PatsPropaganda

As we enter the silly season of free agency and draft, I need to make my yearly commentary about a topic that everyone seems to forget about – the development of young players on the roster.

It’s already started. “The Patriots need weapons”. “The Patriots focus too much on the bottom of their roster”. “Over-priced free agent X is the perfect fit”. “The Patriots should trade up to take player X”. Etc…

The most under mentioned and under appreciated part of team building is improvement by young players. Player X was inconsistent as a rookie? Replace him with Mike Wallace!

The Patriots featured one of the youngest teams in the NFL last year, especially on defense. You cannot discount major strides that could potentially be made by players like Logan Ryan, Dont’a Hightower (who got a ton of experience this year), Jamie Collins, Aaron Dobson and the other rookie WRs, among others.

Michael Buchanan might just be one of the biggest guys to focus on come training camp. His emergence could be a major factor for the Pats if he’s able to take strides in his run defense and pass rush arsenal.

So before we list the “needs” you need to account for young players getting some benefit of the doubt to develop. Do you go out and pay a huge ransom for a free agent wide receiver and the expense of retarding Dobson’s progression?

I’m all for good competition, but you have to trust the draft process and understand that most players don’t truly excel as rookies. It’s takes time and if they’re not given that time they might never hit their full potential.

If someone wants to pony up a second rounder for him, by all means I’d be happy to hand him over. Personally, I haven’t seen enough out of Mallet in three preseasons to make me think he’s ready to be a starter in the league. His inconsistency issues have continued and he hasn’t shown as much progress as I’d like.

But there is something to be said for having a quarterback who’s been in the system for a while in back of Brady, especially as he gets up there in age. Mallet might not excel running the offense as it’s tailored to Brady, but if he ever had to play in a real game, the gameplan would play to his strengths.

And maybe it would give the “deeeeep threat” crowd finally something to be excited about.

I’m looking closely at quarterbacks in the draft now. With four years left on Brady’s deal we’re entering the sweet spot to develop a potential heir. As I’ve said many times, I think Belichick will see replacing Brady as one of the great challenges of his career. The kind of thing that I think he’ll be determined to attempt.

Obviously the Aaron Rogers-Brett Favre model is the ideal. And I don’t think anyone is holding their breath for a Peyton-Luck scenario.

The biggest question is philosophical. Do they stick with a pocket passer in the mold of Brady/Mallet. Or do they try to develop more of an athlete? It’s simple math. A quarterback who can run a bit puts so much additional stress on a defense and it seems clear that is where the game is heading. There are few Andrew Lucks who can throw but run when he needs to. There are even fewer Cam Newtons.

If the Super Bowl proved anything about offenses it’s the value of a quarterback who isn’t necessarily flashy, but doesn’t make the killer mistakes and plays within himself. I think over everything else, that is the kind of guy the Pats will try to develop behind Brady.

Well the primary switch was made in 2011 due to the shortened training camp because of the lockout. BB said it was easier to teach their nickel front instead of the complex 3-4.

The Pats were primarily a 3-4 defense during the Super Bowl-winning years but now, they only really use it in games where stopping the run is the priority. If you see them in a 3-4 now, it’s because BB sees the running game as the key to the opposition’s offense. Still, it’s a different version of the 3-4 now, as Chandler Jones is a different defensive end that Richard Seymour.

The Pats’ version of the 4-3 is quite different than the traditional 4-3 defenses. Often others are a one-gap 4-3, but the Patriots version mixes the techniques along the line. One side of the defense might be in a 3-4, with the defensive linemen two-gapping, while the other side is a 4-3 look with the defensive tackle one-gapping. This is similar to the front the Seahawks run now as well.

The shift to this style I believe is in responses to stopping the pass. It’s a way to get more athletes on the field, since it is almost as much a 2-5 as it is a 4-3. There are more athletes on the field this way and, in theory, they’ll be better to defend the pass.

In a lot of ways 3-4 vs. 4-3 is just semantics. Just because you might suddenly see Ninkovich stand up at defensive end doesn’t mean it’s a 3-4 defense. What defines the defense are the techniques played up front. The old 3-4 in the simple days had three defensive linemen all playing two gaps and the linebackers behind them making the plays.

It’s never this straight forward anymore, outside of 2011 when the Pats were getting killed by Tebow and the running game of the Broncos so they went to this straight-up 3-4.

The biggest thing going forward to to acquire and develop as many versatile linebackers and defensive linemen as possible, with a focus on pass rush. Edge rushers and interior rushers are the priority over old school two-gapping nose tackles, though having one or two of those to plug in the opponents favorite run gap is always nice.

Here’s a great read on the Pats’ defense from 2011.

Yes, it was a good read here from Doug Kyed.

This is a three part answer, first comes the defensive line. The Pats were just killed by injuries this season but the Seahawks had so many specific tools that they mix and match to exploit whatever they want. The Pats should be in better position at DL to mimic this in 2014, and in some ways it flashes back to 2010 when the Pats were very much a specialized front. They just weren’t very talented.

But similar to Seahawks, you might have Wilfork two-gapping and Kelly one-gapping, with Nikovich/Jones either rushing or dropping. The biggest difference is the Pats need at least one more defensive end who can rush the quarterback, and more depth at defensive tackle. Chris Jones and Siliga are good pieces to getting closer to what the Seahawks did.

The next part is linebackers, where the Seahawks feature closer to traditional 4-3 backers and the Pats are more 3-4 guys playing in the 4-3. Mayo is a good piece, but Spikes, Hightower and Collins would either not play for Seattle or not be linebackers. Collins and Hightower would probably be defensive ends. Spikes wouldn’t have a position.

I think this difference is an overall philosophical one. Belichick leans toward physicality at linebacker over speed. At least in recent years. Maybe that will evolve, though with Mayo and Collins they have two unique pieces that will be interesting to watch.

Finally comes the secondary. While the Pats prefer physicality in their linebackers to speed, the Hawks prefer physicality in their corners and strong safety opposed to speed. Earl Thomas’ range enables them to do this in large part. Perhaps McCourty is headed to that kind of play as well, though I’d still put him a tier below Thomas.

Talib could play anywhere, but Arrington/Dennard/Ryan would not fit in Seattle. All are pretty physical and can play man, but are undersized.

The biggest takeaways I see from the Seattle defense is to find a bigger, more intimidating strong safety than Gregory or Harmon. Add as many pass rushers as possible, and shift the linebackers to more speed than size. Letting Spikes walk is a step towards this.

There is more than one way to put together a good defense, but what the Super Bowl proved to me, once again, is that it is all about pass rush. You can cover any deficiency in the secondary with a consistent pass rush. But you have to do it with four guys and not with some exotic blitz scheme.

The Pats didn’t have the rotation upfront, especially playing in Denver, to get pressure like they needed to against Peyton. Maybe with renewed health and a couple additions, their pass rush will take the next step.