Bill Belichick on WEEI – 9/10/2012
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IN FOCUS: Patriots TE Aaron Hernandez: Where Did He Line Up on Sunday? – Ian’s New England Patriots Blog :Ian’s New England Patriots Blog
Great stuff from Ian Logue over at PatsFans.com!
Fastest Rexy’s moved in two decades. And also the best hit the Bills got all day.
When we won championships, there was one similar characteristic to all those defenses – big plays that resulted in points. Sometimes just turnovers, sometimes scoring on defense. That’s exactly what this defense did on opening day. If they can keep this up, they’re on their way.
Offensive snaps: Where’s Welker? – New England Patriots Blog – ESPN Boston
Offensive snaps: Where’s Welker? – New England Patriots Blog – ESPN Boston
Receiver Wes Welker’s reduced workload stood out. After playing in 89.2 percent of the team’s total offensive snaps in 2011, he split time with Julian Edelman. Welker had a quiet game (3 catches for 14 yards) and this type of plan – and his playing time – makes one wonder if it’s the potential beginning of a less Welker-centric attack.
I wasn’t planning on commenting on this whole Welker storyline but an IM conversation with Frenz sparked my agitation enough that I had to chime in. These are the sorts of things you have to expect when there’s no a lot to complain about with your team.
So, a few points. The offense now has two primary pieces: Gronk and Hernandez. Clearly this is supported because they played all the snaps. Those two players can do a pretty good job at dominating the center of the field, something that Welker also excels at.
In 2011, there was no X wide receiving threat, thus the strengths of the Patriots wide outs were somewhat redundant to Hernando and Gronk. Welker and Branch also excelled in the middle of the field. The end result was a team that could dominate the short passing game in the middle of the field but struggled outside the numbers and deep.
Enter Brandon Lloyd, and the Patriots now have a legit X wide receiver who can challenge defenses on the perimeter. So it’s really Lloyd who ate in to Welker’s snaps a bit, and I’m not really sure why anyone is complaining about that.
Can anyone tell me why we’d want to go back to throwing to Welker constantly and getting him lit up multiple times per game? Welker is the definitive slot receiver, and not having to depend on your slot wide receiver to perform outside and deep is a luxury not a constraint.
Ultimately the Patriots will be a better offense without having to constantly lean on Welker, and Welker will be a better, and possibly, healthier player at the end of the year without having to take all the extra abuse.
Let’s not forget Welker still played almost double the snaps Edelman did, and just 14 less than Lloyd. Is the attack going to be less Welker-centric? Sure, but that’s a good thing for everyone involved.
As I see it a drop in Welker’s receptions will signify a better balanced offense, and one that will be more difficult to defend.
This week’s Bottom Line Player of the Week is an easy choice for me. It’s a guy that I wasn’t overly impressed with based on what was available of YouTube highlights. A guy I put on my big board somewhat reluctantly. And a guy that suddenly became the fastest riser just a week before the draft.
Yes, I’m talking about Chandler Jones. Even after the Pats selected him, and pundits like Mike Lombardi and Mike Mayock were saying he could end up being the best player in the draft, we all still thought it would take some time for Jones to find his way. He needed to get stronger. He wasn’t explosive.
Well what a different a few months make. Jones seized his opportunity when Rob Ninkovich missed a couple training camp practices and he’s barely left the field since. We’ve known all along that a true elephant defensive end in the mold of Willie McGinest is the kind of player the Patriots truly needed to do all the things they want to be able to do.
Andre Carter was a great addition last year, but we knew he wasn’t the ideal right end because he wasn’t really suited to play in space. But now Jones has left us all saying “Andre who?” just one game into the 2012 season.
Jones has shown up in every aspect of the game. From getting pressure, to playing stout and aggressive at the point of attack. He is going to be a cornerstone in this defense for a long, long time, so this should be his first of many Bottom Line Player of the Weeks.
Charting base vs. sub defense – New England Patriots Blog – ESPN Boston
Charting base vs. sub defense – New England Patriots Blog – ESPN Boston
The Patriots played two different sub packages on Sunday – a nickel with cornerback Ras-I Dowling replacing either linebacker Dont’a Hightower or linebacker Brandon Spikes, and a dime with Dowling and safety Tavon Wilson replacing Spikes and Hightower.
Quick look at the Patriots defensive packages on Sunday:
4-3 Base
50-75-74-95
54-55-51
32-28-25-24
Nickel
50-75-96-95
51-55
32-28-25-24-21
Dime
50-75-96-95
51
32-27-28-25-24-21
Of course there are tweaks to these groupings, including using Deaderick instead of Ninkovich for a heavier look, but really it hasn’t been this simple for the Pats on defense in a long time.
The great part of not using a ton of different guys is that it help communication develop. Imagine how well these guys should be working together by January. You can’t put a price on having a defense that is always on the same page. If they can stay healthy this could be a dominant group, and not just this year, but for the next five to ten years.