2012 NFL Season Preview – CBSSports.com

Tons of great stuff in this article, MUST READ ALERT! And I’m not just saying that because they pick the Pats to go 16-0.

The Patriots’ defense needed an injection of talent and they headed right to the draft, taking the first six players on the defensive side of the ball. Coach Belichick has always loved ‘Joker’ players that made it tough on a QB to figure out who was rushing, or dropping in coverage. When the Patriots were great on defense, Tedy Bruschi, Willie McGinest, and Mike Vrabel were the jokers. Now the Patriots will develop Chandler Jones in the Willie McGinest role, Dont’a Hightower in the Tedy Bruschi role and Jake Bequette in the Mike Vrabel role. You really can’t call this defense a 3-4 or a 4-3; it’s a pure Belichick creation. Last year this group only gave up 51 points in three playoff games (17 per game) so they weren’t that far off, but they should be even better this year.