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CLICK HERE to Register for a free account and login for a smoother ad-free experience. It's easy, and only takes a few moments.Collecting more defensive line talent isn’t a bad thing, but not at the price he would be asking. I wouldn’t be surprised if we drafted another big body if the talent was there, but with Valentine coming back and hopefully improving, I think we’ll have a good rotation on the interior.Do we have a need for dontari poe now?
Do we have a need for dontari poe now?
No not at all. VV and Shelton fill that need.
It's an amazing signing. They needed a NT. Options were Poe at 8-10 million or Tim Settle via the draft but who also bombed at the combine. With Shelton they get a former first round pick at roughly 2 million. He's not Wilfork but better than Branch.
We're good to go at NT now.
I bet they’ll grab another couple/few guys via the draft + UDFA + low tier free agency and see if anyone rises to the challenge. Not expecting any big signings, myself.Collecting more defensive line talent isn’t a bad thing, but not at the price he would be asking. I wouldn’t be surprised if we drafted another big body if the talent was there, but with Valentine coming back and hopefully improving, I think we’ll have a good rotation on the interior.
Dorsett was behind Cooks. Didn't get the opportunities (snap count, targets) Gabriel did.
Gabriel was often Atlanta's #2 or #3 option, with Julio Jones taking double-coverage all over the field on every play. Look at their 2016 seasons...they're not far apart at all. And Matt Ryan's isn't chopped liver, you know?
Grass is greener, until it's not. The Pats would be insane to throw any money at Gabriel right now.
I’d be good with Gabriel. I think he has some room to grow. Not sure about his price, though.The color of grass has nothing to do with it. Taylor Gabriel has been much more consistent than Phillip Dorsett.
You want to cherry pick seasons? Go look at Gabriel's 2016 season as well. Again, no comparison.
You want to keep Dorsett because he' cheap, that's fine. You want to spend a little extra on a better 3rd? I'm down with that too.
Highly doubtful, since the Jags claimed him off waivers from the Texans last September.
Why are folks even interested in WRs for the Pats at the moment?
I’d be good with Gabriel. I think he has some room to grow. Not sure about his price, though.
Re: earlier post about the “miked up” video... have seen a couple now of him singlehandedly commanding inside run lanes, and a couple of tackles for losses. I dunno how much that represents his production; one or two such plays can be cherry picked, which is the general problem with highlight vids. But it puts my mind at ease re: his role. I’m not sure whether he’ll be anything in terms of inside pressure, we’ll see. That’s always been the trade off when we’re in the 3-4, you might get inside pressure, but you’re more controlling than attacking. Assuming that’s the idea, it’s a good investment to have the traditional 3-4 look available.
My gut feeling is that his tendency to go high so he can look for the ball is a product of his vast physical skills. He's never needed to stay low to maintain his basic position, so he hasn't. But the difference between good players and great ones is that the great ones marry their prodigious physical qualities to quality technique work.@patfanken
I wonder if part of him getting too high has something to do with how he's watching his gaps. Of the film I've watched he was always looking to see what was going on pre snap and continued looking for the ball post snap. So maybe standing too tall is a symptom of how he's looking for the ball.
I've also seen when he sees where the ball is going he can quickly shed his blocker by either going low or with an arm whip etc...
Controlling the LOS in a 3-4 is a must. The DL's and the LB's work in a tandem to create the pressure or stop the run. If the NT is getting pushed out of position your LB's and DT's are dealing with picking up the slack which includes dealing with offensive linemen getting to the second level. Basically if your NT is getting pushed around everyone else in the front 7 is picking up the slack. Shelton will solve that problem.
Especially in the days of the elephant position, which I hear much less about since McGinnest saved his brain and went to the TV set, I used to hear a lot about how the DL frees up the LBs to make plays... that's sort of the more aggressive description of what you just talked about. That said, it's a good "make them beat you" scheme, more than one that's ever been built to beat down other teams... that's one box the Pats have never checked in the BB era: We've never been that defense that smothers or mows down every opponent.
One day, when TFB hangs em up, you'd hope that BB wants to prove he can do it the other way too. But if you think about it those stellar defenses seem to supernova for a season, then live on as embers for a few more... they don't turn into 15+ year dynasties.
Still, just once, wouldn't you just love to have a nasty-azz buzzsaw defense, rather than one built to contain the damage well enough for the offense to win? Wouldn't you love to have a defense for the ages, just for a year or two or three some day in the future? (Rather than talk about having a top 5 scoring defense?)
Just pipedreamin' here.
Sure it would be nice but to get that kind of defense you would need to sit at the bottom of the barrel for a couple of seasons to get high enough draft picks to get that kind of talent onto your roster and fit under the cap.
One thing I didn't mention in the previous post was that I think ( not know) that a 3-4 defense is better suited for today's high flying, RPO'ing, Scat backing NFL. Three big bodies to plug up the middle and 4 LB's to either plug the running lanes or cover the TE's/RB's etc... Whereas a 4-3 is typically 4 smaller DT's and 3 LB's. I think it's a slower defensive scheme in the front 7.
3-4 is more flexible as well. You need an edge rusher (4-3)? Hightower can do that for ya. You need a LB to cover the TE (3-4)? Hightower is fast enough to do that too. Get some more speed at LB and this defense gets a lot more dangerous.
Just my opinion but I think the addition of Sheldon will free up the LB/DE's, the LB's and the DT's to focus on their job which means I expect to see the QB pressure numbers to increase a lot next season. I expect to see more sacks, more interceptions, lower opposing QBR's etc... and I expect to see other teams having a tougher time running the ball. That's why I'm pumped about the addition of Sheldon. Hell, we might even see McCourty play Safety again. hahaha
Edit: I meant to mention that you eluded to the need to sit at the bottom of the barrel to get that kind of defense. I think we all share your dream of somehow getting that without the 1-15's.