PatsPropaganda

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Does it feel like BB is prizing versatility on defense at the expense of talent?We have players who can play multple positions, but few outside of Big Vince and Spikes (jury’s still out on jones) seem to dominate

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This is certainly a criticism that is coming to the forefront in the last week, and I don’t think it’s totally off-base. Spikes is the perfect example, he’s one of the few players that is truly a master of something, but limited in another. At the opposite end of the spectrum you Patrick Chung, who is okay at a lot of things, but not great at anything.

It comes back to value drafting, and you can understand why having guys who can do a number of things could be valuable, especially in the secondary.

Asante Samuel is a good example too. He’s an elite zone read corner, but tackling, man-to-man, and special teams are certainly not his thing.

So I certainly think the case can be made that the balance has shifted too much to guys who can do it all okay, but nothing great. The reason they’re losing games is because they’re not making plays (on either side of the ball) when the game is on the line, and part of that can be a function of just not having enough elite talent in certain spots.

Still, this is a defense that forces turnovers at an elite level so that has to count for something as well. Really I think it just comes down to finding a back end safety with range and leadership. Those are hard to come by these days, but one player like that could elevate the play of the entire secondary, especially someone like McCourty.

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It’s Friday and the Patriots are in red this weekend! Shouldn’t you be too? DO YOUR JOB!

https://www.patspropaganda.com/patriots-belichick-do-your-job/

It Is What It Is » Mike Lombardi on D&C: Patriots DBs ‘have to get better’

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It Is What It Is » Mike Lombardi on D&C: Patriots DBs ‘have to get better’

Must listen every week!

“It’s certainly a concern and obviously it has to rely on some of the players. I think what you saw, let’s be real honest here, Patrick Chung’s ball skills down the field have got to get better,” Lombardi said. “I don’t know how you make them better, how you make his instincts better on the ball down the field. I think not having Steve Gregory back there is certainly a concern. … They have to get better at making plays down the field. [Devin] McCourty, everyone. And I think ultimately its something that will be worked on. It’s a skill. … Instincts for DBs are something we don’t talk enough about, we always talk about size and speed. But I think instincts really play an important part, and ultimately, that’s a hard thing to coach.”

Should the Patriots dial up pressure and blitz Sanchez? – Boston Sports Then & Now

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Good question. Let’s take a quick look back at how much the Pats have blitzed him in the past:

2010

  • 11 blitzes, 34 dropbacks. Jets win 28-14
  • 6 blitzes, 36 dropbacks. Pats win 45-3
  • 12 blitzes, 25 dropbacks. Jets win 28-21

2011

  • 7 blitzes, 28 dropbacks. Pats win 30-21
  • 4 blitzes, 47 dropbacks. Pats win 37-16

Now I don’t want to read too much into because obviously there are other factors at play, but it seems like less is more with Sanchez. The two best defensive performances had them sending extra guys on only 6 and 4 drop backs.And given the Patriots struggles in the secondary it might be even more reason to focus more on coverage than sending extra guys.

The Pats should pick their spots, but I think they want to be around 7 or 8 blitzes against the Jets.

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Stevan Ridley rocks the CCR jumpsuit. It’s not a onesie! Get one for yourself here, if you think you can pull it off. If they made Patriots ones I’d pounce.

https://www.patspropaganda.com/stevan-ridley-rocks-the-ccr-jumpsuit-its-not-a/