Great article on Patriots' amazing defense (Bleacher Report)

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

I get how a lot of guys go undrafted and succeed. I mean, only 240 players or so are drafted. There’s a ton of talented players who get picked up afterwards and by mathematical odds, some are bound to succeed due to the huge amount of chances.

That said:

How on earth did JC Jackson go undrafted?!?! I understand how Malcom Butler went undrafted at 5’10”, 190 lbs and not standing out with measurables. I understand how Jonathan Jones went undrafted at 5’11” 190 lbs and also not standing out with measurables. Both would have considerable doubts about their strengths and appear to be grouped in with dozens of similar CBs.

But JC Jackson? He’s 6’1”, 198 lbs, and he appears to play with incredible strength and length. The dude is always like Velcro on a receiver, and if anything, a lot of his rookie penalties were because athleticism had him playing too tight on the target. Now that he’s worked on his technique, the penalties have gone down. This guy is an absolute stud and a terror to throw against. What a remarkable find post-draft. In a re-draft, he’s a first round pick.

 

[Oswlek]

I have to admit to being disappointed by the article. The blurb makes it sound like we're in for a deep dive about schematics and what the Patriots are doing differently this year. Instead it was a couple generic compliments and a couple plays I'd already seen broken down.

It's nice to see people talking about it, but there's nothing new here.

 

[mgcolby]

I get how a lot of guys go undrafted and succeed. I mean, only 240 players or so are drafted. There’s a ton of talented players who get picked up afterwards and by mathematical odds, some are bound to succeed due to the huge amount of chances.

That said:

How on earth did JC Jackson go undrafted?!?! I understand how Malcom Butler went undrafted at 5’10”, 190 lbs and not standing out with measurables. I understand how Jonathan Jones went undrafted at 5’11” 190 lbs and also not standing out with measurables. Both would have considerable doubts about their strengths and appear to be grouped in with dozens of similar CBs.

But JC Jackson? He’s 6’1”, 198 lbs, and he appears to play with incredible strength and length. The dude is always like Velcro on a receiver, and if anything, a lot of his rookie penalties were because athleticism had him playing too tight on the target. Now that he’s worked on his technique, the penalties have gone down. This guy is an absolute stud and a terror to throw against. What a remarkable find post-draft. In a re-draft, he’s a first round pick.

I may e wrong but I thought it was because of character/behavior concerns

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

I may e wrong but I thought it was because of character/behavior concerns

Wikipedia says he was charged with armed robbery in 2015 but found not guilty. But for his talent, I’d think it’s worth a dice roll in the draft. We’ve seen plenty of bad character guys drafted.

 

[Pats2000]

To the folks that are saying they haven't played anyone: This is essentially the same defense, with a few upgrades, that stuffed the Chargers, Chiefs for the 1st half and held the Rams to 3 points in the Superbowl. So yes, they have played folks and they are better than they were at the end of last year.

 

[Froob]

I get how a lot of guys go undrafted and succeed. I mean, only 240 players or so are drafted. There’s a ton of talented players who get picked up afterwards and by mathematical odds, some are bound to succeed due to the huge amount of chances.

That said:

How on earth did JC Jackson go undrafted?!?! I understand how Malcom Butler went undrafted at 5’10”, 190 lbs and not standing out with measurables. I understand how Jonathan Jones went undrafted at 5’11” 190 lbs and also not standing out with measurables. Both would have considerable doubts about their strengths and appear to be grouped in with dozens of similar CBs.

But JC Jackson? He’s 6’1”, 198 lbs, and he appears to play with incredible strength and length. The dude is always like Velcro on a receiver, and if anything, a lot of his rookie penalties were because athleticism had him playing too tight on the target. Now that he’s worked on his technique, the penalties have gone down. This guy is an absolute stud and a terror to throw against. What a remarkable find post-draft. In a re-draft, he’s a first round pick.

Yet, we keep wasting second round picks on corners lol. Oh well, we got em and that’s all that matters. Best secondary in the league.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Yet, we keep wasting second round picks on corners lol. Oh well, we got em and that’s all that matters. Best secondary in the league.

It’s pretty bizarre. All those second round busts, and then Jackson, Jones, and Butler are all UDFAs. Lol.

 

[SBLIII]

Yet, we keep wasting second round picks on corners lol. Oh well, we got em and that’s all that matters. Best secondary in the league.

put the 2nd rounders on the DL or OL. or TE

 

[Sciz]

But JC Jackson? He’s 6’1”, 198 lbs, and he appears to play with incredible strength and length. The dude is always like Velcro on a receiver, and if anything, a lot of his rookie penalties were because athleticism had him playing too tight on the target. Now that he’s worked on his technique, the penalties have gone down. This guy is an absolute stud and a terror to throw against. What a remarkable find post-draft. In a re-draft, he’s a first round pick.

Despite being listed at 6’1”, Jackson was measured at 5’9¾” at the combine.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

I think that Bill has given Mayo AND Steve Bellichick quasi-equal roles in the development of the week's defensive game plans.

I would suspect early in the week Bill gives them a basic foundation of what he thinks will work best for that week's opponent. They go off and put it together with the rest of the D staff. By the end of the week they have the plan, as well as plans B and C). BB gets final say so when they make final decisions. They know what they want to do vs various personnel packages and game situations. Mayo makes the calls based on what they have planned as a group. BB probably pipes in a few times per game

I think the key thing that Mayo and Steve have to get squared away is their OWN personnel packages. It's not like they have a group of starters and occasionally sub someone in. They are constantly running 20 odd guys in and out depending on so many factors the logistics have to be daunting.

BTW- I don't think the initial play call is all that critical, since any change in a personnel package, formation, or motion probably changes what was called anyway.

After Mayo went down for the year in '14, I was impressed with how the intensity and communication improved and everybody stepped up. I felt it was kind of by necessity, as Jerod called the plays and made most of the tackles, and there was this automatic sense of urgency. Anyway, I was apprehensive like everybody down the stretch vs. the Seahawks, but I think the defense earned Belichick's trust that he let them play without stopping the clock.

Bill's learned from the Cleveland years, to delegate authority to his assistants. He puts faith in people and lets them fail or succeed on their own terms, while keeping ultimate authority and supervision. This is experience that money can't buy, and it's why he's having success today. I don't think he anticipated this a few years ago, when he expressed doubt that he'd still be coaching as long as Marv Levy did. I really hope we have at least five more years with him.

No pretense, no bluster, not bombastic.

Like Fairbanks and Holovak.

BTW Marv's six months younger than thief Dreith.

But Jimmy Carter's older than both of them.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Despite being listed at 6’1”, Jackson was measured at 5’9¾” at the combine.

That is a BIG discrepancy. The guy looks tall when he plays...maybe it's his wingspan.

 

[n6249c]

BB's belief that he could turn JAG's from the street to great DB's was a testament to his and his coaching staff's egos, we all remember the experiments with two way players or the Tiquan Underwood's...

Huh?

{Imagine scratching head GIF here}

Won a Lombardi with Hank Poteat.

 

[Oswlek]

Won a Lombardi with Hank Poteat.

No idea where you are going with that.

 

[venecol]

I have to admit to being disappointed by the article. The blurb makes it sound like we're in for a deep dive about schematics and what the Patriots are doing differently this year. Instead it was a couple generic compliments and a couple plays I'd already seen broken down.

It's nice to see people talking about it, but there's nothing new here.

Agree. The writing style was at best college level, very simplistic.

 

[Dragda]

Belichick as a coach is doing a great job but even better was how he put together the secondary.

That is the key to our defense and overall team this season and it was last season.

The secondary allows him to bring pressure at any time and leave them on an island.

we have an amazing secondary. A guy like Obi can’t even get off the practice squad. Our nice looking second rounder isn’t even playing.