Interesting. I don’t remember that defense, but it certainly sounds a lot like what the Pats are doing now. Perhaps the most interesting thing in the comparison is that you can see where the Pats’ weakness is. Urlacher is a former safety who can cover a lot of ground in the middle of the field. Contrast him to Spikes who is a pure inside linebacker who can stop the run and you get a sense of why teams have had so much success targeting the flat in the last two seasons.
I don’t think the Pats are locked into this schematically, it’s just as much a function of their personnel with their lack of tackle depth behind Wilfork, and bevy of defensive end types.
I’m not saying Spikes needs to be replaced but I certainly think he needs to be pushed by someone in the mold of Urlacher who is better in space. Maybe Dane Fletcher is the answer, maybe not. I’m keeping an eye on those kind of players in free agency and the draft.
