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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.The blueprint's always the same, and there are two prongs to it.
1.) Blitz the hell out of the QB, especially up the middle, and get there.
2.) Have 2 talented CBs who can lock down the receivers, and a safety (or safety/LB duo) who can lock down a TE.
As a general rule, it works against every elite QB in the league except Manning. For Manning, the blueprint is to knock his receivers off their routes, generally rush only 3 or 4, and disguise the coverages.
The reason the Patriots, Packers and Saints are dodging this right now isn't the QBs, it's the surrounding personnel. None of these teams are designed around 2WR/1TE/1RB. The Packers have about a million wideouts who can all get open, and they've got Finley. The Saints have plenty of wideouts, Graham, and a stable of RBs who can get the job done. That allows both GB and NO to flood the field with more WRs than even excellent defenses can cover. It's not really surprising that the Chiefs were able to give the Packers a game, because they've got 2 very good corners AND a very good nickel, which allowed them to play even with the Packers wideouts.
The Patriots are different from those two in that they are really a 1WR/2TE/1RB team, which means that the second good corner is all but wasted and the pressure is put on the safeties in an era of weak safety play. The way to really slow the Patriots is to stick your CB1 on Welker and then double or shade coverage on Gronk and Hernandez with a good safety-LB combo. That's part of why a team like the Steelers could slow the Patriots down, and I bet it's one of the reasons Ryan's kicking himself for not getting a better safety than Smith in this past offseason.
The good news in this for the Patriots, from what I'm told, is that this year's safety crop looks weak.
My $.02.
good news for our offense next year, really bad news for our defense
The blueprint's always the same, and there are two prongs to it.
1.) Blitz the hell out of the QB, especially up the middle, and get there.
2.) Have 2 talented CBs who can lock down the receivers, and a safety (or safety/LB duo) who can lock down a TE.
As a general rule, it works against every elite QB in the league except Manning. For Manning, the blueprint is to knock his receivers off their routes, generally rush only 3 or 4, and disguise the coverages.
The reason the Patriots, Packers and Saints are dodging this right now isn't the QBs, it's the surrounding personnel. None of these teams are designed around 2WR/1TE/1RB. The Packers have about a million wideouts who can all get open, and they've got Finley. The Saints have plenty of wideouts, Graham, and a stable of RBs who can get the job done. That allows both GB and NO to flood the field with more WRs than even excellent defenses can cover. It's not really surprising that the Chiefs were able to give the Packers a game, because they've got 2 very good corners AND a very good nickel, which allowed them to play even with the Packers wideouts.
The Patriots are different from those two in that they are really a 1WR/2TE/1RB team, which means that the second good corner is all but wasted and the pressure is put on the safeties in an era of weak safety play. The way to really slow the Patriots is to stick your CB1 on Welker and then double or shade coverage on Gronk and Hernandez with a good safety-LB combo. That's part of why a team like the Steelers could slow the Patriots down, and I bet it's one of the reasons Ryan's kicking himself for not getting a better safety than Smith in this past offseason.
The good news in this for the Patriots, from what I'm told, is that this year's safety crop looks weak.
My $.02.
That really is pretty much it. As we stand, the only receiver we have with the ability to beat press-man coverage with reasonable consistency is Ocho, and he can't get on the field.
That's why I have a problem with people who say we need a 'deep-threat' receiver. We actually don't. If we get a DeSean Jackson, he'll be able to take the top off the defense, but he'll struggle against the same kind of coverages both Welker and Branch struggle against. We need a physical presence that can line up wide and threaten from the outside, with the ability to beat man coverage with a combination of size and athleticism. A guy like Notre Dame's Michael Floyd, Dwayne Bowe, Marques Colston or Vincent Jackson would be perfect for this offense. He doesn't even have to be elite, or tremendously talented, just athletic enough and an above-average route runner.
They absolutely need a receiver that can threaten middle-deep. BB seems to understand this, given both his draft attempts and his trade attempts.