats' have been schizophrenic, and that has caused them to miss out on many opportunities:

- Taking Jermaine Cunningham at #53 in 2010 and passing up DEs like Greg Hardy and Carlos Dunlap.
- Taking behemoth LBs like Brandon Spikes and Dont'a Hightower and passing up guys like Sean Lee, Navorro Bowman and Lavonte David.
- Not having a clear, consistent approach to the DB group. We took a ton of surf CBs, or finesse guys like Darius Butler. Our secondary played so much better with physical guys like Talib and Dennard.

The Seahawks had a consistent vision, and they went out and got players who fit that vision, and loaded up on depth. They play an aggressive, attacking defense without being undisciplined (despite all the trash talk).

We need to spend resources on the defense, but the backbone is there. It's not about spending a ton of money or over-paying for FAs. It's about having a consistent approach and finding solid talent that fits that approach.

 

[fnordcircle]

No, no. You've got it all wrong. We need four pro bowl caliber receiving options for Tom. You can score almost ten points in a super bowl with that.

It's really such a shame that we have fielded so many terrible defenses over the years. Defense continues to win championships. The best offensive team to win the SB in recent history was probably the Packers and, IIRC, they had a top 3 defense.

If Brady can win a Super Bowl throwing to Jermaine Wiggins and JR Redmond he sure as **** can do it throwing to Vereen, Amendola, Gronk, Dobson, etc. What we need is a defense that will set a tone. But I really think that we play too tentative, too reactive for today's game full of 6'7" 240lb WRs who run a 4.4 on a bad day.

The highest scoring offense and arguably the best offense in the history of the NFL (I'd argue for the 2007 Pats who played against top tier teams not like the cupcake schedule the Broncos had but that's beside the point) just got ******* embarrassed by a defense that sets a tone.

Belichick may hate terms like 'swagger' but there is something about a defense that has a confidence, that welcomes a challenge and brings punishment to the ball carrier that will keep even a mediocre offense in the game.

I know it's cliche to watch the Super Bowl and go 'we should do what the winner did' and trust me, all of the 'We need a Bolden-type' posts annoyed the **** out of me. But watching this defense and how stark a contrast they provided to our own really makes me think that Belichick needs to either change or relinquish control to a defensive coach willing to put in a system that puts more pressure on offenses.

I'm really ******* tired of watching people like Matt Flynn and Geno Smith go 24/28 against us.

 

[mb6592]

A. We have a fair amount of talent on the defense

B. we need a more aggressive and more physical approach.

A. Fair amount of talent? Potential does not equal talent. We've been playing that card for a bazzilion years now. You know how it goes, can't get down on rookies, have to wait three years before proclaiming anyone a disappointment, Mayo's a stud, McCourty's a stud, and blah, blah, blah. Talent? No. Potential? Yes, just like the other 30 teams. And please, stop with the "we were a top 5-8 defense before the injuries. A decent two games doesn't make you a top 5-8 defense, sustained success over a couple of seasons (OK, how about 8 games at least?) makes you a top defense.

B. Not again in our lifetimes.

 

[juny]

what a job seattle D did. can't help but compare to the lackluster D the pats showed 2 weeks ago. seattle didn't do anything exotic in terms of blitzing but had constant pressure on manning. Pass rush should be #1 need for the this D.

 

[ATippett56]

Bill Belichick can start rebuilding the defensive line by drafting two defensive tackles. First round draft selections need not apply:

Brandon Mebane - 3rd Round
Red Bryant - 4th Round

 

[mb6592]

I think Belichick is too stuck on the 'Bend don't break' type of defense because he likes playing the percentages. But if you don't have a team that can ever, even on 3rd and 20+, get off the field on 3rd down and stop the run when they know the run is coming it won't work.

Fixed it for you.

 

[ivanvamp]

I'm a huge BB fan and nobody can deny his incredible record here with New England. But he definitely has a certain style of defense that he likes to play, no question about it. I do not doubt that if Carroll had this Patriots' defense, assuming everyone was healthy, that he'd have tremendous success with it. There definitely is talent there.

 

[manxman2601]

Bill Belichick can start rebuilding the defensive line by drafting two defensive tackles. First round draft selections need not apply:

Brandon Mebane - 3rd Round
Red Bryant - 4th Round

Caraun Reid and Justin Ellis fit nicely and are similar players.