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Breaking Down Patriots’ Pass Rush Concerns: Where Is New England’s Pressure? | Bleacher Report – Mike Dussault

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Breaking Down Patriots’ Pass Rush Concerns: Where Is New England’s Pressure? | Bleacher Report – Mike Dussault

New article up on Bleacher Report from me Mike D.!

Schematically, the Patriots shifted their defense to a lighter 4-3 front featuring Vince Wilfork and Kyle Love, two traditional nose tackle-types in the old 3-4, in the middle. The advantage is that the Patriots now have at least five athletic linebacker-types on the field at all times, and, in theory, should be able to rush the passer on any down. The key to this switch has been Rob Ninkovich, who, despite being smaller than a traditional Patriots defensive end like Ty Warren, has been able to hold up in the run game. Ninkovich has been timely with his big plays, but the Pats still need a more consistent pass rush from him.

How Do the Patriots Match Up Against Potential Playoff, Super Bowl Opponents? | Bleacher Report

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How Do the Patriots Match Up Against Potential Playoff, Super Bowl Opponents? | Bleacher Report

Up and at ‘em Pats Planet! We start the second half of the season today!

There won’t be much margin for error, Denver will be hot on their tails, and they’ll need to beat the Texans and get help to have any shot at the top seed. For the Second Seed it will take consistent football and they’ll need to really play well at home if they want to be playing at home in the playoffs. 

If I had to line up who the Pats most want to see:…

Are the Patriots going “all in” acquiring Aqib Talib?

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On Thursday the Patriots acquired Aqib Talib and a 2013 seventh-round pick for a 2013 fourth-round pick, in a move directly aimed at improving their single biggest trouble spot.

A fourth round pick is fairly significant compensation for a player currently serving a suspension, and with a history of meatball moves.

But at this point in Tom Brady’s career, why not?

The secondary is clearly a weakness for this team and let’s be honest, the only missing ingredient from being a real Super Bowl favorite.

Talib might work out. He might not and walk at the end of the season leaving the Pats holding on to a seventh round draft pick that they gave up a fourth for. We can worry about that in February.

But let’s imagine a world in which he does work out. Most experts seem to think he’s the best defensive back on the Patriots roster the day he walks through the door. That might be a little bold, but there’s no question Talib has talent and size.

To get back to the Super Bowl the Pats will have to shut down some combination of Joe Flacco, Ben Roethlisberger, Peyton Manning and Matt Schaub. All of those teams can fling it.

The Pats won’t be so lucky to get a Tim Tebow quarterbacked team in the divisional round. And you can bet whoever they face is going to go after them through the air.

Some think a 4th round pick is too much to give up, but since they lack a 5th and 6th rounder in 2013 it’s not like they had a lot of options. And those picks in the first three rounds could easily be traded down to acquire more mid-round picks if the Pats want to round out their selections.

The Pats history of poor drafting has left me viewing draft picks more as raffle tickets anyway. And at this point the Pats can no longer continue to select ten players every April. There’s not going to be same turnover of veterans like there was in 2008 and 2009. The Patriots are young now, and better served to target specific selections like they did in 2012 with Chandler Jones and Dont’a Hightower.

If Talib can just solidify one corner position the trade will be well worth it. You can’t underestimate the impact having one good corner can have through the rest of the secondary. Not to say Talib is Revis, but it certainly would allow the Patriots to roll coverages and give help in other areas.

The outcome of this trade cannot be solely judged on whether or not the Pats win the Super Bowl. If their pass defense improves, and they’re able to knock off a couple pass-happy teams I will consider it a success.

But winning a Super Bowl takes 53 guys all on the same page. Can Talib get on the same page? That’s the question. But I like the aggressiveness, especially since Brady isn’t getting any younger and the secondary seemingly not getting any better.

5 Points of Emphasis for Patriots vs. the Bye Week

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Yes, it’s the bye week, that one dreaded week that happens once per football season without a Patriots game. Once Monday hits the push for a fourth Super Bowl begins so here are some things the Patriots should be regrouping on with the extra time.

1. Find the best secondary combination: There are a lot of questions about the secondary right now, and that’s compounded injuries. With the cutting of Sterling Moore the Pats are even down another defensive back. So from what we’ve seen so far what is the best combination? And how does Aqib Talib fit into the equation?

Here’s what we think is the ideal: Gregory and McCourty at safety, Dennard and Talib as your outside corners and then Cole (or perhaps Arrington) at star. Keep Wilson at Money and use Chung in an in-the-slot role in sub packages depending on the match-ups.

The only issue that could come up is if they want a better in-the-box safety on the field since Gregory and McCourty seem better suited to the back end. But we do need the most help on the back end. The hard part is boiling down Chung’s role. That will be an interesting place to watch.

Regardless the Pats must figure out what the best combo in the secondary is and hope to ride it out for the next three months plus. As always health is paramount  back there.

2. Stay out of trouble – The Pats practiced on Thursday then most of them will probably get out of town one last time over the weekend. Last year over the bye we had the infamous Gronk-Bibi Jones incident. Hopefully this year he’s learned from that and will just stick to harmless fun like playing some Giants in Halo. This is a young team so you never know what to expect, but hopefully every one of them stays out of the news.

3. Fine tune the offense – “Finding an identity” has been a big buzz phrase surrounding the Patriots offense, which is kind of strange to say of the best offense in the NFL. Perhaps more appropriate would be to find consistency. The identity of this offense is one that can do whatever the defense isn’t prepared for, but the execution has been up and down at times from both the play calling stand point and the players’.

When self-evaluating this week the Pats need to find the kind of plays they can hang their hat on in crunch time. The kind of plays they can execute when they’re not dictating the pace to the defense. Things are easy when the defense is on it’s heels, but this Patriots offense needs to do a better job of putting the hammer down when the momentum is not in their favor. Doing this in crunch time might be the biggest key to a Super Bowl run this year (as it always is).

4. Get healthy – The Patriots haven’t been devastated by season-ending injuries so far this year, but they’ve had a ton of lingering minor ones that just won’t seem to go away. If nothing else the time off will give some of these injuries a chance to heal up a bit more. The players who most need it: Logan Mankins, Aaron Hernandez, Steve Gregory, Dont’a Hightower and Patrick Chung.

As of Thursday the guys still missing practice (full pads) were Arrington, Bolden, and Hernandez.

5. Finish – As always this is our final key. How does one finish during the bye week? It’s simple, getting your personal life in order for the long last stretch of football that could last another three full months, and putting aside all distractions that might keep focus from the ultimate goal.

There’s no question that despite their (limited) flaws the Patriots have another chance to make a run at the Super Bowl. They’ll have some good tests in the second half of the season, but the pieces are in place. They must take advantage of their opportunities, especially to secure as many home playoff games as possible.

Where Are the New England Patriots Struggling Most on Defense?

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Where Are the New England Patriots Struggling Most on Defense?

New on Bleacher Report from yours truly…

The Pats are currently ranked 32nd in the NFL in passes over 20-yards allowed with 42, and they’re tied for 28th in passes allowed over 40-yards with six. The bombs are dropping left and right and the Patriots defense has no answers. This is nothing new really. The 2011 Pats were also the worst in the NFL at giving up 20-plus passing plays, but the difference? Last year they gave up just four touchdowns all year out of all 79 bombs, but this year through eight games and 42 bombs they’ve already given up ten touchdowns.