Just about anywhere you look these days you'll hear the pundits and bloggers say the Patriots need to improve their pass rush this off season, and as Pats fanatic I have to agree. Sure, the secondary was raked across the coals more than once this year, but I believe one or two players could make the entire Patriots defense look a lot better than they did in 2009.
The Patriots D was split almost evenly in 2009 between a base 3-4 (or 4-3 the first half of the season) and sub-packages. The most common passing down subpackage we saw early on was one with Derrick Burgess, Tully Banta-Cain, Mike Wright, and Jarvis Green as down lineman. Their job was to apply pressure and they were just so-so.
Later we saw a new sub-package that Patriots nation was excited to see, dubbed the Five and Dime. While at first it seemed like this new subpackage, with five linebackers and six defensive backs, was a throwback to the early dynasty days when Coach Belichick was known for innovative defenses designed to confuse opponents. In reality the Five and Dime was more of an attempt to generate pressure because the earlier pass rush subpackages were not generating enough.
Continue reading "Patriots Defense Only a Pressure Player Away"
