Hightower: Flores’ defense, simpler, faster & more aggressive

[QB12]

I like the sounds of this. I know it's only June, but still. I'd be happy if they stopped playing bend then break.

Fixed it for you.

 

[Joey007]

Unleash Trey Flowers. I really think he could have an incredible year if he’s put in the right position.

 

[Betterthanmost]

I hope so, but I've seen the Patriots play attacking defense in the preseason, only to turn into a more passive defense once the season began.

I understand and know of what you are saying but then I also consider the source of this news and it makes me a tad excited. Who else but Tower can know the intricate differences? This is significant. I have always suspected Matt P defense to be a bit too complicated for the guys especially new guys.

 

[SammyBlueCat]

We need Cat like quickness. There! I said it...

 

[Vindicate]

Clayborn knows all too well the effects of a fast and aggressive defense, specifically when he watched his team gasping about 3 quarters into a big game.

That being said, I really hope they find a middle ground and am confident they will! Plus, it's early, so simple makes sense.

I would love to see an aggressive defense though. I've just seen the Patriots murder those defenses in the 2nd half too often to not be worried about how hard it is to keep them going hahaha.

 

[WaterfallJumper]

Given what MattyP's education was I can completely see that he "over-engineered" his defense to the point where it became a bit too complex just so he could cover how to defend more specific things. As with most things in life if you generalize instead of specializing things will become simpler but the results might be a bit worse.

There is a healthy balance somewhere in between generalization and specialization because while the latter will lead to be better prepared for many situations it also means that there are more calls and more moving parts so there is also a bigger chance of failure.

I am cautiously optimistic about Flores maybe hitting that balance a bit better than Patricia did.

As an engineer, I'd say most of my work is trying to simplify and streamline incredibly complex processes, not "over-engineer" them into oblivion. I've watched enough coaching sessions with Patricia to feel fairly confident in saying that he did a good job breaking down concepts into accessible, actionable details. For Patricia, the analytical side of things probably comes into play when assessing other teams, devising gameplans, and putting together personnel packages. Simpler may be better for our current players, but when the personnel was up to the task, Patricia led some excellent units.

 

[jah]

2011. Andre Carter was super aggressive.

Man that dude was great for that one year. It's been a while since we picked up an old guy late in the summer and had him play at a Pro Bowl level (Brian Waters too).

 

[IcyPatriot]

So we're going to bend less ... at the expense of breaking a bit more?

I'll take that - the players will like it more.

 

[TheRainMaker]

This is promising news. I want to see Hightower going after the QB more and spend less time in coverage. Like Dean Pees before him, I wasn't a fan of Patricia's "wait and see" defense and this could be addition by subtraction if BB allows Flores to do his thing on D.

With the offense the Pats have, they can afford to take risks and put pressure on the opposing offenses one in a while rather than sit back and let them operate. Even the most mediocre QB's in the NFL have shown they can dissect any D when they play passive like the Pats. Nothing more frustrating than having the Pats march right down field and score a TD and then the opposing team trots right back down field and scores a TD without any resistance.

Of course, there's a time to have the "bend but don't break" D but the Pats could potentially take teams out very early like what Golden State Warriors does to their opponents by jacking up 3's and they don't stop. Having the Pats playing more aggressively on D could create some turnovers which gives the ball right back to the offense and could go up by 21 before you know it.

 

[luuked]

As an engineer, I'd say most of my work is trying to simplify and streamline incredibly complex processes, not "over-engineer" them into oblivion. I've watched enough coaching sessions with Patricia to feel fairly confident in saying that he did a good job breaking down concepts into accessible, actionable details. For Patricia, the analytical side of things probably comes into play when assessing other teams, devising gameplans, and putting together personnel packages. Simpler may be better for our current players, but when the personnel was up to the task, Patricia led some excellent units.

Tell this to the other 50% of engineers who certainly are not in the business of streamlining anything but overthink most designs into oblivion.

You are reading this as some kind of criticism of Patricia when I totally agree that his defenses where pretty amazing given the talent he had to work with. Whenever players were on the same page and knew what to do they looked great. As I said I don't think there is a better or worse but you can certainly make the argument that the more tasks players have to keep in their mind the better prepared they will be for multiple possible scenarios but at the same time might also play slower because they have to process through a multitude of sometimes subtle things first.

 

[FCB02062]

Bill is the head coach, I can't see him giving an unproven guy - who isn't even defensive coordinator IIRC - a whole lot of leeway. We'll see the same old Belichick defense - give up tons of yards between the 20s, give up third down conversions at an alarming rate, and end up in the top 10 in points allowed and in the bottom third in opponent's time of possession, third down %, and yards.

For years the Pats defense has been predicated on giving the other team enough chances to f#ck up - turn it over, make a bad play on third down, miss a fg, etc. I don't see that changing this season. The Patriots aren't going to become the Levon Kirkland/Kevin Green Pittsburgh teams sending extra guys more than half the time...

The Pats will do well against bad offenses/quarterbacks and they'll struggle against good offenses/quarterbacks that don't wear black and yellow uniforms...for whatever reason, the Pats defend Pittsburgh well and don't give up a ton points - but put the Pats D up against teams like Carolina, Houston, KC, Philadelphia we're looking at having to score well into the 30s to win...

 

[NormZauchin]

Bend but don't break defense just makes up for the lack of talent and is kinda like damage control IMO. No D goes on the field and says yeah we're going to allow them as much yards as they want but once they are close to FG range we start trying.

In the end you need talent ,the right coaching and none of the bend but don't break D happens. If you just have the right coaching you'll get exposed against the best offenses like the last SB.

Yes. When Belichick was the Giants defensive coordinator and had talent like Lawrence Taylor and Carl Banks, there was no bending and the only thing that was broken were the opposing offenses.

 

[RelocatedPatFan]

Sounds good, but will the kids be having more fun?

 

[captain stone]

I would imagine that BB is keeping a close eye on Flores and the whole defense though. That reassures me.

Why in the world should that be reassuring?

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Flores has a tall task. In the previous four drafts (not including this one) from 2014-17, the only notable defensive players/starters are Malcolm Brown, Trey Flowers, Elandon Roberts, and Deatrich Wise. Flowers is the only guy who can say is a very good player at his position. You could really stretch and say Valentine (borderline) and Rivers (optimistically and with no actual evidence), but any way you slice it, this is a horrible four years of drafting defense.

From 2010-13, the four drafts before that: Devin McCourty, Brandon Spikes (okay not great, but was decent for a few years), Chandler Jones, Dont'a Hightower, Jamie Collins, Duron Harmon, Logan Ryan.

What a difference.

 

[RayClay]

I'd rather give up yards than touchdowns. I'd rather be in the Super Bowl than on sportcenter.

 

[Patriot Missile]

I’m optimistic that this defense is going to perform better. Really don’t like the narrative that all we can hope for is for the defense to remain the same and give up a ton of yards but limit the points. I’ll take that, but just hoping for less yards, better 3rd down% and less points. It’s called improvement.

 

[Kontradiction]

I'd rather give up yards than touchdowns. I'd rather be in the Super Bowl than on sportcenter.

What if I told you that it’s possible to do both?

 

[RobertWeathers]

Yes. When Belichick was the Giants defensive coordinator and had talent like Lawrence Taylor and Carl Banks, there was no bending and the only thing that was broken were the opposing offenses.

1984-8th points, 11th yards
85-5th, 2nd
86-2nd, 2nd
87-13th, 7th
88-9th, 11th
89-2nd, 5th
90-1st, 2nd

That's what Lawrence Taylor does for a D

 

[TheRainMaker]

What if I told you that it’s possible to do both?

That is hilarious. Where is that from? And I don't get this "either or" argument. Vikings, Jaguars and Eagles did both.