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Boston Globe/Bedard: Patriots release Haynesworth
Not that surprising at all and Bedard does a great job breaking down why it happened and why it doesn’t really matter. It is unfortunate though. Haynesworth showed flashes of being absolutely dominant, but if you’re not making the effort you’ll be gone before you know it in Foxboro.
Now just counting down how long until Haynesworth is signing with the Jets.
NFL.com/Brooks: New England’s defense starting to jell after rough start to 2011
Now this is my kind of article! It’s a Spikes, Haynesworth, Arrington love fest! Here’s a nice little nugget about Arrington:
Part of his success can be attributed to his versatility, instincts and awareness. As a cover corner with size, strength and athleticism, Arrington is capable of playing in the slot or outside in the Pats’ sub package. He excels at jamming receivers early in their routes, which disrupts the timing of the passing game and produces errant throws from the quarterback. His aggressiveness challenges receivers to make tough grabs under duress, and the persistent contact leads to tips or deflections in the back end.
Andre Carter has been arguably the Patriots best player on defense over the course of the first six games of the season but his arrival in New England was somewhat of a perfect storm.
Bill Belichick decided during the off-season that it would be easier to install their four man nickel front as the base defense instead of the complicated three man front due to the lockout-shortened prep time. Belichick had always been a fan of Carter’s but did not see a fit for him the 3-4 defense, so when they made the move to a four man front it opened the door for Carter to come to the Patriots.
Carter has been the proverbial straw stirring the drink for the Patriots revamped 2011 defense. His ability to play both the run and get a pass rush has enabled the Patriots to become far less specialized. Instead of whole sale substitutions between run and pass defense the Patriots can now leave most of their personnel in place regardless of down and distance.
Carter’s stat line (via Pro Football Focus) has been impressive: 3 sacks, 5 QB Hits, and 9 QB pressures tell the story of his pass rush and 15 stops show what he’s done on run defense.
But with Carter only on a one year deal, and a full off-season in 2012 awaiting with the chance to return to Belichick’s favored 3-4 defense just what is the future of Andre Carter in New England?
If he truly doesn’t fit as a outside linebacker in the 3-4 would the Pats consider remaining in a four man front in 2012 based on the production they’re getting from him?
From my perspective the answer is clear. Carter has brought everything that this defense has missed over the past few seasons, and the results, especially in the last two games have been evident. The return to the 3-4 defense would not only put Carter’s future with the Pats in question but also Albert Haynesworth’s, and those are two impact players the Patriots should value.
While the switch to the 4-3 might have been based on lack of preparation time, it has also been an effective way to get pressure when offenses throw on early downs. The Patriots no longer have any 3-4 outside linebackers that can attack the edge like Carter can.
From both a schematic and personnel standpoint it seems like a no brainer to re-sign Carter to an extension and continue to roll with the 4-3. Of course what seem like no-brainer’s to us the fans are far from as cut and dry for Bill Belichick. But clearly, whatever move the Pats make with Carter will be a signal where the Pats defense is headed schematically in 2012.
Coming off one of their most straight-forward defensive package games in a long time it looks like this 2011 Patriots defense is starting to come clearly into focus. In 2010 it was an endless substitution parade given the situation but this year things have been a lot more simple, and a lot more easy for X and O gurus like me to track.
First, we begin with the Patriots primary defensive packages versus the Cowboys. The base 4-3 defense at the start looked as such:
In passing situations they went to a 3-3-5 nickel package that had Leigh Bodden come in at RCB, Arrington shift into the slot, and Ellis come off the field. Haynesworth replaced Kyle Love in early passing situations, although the rotation of interior defensive lineman was consistently varied in personnel, situation and where they lined up. However, outside of the interior guys the rest of the personnel rarely changed, and that was quite a departure than what we saw in 2010.
Now the question for the bye week is where the recovering members of this defense fit in and if this defense will remain as straight forward in their packages as we saw against Dallas.
The top five personnel questions for after the bye week (assuming we get healthy)…
Let’s all say a little prayer for Haynesworth’s back this week…
https://www.patspropaganda.com/lets-all-say-a-little-prayer-for-haynesworths/
Here’s my list of the Top 5 guys I’m praying to Hoodie are back at practice today. Or at least able to go on Sunday.
1. Albert Haynesworth – It will truly be a travesty if the Patriots are not able to take advantage of the struggling Jets offensive line. If Haynesworth plays and Nick Mangold does not Sanchez should take out some additional life insurance before kick off. There have been rumors that the Pats are holding Albert back for this game in particular. I don’t know if I necessarily buy that, though it seems like he’s getting close by the fact that he had a full pads practice last Wednesday.
2. Mike Wright – For similar reasons getting Wright back could be one of the biggest factors in how much of a Super Bowl push this Patriots team can make. Fanalysts can talk about “pass rushers” all they want, but until the Patriots have someone on the interior who can push the pocket they’re going to continue to struggle generating real pressure. Sadly I’ve all but written off Wright for the season, but it’d be nice to get him back at some point.
3. Leigh Bodden – Last time Bodden faced the Jets he picked off Mark Sanchez three times. Not to say that will mean much of anything Sunday, but Bodden needs to be out there to continue knocking off the rust. The trickle down effect through the secondary from having Bodden back would greatly improve what they can do. And put Kyle Arrington back in the slot where he’d been playing so well.
4. Aaron Hernandez – Really I could’ve put Hernando at number one but let’s face it, he’s a luxury at this point and it’s the defense that needs the most help. What we’ve seen in the two weeks since he’s been out is that he elevates the offense to another level. Gronk is an amazing player on his own, but when coupled with Hernando they’re pretty much unstoppable. Make no mistake, though he’s fourth here, I will jump for joy if he’s at practice later today.
5. Ras-I Dowling – Would it be too much for Ras-I to go a game without an injury? He’s shown some flashes out there, but it seems like every time he makes a play he’s injured a play later. It’s clear that they like him as an outside corner and not a Free Safety as many of us (me included) speculated. With all the big physical receivers that we’ve seen McCourty struggle with we could eventually see Dowling handling those guys in the future. If he can stay on the field. But it would be really helpful to have him on Plaxico in the red zone this weekend.
Just two weeks ago the Patriots convincingly beat the Dolphins 35-17 and now they’ll travel to Miami for the rematch this weekend where the Monday Night Football betting odds are looking pretty favorable. As someone who is primarily just rooting against injuries, things are always scary facing a team that has that DGAF attitude. And with […]
