Defense wins championships...well Pass Rush does

[RayClay]

If he can't play through a torn ACL, he is made of glass. Maybe we can get a 7th for him?

Made O' Glass, indeed!

 

[Deus Irae]

I give up. A third round, injured, inside linebacker will help our pass rush this year.

Way to miss the point. The Patriots have drafted a linebacker and tried signing Taylor. They are reportedly talking about a trade, and the offseason is far from over.

 

[AzPatsFan]

So was Rod Smith.

So now we're going to eliminate 99% of the starters and call it the norm?

What's wrong with Jerod Mayo?

He didn't take 5 years to become a starter either. That would be 2014 if you're counting.

That is a total NON Sequitor. Yes Mayo is good, but playing ILB for the Patriots is not anywhere near needing the training requirements that are involved with OLBs. You can bring in a High draft rookie and he WILL play ILB satisfactorily.

 

[ausbacker]

You've been in an interesting state of mind the past few months Deus. It's made for interesting reading.

 

[Deus Irae]

You've been in an interesting state of mind the past few months Deus. It's made for interesting reading.

I don't know if that's good or bad....

 

[VJCPatriot]

Will acquiring Burgess really make the Pats pass rush that much better? Was missing out on JT, who was never going anywhere but miami anyways, really that big of a deal? I don't really think so. Let the kids play and see who shakes out. Maybe Pierre Woods will be the answer, BB has often spoken highly of him. Maybe the Pats pick up a veteran cut from another team. It's way too early to tell either way how the Pats pass rush will turn out.

 

[patsfan-1982]

That is a total NON Sequitor. Yes Mayo is good, but playing ILB for the Patriots is not anywhere near needing the training requirements that are involved with OLBs. You can bring in a High draft rookie and he WILL play ILB satisfactorily.

ILB in the 3-4 have to take on OG most of the time a lot of them did not have to do that in collage where most team's run a 4-3 the ILB most of the time is just runing side line to side line makeing tackle's 3-4 OLB are small DE and have at one point played DE so takeing on a OT is something they have done befor we just got lucky with mayo

 

[mgteich]

I suspect that the acquiring of Burgess and Napolean Harris would improve our linebacking corps, and certainly making it less affected by an injury or two. Whether the pass-rush itself will be affected much is debatable. My feeling is that the pass-rush will be better because of improvements in the offense and in the secondary.

Burgess and Harris
Redd and Appleby

The choice is so difficult.

Will acquiring Burgess really make the Pats pass rush that much better? Was missing out on JT, who was never going anywhere but miami anyways, really that big of a deal? I don't really think so. Let the kids play and see who shakes out. Maybe Pierre Woods will be the answer, BB has often spoken highly of him. Maybe the Pats pick up a veteran cut from another team. It's way too early to tell either way how the Pats pass rush will turn out.

 

[jays52]

The one we really should be after is Morrison...

 

[AzPatsFan]

ILB in the 3-4 have to take on OG most of the time a lot of them did not have to do that in collage where most team's run a 4-3 the ILB most of the time is just runing side line to side line makeing tackle's 3-4 OLB are small DE and have at one point played DE so takeing on a OT is something they have done befor we just got lucky with mayo

Nonsense!

The Patriots don't draft college ILBs, for our ILB positions. We draft OLBs who are used to taking on Offensive Linemen and shedding blocks. In all other aspects, their college talents all apply...

We don't even draft OLBs that have not spent some time as a MLB, or ILB, and show an aptitude for that read, react, and quickness required for the ILB position, as well as for their OLB play.

In short, you can predictably scout for, and find players who have demonstrated the requirements for our ILBs. Unfortunately the same can not be said for our OLBs, nor for the slightly different Pitt OLBs, either.

 

[Sicilian]

Ok, just read through all 150 posts of this thread. Without getting into the specific arguments that have comprised most of them, here are my thoughts:

1) Comparing the NE linebackers to the Pitt linebackers is not a one-to-one argument. You can't look at numbers or how they look without taking into account that the two systems are different. When you have a system that emphasizes the linebackers being the big play makers, they're obviously going to look a lot better, and more draft resources are going to be spent trying to get them. Doesn't make them better, but they sure do look a whole lot beter.

2) I don't see how anyone can argue against Deus' point on injuries. If it weren't for Colvin/Thomas injuries, Bruschi's stroke (honestly, how many times has that happened to an NFL player in his early 30's in the last twenty years?), and Johnson's sudden retirement, we've been put in a position where we had to play catchup. At that point it's not about building a dominant LB corp anymore, it's about damage control.

3) Football is NOT baseball. When you have a baseball team with no power, you add a 40 homerun guy and he gives you 40 more homeruns. You need better starting pitching? Get a great starter, and he'll add the value that he adds. You don't need to rely as much on how they will fit with the system, or how they will effect the play of other teammates.

In football, eleven guys work together on defense to achieve something. Pass rush means very little if the receivers are always open, and conversely, great corners mean nothing if they have to cover for too long on every play. Every position effects every other position on the field.

You want to improve the pass rush this year? Sure, a beast pass rushing linebacker would help, but you can always improve the secondary which gives you more time and more blitzing options. Or change the scheme slightly, which is something BB is not afraid to do. Or maybe use different line personnel on third down, all things that don't change who's playing linebacker, but might have an impact on situational pass rush.

The game is not as simple as, "Pass rush needs help, insert player X, done."