Article on Patriots' Elite Man-Match Cover1 Defensive Scheme

[DropKickFlutie]

1. Even with drop off last year the Pats defense still led the league in all defensive passing metrics and best 3rd down defense.
2. Pats played the most Cover1 of any NFL team last year
3. They played a lot of 'man match' cover1 where on short and medium routes to middle of the field, Patriot defenders basically played switch defense as receivers ran crossing routes in between
4. In the first 9 games the defense had an absurd stat of only giving up 2 passing TDs with 19 interceptions.

Pretty cool article
The 2 concepts that elevated the Patriots pass defense into a league of its own

 

[DropKickFlutie]

Also on a side note, I absolutely love the defense the last few years ever since the Malcolm Butler Superbowl,here to now, where we play predominantly man defense with corners up near the line of scrimmage. Used to drive me bonkers under the old Dean Pees defense to regularly see corners 10 yards off the line of scrimmage and way too much passive zone defense as well. I think all 6 ring seasons we had this aggressive man-cover defense.

 

[Triumph]

The stats are skewed for the first 8 games last season.

First half - 8 - 0
Last half - 4 - 4

The "Boogeymen" faced a lineup of scrubs at QB.Ben was the only contender out of the bunch and Ben was not playing like himself. Basically in the 2020 AFC its between Ben and Mahomes and maybe Jackson for top dog.

2019 bowling pin QBs

1 Ben
2 Fitzpatrick and Rosen
3 Falk
4 Allen
5 McCoy
6 Jones
7 Darnold
8 Mayfield

4 more wins vs questionable NFL QBs

9 Wentz - I am not a believer. This season is his make or break IMO.
10 Dak - Another over hyped Cowboys QB. Dak is not the answer.
11 Dalton
12 Allen - Could be good but plays like a Cave Man.

2019 New England Patriots Statistics & Players | Pro-Football-Reference.com

 

[DropKickFlutie]

The stats are skewed for the first 8 games last season.

First half - 8 - 0
Last half - 4 - 4

The "Boogeymen" faced a lineup of scrubs at QB.Ben was the only contender out of the bunch and Ben was not playing like himself. Basically in the 2020 AFC its between Ben and Mahomes and maybe Jackson for top dog.

2019 bowling pin QBs

1 Ben
2 Fitzpatrick and Rosen
3 Falk
4 Allen
5 McCoy
6 Jones
7 Darnold
8 Mayfield

4 more wins vs questionable NFL QBs

9 Wentz - I am not a believer. This season is his make or break IMO.
10 Dak - Another over hyped Cowboys QB. Dak is not the answer.
11 Dalton
12 Allen - Could be good but plays like a Cave Man.

2019 New England Patriots Statistics & Players | Pro-Football-Reference.com

The offense also faced injuries and sputtered. So even though they finished 4-4, how bad did the defensive points per game drop off, compared to the offense just becoming totally inept ??

.

 

[The Brandon Five]

The stats are skewed for the first 8 games last season.

First half - 8 - 0
Last half - 4 - 4

The "Boogeymen" faced a lineup of scrubs at QB.Ben was the only contender out of the bunch and Ben was not playing like himself. Basically in the 2020 AFC its between Ben and Mahomes and maybe Jackson for top dog.

2019 bowling pin QBs

1 Ben
2 Fitzpatrick and Rosen
3 Falk
4 Allen
5 McCoy
6 Jones
7 Darnold
8 Mayfield

4 more wins vs questionable NFL QBs

9 Wentz - I am not a believer. This season is his make or break IMO.
10 Dak - Another over hyped Cowboys QB. Dak is not the answer.
11 Dalton
12 Allen - Could be good but plays like a Cave Man.

2019 New England Patriots Statistics & Players | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Yup. the rest of the NFL faced a different set of teams and QBs. Wait, whut?

 

[ralmat55]

Any discussion about how good the Patriots defense really was in 2019 must also consider how good the Pats D was down the stretch and through the playoffs in 2018.

The 2018 defense shut out the Chiefs for a half in the AFCCG, and held them in check until Travis Kelce started pushing off J.C. Jackson with impunity and Jackson started being called for insignificant contact and good guy Andy Reid resorted to running intentional pick plays to move the ball. Then, they held a previously dynamic Rams team to a FG in the Super Bowl.

Discount the first half of last season all you want. But, look at the Chiefs loss on 12/8. The Pats D kept them in that game with very little help from their offense and some of the worst officiating you’ll ever see.

This is a darn good D. They’ve upgraded the run D personnel, so we’ll see improvement there, and they’re going to be very difficult to pass against unless they’re beset with secondary injuries as they were in the finale against the Dolphins with both J. McCourty and J. Jones out.

 

[iapatsfan]

Any discussion about how good the Patriots defense really was in 2019 must also consider how good the Pats D was down the stretch and through the playoffs in 2018.

The 2018 defense shut out the Chiefs for a half in the AFCCG, and held them in check until Travis Kelce started pushing off J.C. Jackson with impunity and Jackson started being called for insignificant contact and good guy Andy Reid resorted to running intentional pick plays to move the ball. Then, they held a previously dynamic Rams team to a FG in the Super Bowl.

Discount the first half of last season all you want. But, look at the Chiefs loss on 12/8. The Pats D kept them in that game with very little help from their offense and some of the worst officiating you’ll ever see.

This is a darn good D. They’ve upgraded the run D personnel, so we’ll see improvement there, and they’re going to be very difficult to pass against unless they’re beset with secondary injuries as they were in the finale against the Dolphins with both J. McCourty and J. Jones out.

Who are you claiming is the "upgrade in run D personnel"? They lost 3 LB's (if you include Roberts) and their starting DT. How were these players "upgraded"?

 

[TB_Helmet]

Basically in the 2020 AFC its between Ben and Mahomes and maybe Jackson for top dog.

You’d put Roethlisberger ahead of Lamar Jackson?

 

[IllegalContact]

Who are you claiming is the "upgrade in run D personnel"? They lost 3 LB's (if you include Roberts) and their starting DT. How were these players "upgraded"?

both Collins and Van Noy faded down the stretch.....what they were at the end of the season is upgradeable for much less money......shelton is just a fat guy....he was ok, but Guy was the interior man. but it is not a conclusion the positions were upgraded. Winovich has a higher all around ceiling than either Van Noy or Collins and it will depend on what they have in mind with Uche since his size will force them to do something different

 

[captain stone]

The 2 concepts that elevated the Patriots pass defense into a league of its own

Ryan Fitz LOLs while reading this...

 

[IllegalContact]

You’d put Roethlisberger ahead of Lamar Jackson?

maybe.......if he's 100%....huge question

I'm interested in seeing what Philips will do in Indy......they have a good OL ... if brissett can make them a .500 team, they're going to be tough

 

[DropKickFlutie]

Any discussion about how good the Patriots defense really was in 2019 must also consider how good the Pats D was down the stretch and through the playoffs in 2018.

The 2018 defense shut out the Chiefs for a half in the AFCCG, and held them in check until Travis Kelce started pushing off J.C. Jackson with impunity and Jackson started being called for insignificant contact and good guy Andy Reid resorted to running intentional pick plays to move the ball. Then, they held a previously dynamic Rams team to a FG in the Super Bowl.

Discount the first half of last season all you want. But, look at the Chiefs loss on 12/8. The Pats D kept them in that game with very little help from their offense and some of the worst officiating you’ll ever see.

This is a darn good D. They’ve upgraded the run D personnel, so we’ll see improvement there, and they’re going to be very difficult to pass against unless they’re beset with secondary injuries as they were in the finale against the Dolphins with both J. McCourty and J. Jones out.

Good point. I think we all underrate how good that 2018 defense was from Thanksgiving onward and also the lowest points ever in a Superbowl to the Rams with only 3 points surrendered.

 

[iapatsfan]

both Collins and Van Noy faded down the stretch.....what they were at the end of the season is upgradeable for much less money......shelton is just a fat guy....he was ok, but Guy was the interior man. but it is not a conclusion the positions were upgraded. Winovich has a higher all around ceiling than either Van Noy or Collins and it will depend on what they have in mind with Uche since his size will force them to do something different

That may all be true, but there is no way to definitively say we "upgraded" our run defense. It is just as possible that the replacements for Collins, Van Noy, Roberts (included because we're speaking specifically about run D) and Shelton could be inferior run defending players.

 

[IllegalContact]

That may all be true, but there is no way to definitively say we "upgraded" our run defense. It is just as possible that the replacements for Collins, Van Noy, Roberts (included because we're speaking specifically about run D) and Shelton could be inferior run defending players.

agreed.....there is a ton we don't know about this team.....which makes it interesting

 

[TB_Helmet]

maybe.......if he's 100%....huge question

I'm interested in seeing what Philips will do in Indy......they have a good OL ... if brissett can make them a .500 team, they're going to be tough

I would take Jackson over Big Ben every day but I guess that's why they play the games.

I agree though that it's a moot point given that there is maybe a 2% chance Roethlisburger makes it through the season.

 

[ralmat55]

Who are you claiming is the "upgrade in run D personnel"? They lost 3 LB's (if you include Roberts) and their starting DT. How were these players "upgraded"?

Beau Allen will be better than Shelton who is a 340 pounder that plays like a 290 pounder with no ability to anchor and not enough balance to not get turned sideways. Anfernee Jennings or even Brandon Copeland will be a better run defender than flashy Jamie Collins who would make a great play and then gets dominated on the next ten. Bentley and Maluia, Harris or Tezino will be better against the run than KVN or Elandon “Wrong hole” Roberts.

 

[Triumph]

You’d put Roethlisberger ahead of Lamar Jackson?

Yup.

Jackson is nothing but a 1 year wonder at this point and he thoroughly choked in his only playoff game. 50% completion rate, 1 TD, 2 INTs, 1 Fumble, 4 Sacks, 0 Rush TDs. Furthermore, year # 2 is when an NFL QB proves himself because NFL defenses have had all off season to break down film and pick your game apart to devise new schemes.

Brady struggled in year 2 because Marty Schottenhiemer figured out that Brady was less effective if you made him move from his spot.

I predict that Jackson wont last the whole 2020 season anyway.

 

[TB_Helmet]

Yup.

Jackson is nothing but a 1 year wonder at this point and he thoroughly choked in his only playoff game. 50% completion rate, 1 TD, 2 INTs, 1 Fumble, 4 Sacks, 0 Rush TDs. Furthermore, year # 2 is when an NFL QB proves himself because NFL defenses have had all off season to break down film and pick your game apart to devise new schemes.

Brady struggled in year 2 because Marty Schottenhiemer figured out that Brady was less effective if you made him move from his spot.

I predict that Jackson wont last the whole 2020 season anyway.

Care to make it interesting?

 

[Triumph]

The offense also faced injuries and sputtered. So even though they finished 4-4, how bad did the defensive points per game drop off, compared to the offense just becoming totally inept ??

.

NEP record vs 2019 Post season QBs

Loss vs Mahomes
Loss vs Watson
Loss vs Jackson
Win vs Wentz
Win x 2 - Allen

Edit - forgot Allen.

 

[Triumph]

Care to make it interesting?

Such as