PatsPropaganda

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4-3

Couple more thoughts on the Patriots 4-3

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The interesting thing that I’ve found upon further analysis of the Patriots 4-3 defense is that the alignment of their interior lineman is actually more of a 4-3 Over than 4-3 Under.

In the 4-3 Over the Nose Tackle (Vince Wilfork) is to the weak side, and the defensive tackle (Haynesworth*) is on the strong side.

While in the traditional 4-3 Under like Pete Carroll’s (the one we initially thought was the model for the new Patriots tweak), the nose tackle is in the strong side A gap and the defensive tackle is in the weak B gap as somewhat of a better pass rush than run stopper.

Why the switch?

I’d say because they want to ensure that they protect Jerod Mayo with their best defensive lineman, aka Vince Wilfork. Haynesworth* would also work well on the strong side, blowing up runs and also getting mostly one-on-one match ups. With those two guys you’d only need two traditional defensive lineman.

But again, who knows what exactly we saw Thursday night. It was whatever BB felt like revealing to the sixteen NFL scouts that were in attendance. An extraordinary number of scouts all who needed to check out if the Patriots 4-3 rumors were legit.

Just look below at how much space Gary Guyton has. Now imagine he’s Jerod Mayo and that’s Wilfork and Moore in front of him. He’ll have plenty of space to use his speed and make plays all over the field.

Boston Globe: Bedard/Scout takes on the Patriots 4-3 Under

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Boston Globe: Bedard/Scout takes on the Patriots 4-3 Under

Here’s more on the 4-3 Under from Bedard with some takes from some NFL scouts as well:

What the scouts also noted was how the Patriots just let their linemen loose to go upfield, which is quite a departure from their traditional two-gap scheme.

One thing I’d question Bedard about is that I believe he has the Cunningham/Moore backwards in his analysis. Cunningham was the Strong side defensive end, and Moore was the weakside defensive end. I don’t know if that’s how it will play out when the bullets are really flying but it seems to make sense to me.

Bedard did elaborate on some of the differences between the 4-3 Under diagram from the last article and what the Patriots showed.

Other elements, such as the nose tackle playing on the weakside of the center, were different.

This is a slight tweak to the 4-3 Under that appears to spread out the pass rush across the line rather than focusing solely on the weak side. This isolates the defensive tackle (hopefully Haynesworth) on the strong side with a one on one match up with the guard. If the right tackle tries to block down on the DT the result would be a tight end trying to block both the defensive end and the SLB.

Interesting stuff. Can’t wait to see how it looks when the games really count.

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“I don’t think the defensive philosophy’s gonna change,” Belichick added. “How we align and how we handle the responsibilities could definitely change by game plan or by what we feel are our strengths and weaknesses, but I don’t think fundamentally our philosophy and techniques will change. I think what we’re teaching, we’ll continue to teach and use on a very consistent basis. How we want to move guys around or put them in certain formations … I think there’s flexibility there.”

“We have an assortment of things to choose from from my time here and depending on how our teams shapes up, what some of these players can do (will help decide the scheme). Some of these players I’ve never coached before so I’m not sure exactly how they’ll fit in or what roles they’ll play in this defense. We’ll just have to wait and see how that turns out. I think we’ll have enough defense where we’ll be able to.”

BB

https://www.patspropaganda.com/i-dont-think-the-defensive-philosophys-gonna/

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“Honestly, most people thought we played a 4-3 at the Giants. Lawrence Taylor did a lot more rushing than he did pass-dropping; probably 80-90 percent of the time he was the rusher in the defense,” Belichick said.

“It wasn’t always a pass, but certainly in passing situations and a lot of pass plays, he was the designated fourth rusher, which really put us in what amounts to a 4-3.

"Honestly, I think that’s something that is a media fabrication. There are a lot of different alignments out there. You see 4-3 teams use odd spacing. You see 3-4 teams use even spacing. You have 11 players, you can put them in various positions. Whether you want to put it on the pre-game depth chart as one thing or another, I think is a little bit overrated.

"You play different fronts, you play different spacing, and you teach the techniques of your defense. That is what consistent, techniques that are taught in different defensive systems, whether those teams go from three-man line to a four-man line, or a four-man line to an odd spacing line, or overs to unders, or unders to overs, or over-wides, whatever you want to call it. They will continue to play the same fundamental techniques as they’ve been teaching for the entire year, for the most part. I think that’s what teaching defensive fundamental football is about. It’s about fundamentals. Wherever you put them, you’ve got to people other people in complementary places, however you decide to do that.

"It’s pretty straight-forward really … It’s more the teaching, techniques and fundamentals you teach your defensive players, more than it is the 4-3, 3-4 lineup that is so important to put on the flip card.”

BB, apparently ripping off my post from yesterday…

https://www.patspropaganda.com/honestly-most-people-thought-we-played-a-4-3-at/

Notes on a Patriots defensive scheme shift

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I know everyone has been going crazy about the possibility of the Pats going to a 4-3 defense this season, of course I’m right there with you. But I’ve found a lot of misinformed articles over the past few days and there are some points that I’d like to hammer home.

  • First, the defense was and will always be a multiple front defense. Let’s not make a bigger deal out of this than we need to, as much as I’d like to. It’s easy to get caught up in things like position names like DE and OLB, but they’re somewhat meaningless and don’t tell the real story about how versatile the Patriots defense remains.
  • The fact remains that while the Pats lack elite 3-4 defensive ends they still have a plethora (yes, plethora) of two-gap type 3-4 defensive tackles. Other than Myron Pryor and maybe Mike Wright I don’t see any traditional 4-3 defensive tackles which leads me to my next point…
  • I suspect that the Patriots version of the 4-3 will not be the straight up Colts/Giants version that is so common. I fully expect two-gap principals on the interior line (Wilfork/Haynesworth/Brace/Love) to remain.
  • If anything I believe it would almost be more of a 2-5-4 scheme that would have a 4-3 Over look.
  • The advantage of the 3-4 is that offenses don’t know where the pressure is going to come from. In a straight up 4-3 you know exactly where it’s coming from, the defensive ends. With how much BB values disguise I don’t see him suddenly moving to the most straight-forward defense that exists in football.
  • Just because Jermaine Cunningham and Eric Moore are seeing time at defensive end doesn’t mean they’ll be expected to suddenly be Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis. We’ll still see both on their feet and dropping into coverage at times. That is the great advantage the Patriots would have running a 4-3. Their defensive ends are already comfortable dropping into coverage. This would allow you to throw zone blitz looks fairly easily, with the defensive ends dropping into coverage and a linebacker or defensive back blitzing.
  • Playing at weak outside linebacker would almost assuredly mean over 200 tackles for Jerod Mayo, including more sacks and perhaps interceptions as well. In the 4-3, the weak OLB usually has free reign, meaning Mayo would no longer have to defeat guards and could fully use his incredible speed to make plays all over the field.
  • The Patriots overall team speed and athleticism would be far greater with five linebacker-types on the field, meaning that in their base defense they might be a little more susceptible to the running game, but they’d also be a little more prepared for the passing game on early downs.
  • The number one question that remains is when the Patriots play a run heavy team like the Ravens what do they do? Can they stop the run consistently in this new formation if it is indeed their new base defense? Last year they played the 3-4 on 58 of 77 snaps versus Baltimore. The only really significant storyline is that if they’re no longer running the 3-4 against the offenses that rely on the run game first and foremost.
  • Here’s a diagram of a 4-3 Over defense which is probably the closest thing to what we think the Pats would probably run, and really it’s not that far from a 3-4.

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NT – Wilfork, 3-tech – Haynesworth, SAM – Guyton, Mike – Spikes, Wwill – Mayo, Buck – Cunningham, DE – Moore

Now it should be a little clearer why Mayo at WLB would have free range, he’s protected by Haynesworth and Moore.

You can also see how much freedom they’d have with two defensive ends who can drop into coverage.

This defense also could make Brandon Spikes a star. Not only would he have more protection from guards, he’d also only have to concern himself with the middle flat in pass coverage which of course was not his strength last year.

We won’t know for sure what the Patriots have brewing until September 12th but it’s certainly fun to speculate based on the camp reports. As they continue to court 4-3 personnel it seems more and more likely that this is a change in philosophy to some extent, but the principals of fielding a big, tough, smart football team will always remain.

Until we see the Patriots in a 4-3 defense against a heavy run team these changes remain “tweaks” in my mind, as opposed to anything that radical. It’s simply trying to get the best players on the field, playing to their strengths, while trying to fix the problems with the pass defense that we’ve seen for the past few seasons.