PatsPropaganda

Things are starting to settle down a bit in the Patriots secondary for sure, but let’s see how they do against Houston and the 49ers before we get too excited.

The Patriots have cycled through a slew of defensive backs this season. Injuries, ineffectiveness and skipping on from ineffective combinations have forced their hand into moving guys around. But it now seems the intangible and invaluable attributes of confidence, aggressiveness and trust are starting to emerge. “You know how quickly it moves and how fast the game is, especially at that position,” said Belichick. “Just a split-second of anticipation or of saved reaction time can make the difference between making a play and giving up a play and those split-seconds are very hard to measure but the difference can be the difference in a game. So if you think that it’s improving, I think it should continue to improve, it needs to continue to improve. We’ve gotta really work hard at it. That’s everybody.”

With the return of safety Patrick Chung (shoulder) into the lineup, the Patriots used three sub packages against the Jets. There was the normal nickel package (41.5 percent before the final two Jet drives), with cornerback Kyle Arrington taking the place of a linebacker, either Dont’a Hightower or Brandon Spikes, and playing the “star” slot corner position. Chung was inserted as the fifth defensive back in a “big nickel” used to combat tight end Dustin Keller (16.9 percent). That’s the first time the Patriots have showed that this season. The dime package featuring Arrington and safety Tavon Wilson in place of Hightower and Spikes was used for just one snap against the Jets, although it had been featured before the injuries at safety. Add in that the Patriots continued to mix in more 3-4 alignment — their best run defense — along with their 4-3 base, and you have a defense that is becoming more multiple by the week.