Mike Dussault

Oh, good one. I think the single greatest strength of Belichick is breaking down an opponent to just a few key things that his team needs to do to beat them. I’ve read a lot of different former players talk about this and you can also see it a bit in BB’s Football Life. 

He simplifies the game for his players and nine times out of 10, if they execute his handful of keys to the game, they’ll be successful.

As for weakness, I think it’s his conservative philosophy on defense. I don’t think they need to be an all-out blitzing defense like the Jets can be, but I don’t think teams are afraid of the Patriots defense any more. Really since 2008. 

Maybe it’s just because they aren’t as good as they were with Bruschi/Vrabel/Seymour/Vince/Rodney. That he was coaching the same way with those guys, but because they had more talent they were able to win their matchups more consistently. It’s possible.

I also think things have improved a bit since Talib arrived and they started playing more press man. The combination of mostly zone coverages and a passive defense that doesn’t blitz often was a formula for giving up yards upon yards.

Nowhere is this deficiency more apparent on third down. You can read more about how bad they’ve been on third down here.

We need to see more creativity and more pass rushing talent on the team. So that goes back to BB the GM and BB the coach.

I’ve given up. They’re just not going to be a chuck-and-duck team. They’ll continue to take shots down the field and hopefully Dobson progresses to add more of a vertical element, but let’s face it, it’s just not what Brady does best.

What they need most are guys who can get open quick and make tacklers miss. They play to Brady’s strengths.

Honestly, Bedard hit the nail on the head saying based on the production we’ve seen out of every player who’s come through the Pats slot position. I like Edelman but I don’t think he’s irreplaceable.

I could easily Amendola having a big year in 2014. And I’m curious to get a look at TJ Moe in training camp. He’s a rookie free agent, although he’s coming off a torn achilles just like Big Vince. Also Mark Harrison, a physical freak who never came off PUP.

Thompkins has a lot of work to do, as does Boyce. Competition should be brought in to push them. We’ll see if any of them can make the leap.

There’s not really much of secret of how to stop him. Get consistent pressure with four guys and disrupt the timing of the offense by pressing his receivers at the line.

Knowing that is one thing, executing it for a full 60 minutes is another.

You’re not going to beat him with scheme or wrinkles, i.e. the mental game, you need to beat his offense physically.

This is known as beating elite passing QBs 101. Look at any Patriots loss where Brady gets shut down and this is what it likely looks like as well, especially the two Super Bowl losses. 

If your defensive line is winning in the trenches you’re likely going to win the gam unless your QB is inept and your offense turns the ball over.

The takeaway, as always, is that in the league you need two things – a solid QB with good protection and an elite pass rush. If you have those two things you’re on your way.