PatsPropaganda

Depends on the game/gameplan (assuming Wilfork is back of course). Could be Tommy Kelly (assuming Kelly is back) against a run-heavy team. Or it could be Wilfork/Chandler/Ninkovich/Third DE in a pass-heavy game, or even throw Chris Jones/Armstead in there for Wilfork for an all-out pass rush game plan.

As much as I criticized the Pats in 2010 for all their specialization on defense, the Seahawks proved how you can make it work. The difference is the talent level. The 2010 Pats’ defense was not that talented nor experienced.

But now, with the pieces they have, it’s the makings of a very good specialized defense that can do a number of different things. We’ll see how well they build on it this spring, because there are certainly still a lot of questions.

Because there are maybe 5 QBs in the NFL that can execute for 60 mins without a mistake. It’s just playing the odds. Sometimes they play great, mistake-free ball and you tip your cap to them. But most of the time the only sure-fire way to lose is giving them big chunks of yardage because you’re trying to throw all kinds of exotic blitzes at them.

And the Pats have given up more 20+ plays than anyone over the last few years. Their red zone defense has saved them in that regard.

Offensively it’s about taking what’s there. Taking risks by trying to force it results in turnovers and losses. 

Line up, make sure everyone has the call, try to get pressure with three or four guys and most of the time you’ll at least give yourself a chance to win. 

Ah yes, my bread and butter. I can’t really speak to Romeo’s defense now, but with the Pats he ran the classic Fairbanks-Bullough 34.

The philosophy of that defense is for the front three linemen (two five-technique defensive ends lining up over the offensive tackles and a zero technique nose tackle lining up over the center) “building the wall”. 

What this means is that they attack the opponent across from them and try to control them, holding the line of scrimmage. Then it is the responsibility of the linebackers to fly around and make the plays.

The Patriots don’t run this defense much any more, it’s more of a specialized tool in the toolbox for really good running teams. Now they’ll mix and match more, with elements of it still existing, often on just one side of the field.

Wade Phillips and Dick Lebeau’s version of the 3-4 is more of an attacking 34 where the defensive linemen are attacking gaps instead of attacking their opponents.

The linebackers have to deal with more oncoming blockers but have less responsibility to make all the plays. This also enables things like the zone blitz that Lebeau created where a defensive lineman will drop into a coverage zone.

When I was first getting into serious blogging I asked this same question of Tedy Bruschi on a chat and his response was pretty cool:

Mike Dussault (Patriots Nation West) Hey Tedy, big fan, been wearing your jersey on game days for many years. Could you comment on the unique characteristics of a Bill Belichick 3-4 defense as compared to other 3-4 defenses around the NFL? Is it more read and react as oppose to defenses like the Steelers/Jets which are more attacking?

Tedy Bruschi Mike, I think you should be conducting this chat. You hit it on the head about the difference between the Patriots’ 3-4 and other teams.

From my perspective, a defensive end is priority number one in external free agency. They just can’t go into 2014 planning on running Ninkovich and Chandler into the ground playing almost every snap again.

Mark Anderson is the perfect model, that third guy who can be your designated pass rusher, but also fill in from time to time at defensive end. Buchanan gives some depth and I like him and would love to see him take a big leap forward, but they cannot rely upon that.

With the higher salary cap there will be a lot of big contracts thrown around, but I think the Pats have to make an investment in someone like Jared Allen or Lamarr Houston. 

It’s a matter of having guys who can win one-on-one without BB having to be overly aggressive with his scheme by sending extra guys on blitzes. Between Kelly/Wilfork and the young guys I think they’ll be okay at tackle one way or another, but they really need to add a third defensive end in free agency as I see it.

This is always how it is on both sides of the ball. Were they better with the best tight end in the NFL in the lineup? Of course. But each season is a story unto itself. 

The Patriots experiment in those early weeks to find out what they have. Sometimes you’ll see a random player getting a huge spike in playing time for apparently no reason. This is to see what his strengths are and if there’s a way to use him effectively. Maybe that player sticks or maybe they’re never seen again, it’s up to how he performs.

After the first four-to-six games they start to get a sense of who they are, again, on both sides of the ball. Who are the clutch players? How are defenses playing us? Can we threaten all dimensions of the defense? Where are our weak links?

Once questions like these start to get answered they will start to play to their strengths and hide their weaknesses as best that they can.

Invariably the Patriots are always rock solid after Thanksgiving, but look at some of their early season losses in recent years. The Cardinals in Foxboro, the Bills, even games they don’t lose that are strangely close.

It boils down to the fact that the football season is a campaign and, as I wrote yesterday, it’s about putting your best team out there to compete in January and that one game in February.

It’s not about blowing the Cardinals out in Week 2. They of course want and expect to win those games, but the early weeks are as much about self-evaluation as it is winning the game.

So by the playoff game against Indy what did they know? That their running game was a huge strength, that they could play man or zone defense, etc. When they played to those strengths and avoided what they weren’t good at, we saw the true 2013 Patriots.

Against the Broncos they just couldn’t hide their weaknesses, especially after Talib went down and they got in a hole. They couldn’t man up and their offense wasn’t explosive enough to come back in that situation.

So, the experiment will start again in 2014 with or without Gronk. They’ll feel it out in early weeks and then start to refine everything once November hits.