PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

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On behalf of the team, players, myself, we want to pass along our best wishes to Chuck Fairbanks. Chuck is headed into some surgery today. I just want to pass along our best wishes to Chuck and his family. Chuck has been a good friend for a long time and he’s meant a lot to this organization. Really, at the time he came here, he did a great job in turning the Patriots around, making them into one of the top teams in the AFC. Also, some of the things he brought to the Patriots and the league in the ‘70s were things that stood the test of time and have been a big principle of this league for many, many years and the disciples and the people that were with him, such as the 3-4 defense, the way he organized the draft, personnel meetings, things like that and some of the great coaches that were here under Chuck.

Bill Belichick Press Conference Transcript

Fairbanks-Bullough 3-4!!

https://www.patspropaganda.com/patriots-fairbanks-bullough/

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Indeed if you look at the snaps that Welker missed because Edelman was preferred to him it works out at 16% of offensive snaps. Welker averaged 11% of snaps off the field in 2011, and well over 20% in both 2009 and 2010. Edelman might be the player picking up the snaps that Welker is spending off the field, but there is nothing to suggest that spending those snaps off the field is unusual for him.

Snap Counts – A Deeper Look | ProFootballFocus.com

https://www.patspropaganda.com/welker-snaps-edelman/

How worried do you think we should be about Arizona coming to foxborough sunday? I know everyone is already writing it off as a win (honestly, I am too) but I still think there should be cause for concern. Fitzgerald has been an elite receiver no matter who is throwing to him, and I’m still not sure about our secondary.

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Hmm, honest answer or voice of BB answer… let’s go honest. It’s going to take a very special game from the Cardinals to beat the Patriots. Defensively there’s no question that this is a talented group at all three levels. Calais Campbell and Darnell Dockett are no joke. But there are holes to attack, especially the outside linebackers, and the hurry up and spread should really put the pressure on Arizona and keep them from playing the way they’d like to.

Is it possible the Cards defensive line comes out on fire, the Pats o-line comes out flat, and things get dicey? Absolutely. But I still don’t believe the Cardinals have enough weapons outside of Larry Fitzgerald to put up enough points to keep up with the Pats. Last week the Pats defense looked the best they’ve looked since 2007, but I still think they’ll have some growing pains. Still, they’re offensive line is pretty brutal, and Chandler Jones should have a big day. Greg Bedard thinks he could have four sacks.

But ultimately it’s going to take a very special game, where all the bounces go the Cardinals way, for them to beat the Patriots in New England. Those games have happened in the past, see 2006 Jets/2010 Browns, but I just can’t imagine it happening this Sunday on the Pats home opener.

Who is our toughest opponent ? Not including bal, Pitt, or Houston

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Definitely the 49ers, that should be an excellent game especially in December on Sunday Night Football. Coming off a short week after playing the Texans on Monday night should make it even a little more challenging. But ultimately you want your team to be ready to play tough physical football in the playoffs and the 49ers should provide the perfect pre-playoff warm-up for us, especially for our offense.

Do you think that this new hybrid defense we are seeing could become a new type of base defense set that other teams could try and emulate? If so, what should it be called? A “2-5” maybe? Or maybe the “75 defense” after Big Vince like when Buddy Ryan named the 46 after Doug Plank?

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Oh I love this question! As I’ve written about a little bit I’ve been calling this defense the “Double Nose”, because it’s really like having two nose tackles from the old 3-4 in the middle, often two gapping, while trying to free up five other linebacker types to make plays. So in some ways you could also call it a 2-5. You’re right too though, 75 is a huge part of being able to run this defense because of the way he can control two gaps.

Here’s a good article about what the Pats did last year on defense from Chris Brown of SmartFootball.com. But last year was a lot closer to a traditional 4-3, even though they were mixing up gap responsibilities. They still do that but the biggest personnel switch has been going from someone like Shaun Ellis who is 6’ 5", 290, to someone like Rob Ninkovich who is 6’2", 260 at left defensive end. Ninkovich is really the key to this whole defense working against the run because he’s smaller than a traditional 4-3 defensive end. Usually the left defensive end spot is the place that gets run at the most.

Nink held up well against the run against the Titans, and though his pass rush numbers might’ve suffered a bit, he did everything they needed him too.

Ultimately the Patriots defense has evolved to this because in the modern NFL you need more athletes on the field, to not only get after the passer on every down, but also to deal with the numerous kinds of evolving threats that are becoming more and more common place.

So yes, I do think we could see more teams trying to emulate this style, but you really must have dominant nose tackle types like we have in Wilfork to make it work. Kyle Love’s improvement has also been a huge factor in making this defense work, and I’m sure we’ll see plenty of Ron Brace in there too before it’s all said and done.