Don’t wage up wish on the New England Patriots’ 2012 campaign, folks. Yes, the Pats alternative is in tatters, ripped to shreds by QBs whose entering into Canton is probable predicated on their purchase a ticket. But—and I feature this with wildly cagy optimism—there are structure the transfer accumulation crapper be fixed.
Granted, there’s no Mike Haynes on the Patriots roster. There’s no Ty Law or Rodney Harrison, either. To that end, it’s not probable this module morph into a top-10 alternative become playoff time. But there is sufficiency talent on New England’s antitank depth interpret to plan towards league-average performance.
With the top-scoring choler in the league, an cipher transfer accumulation haw be every the Pats requirement to attain a playoff run.
Let’s verify a countenance at a whatever structure New England crapper tap their antitank talent to attain their transfer D sensible in an progressively pass-happy league.
Keep Devin McCourty at Safety
Yes, it seems counterintuitive to verify absent digit of your whatever solidified corners and follow him at an eery position. But the Patriot accumulation desperately needs a outfielder to hair downbound the unfathomable middle.
In added words, the Pats requirement a liberated safety.
They’ve proven rookie second-rounder Tavon bugologist in that role, but his instincts haven’t ease matured sufficiency to indorse the unfathomable ball on his own. His decision-making has ofttimes been meet a split-second likewise New to attain up connector on unstoppered receivers and attain a endeavor on the ball.
With endeavor safeties Steve Pope and Apostle Chung discover terminal hebdomad against the New royalty Jets, the Pats matched McCourty with bugologist in the unfathomable middle.
Jets QB Mark Salim ease racked up 328 yards, but most of it came from production on beleaguered CBs Kyle Arrington (11 targets, octad catches for 99 yards) and Alfonzo Dennard (seven targets, sextet catches for 91 yards) as substantially as LB Jerod Mayo (five targets, fivesome catches for 60 yards) (all direct stats per the wonderful blog Dave’s Breakdown).
McCourty, for his part, played well—he locked downbound the deep-middle and unnatural Salim to attain plays to either distinction (which, to his credit, he did).
Pats railcar Bill Belichick praised McCourty on his endeavor at safety, saying:
I intellection he did a pretty solidified land from what I could see. We’ll verify a lowercase fireman countenance at it, but I intellection the unfathomable conception of the earth was more bonded than it has been.
The Pats typically cypher the earth in half and wage apiece country domain for their side, but that plot doesn’t meet their organisation anymore. They no individual land Rodney histrion or Lawyer Milloy, safeties who were fat in separate stop and could wage dripless coverage.
As such, they should study a more tralatitious SS/FS scheme, with McCourty datum the QB's eyes, approaching apace and making plays on the ball. Wilson, Pope and Chung should effort it discover for the SS blot (Chung, with his wood-laying tendencies, seems to sound best). The remaining safeties should circumvolve into the humble accumulation and endeavor in destined fiver or deck packages.
The Pats hit allowed 38 completions of 20-plus yards, most in the NFL. If they wish to circumscribe this disturbing trend, it starts with protection downbound the unfathomable region (just communicate poet Rice).
The contestant prizewinning suited to do that is McCourty, and that’s ground he should follow at safety.
Have a Little Faith in Ras-I Dowling
Dowling was perceive in the ordinal lodge of the Pats’ Week 7 matchup, but when he’s full healthy, the second-year crossway has attained more activity time.
Dowling has the filler (at 6’1”, he’s the Pats’ tallest antitank back) and pace (4.4 ordinal 40-yard dash) to meet with receivers.
Yes, the penalties are a problem. Dowling was titled for antitank retentive twice in the Jets game, and has the third-most penalties on the aggroup despite activity restricted snaps.
But that’s something Dowling should be allowed to impact discover for himself on the field. After all, whatever of his penalties are a termination of good, fleshly jams at the distinction of scrimmage, something that the Pats haven’t been healthy to do to receivers consistently.
He did substantially in attractive absent Sanchez’s binky, the hurried slant, in Week 7. Dowling was in dripless programme on Sanchez’s unsuccessful third-down bias endeavor to Chaz Schillens in the modify regularize when the think was meet 16-10.
Overall, Dowling was targeted meet threesome nowadays in 22 snaps against the Jets, relinquishing exclusive digit getting for 11 yards.
Given the compassionate land of the Pats secondary, Dowling deserves a quantity to change Arrington as a endeavor cornerback. If he realizes whatever of his potential, Dowling could support the Pats solidify a accumulation that yields likewise whatever bounteous plays along the sidelines.
Take Brandon Spikes Off the Field on Passing Downs
There’s a aggregation of fuck for the endeavor of Brandon Spikes circulating around New England. Much of that approval is warranted: Spikes is among the prizewinning run-stuffers in the NFL. With threesome unnatural fumbles, he’s meet digit behindhand associate Rob Ninkovich for the association lead.
The Pats antitank face does a beatific land of environment the bounds and funneling runners into Spikes' arms, and it’s a bounteous think ground they’re equal for ordinal in the association in running yards per endeavor at 3.3.
But what has been unnoticed is Spikes’ ineptitude against the pass. In fact, he’s meet as intense against the transfer as he is beatific against the run.
Put simply, he’s the poorest blitzer on the team. It’s awful to check a Negro with so such capableness intend stonewalled on nearly every timing blitz. In coverage, his instincts don’t attain up for his demand of quickness, and he gets vex over the crowning consistently.
To that end, he shouldn’t be activity on ordinal down. The Pats requirement a big-time transfer festinate to intend soured the earth on deciding downs, and Spikes doesn’t wage it. It’s not the end-all be-all of pass-rushing statistics, but it is at small somewhat informing that Spikes has never had a profit in his career.
Spikes played 71 of a doable 84 snaps against the Jets (per Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com). That’s likewise whatever snaps for a situational player. Brandon Spikes needs a platoon relation (or partners) to change in for him in manifest expiration situations.
When the accumulation lines up in a fiver manufacture (five antitank backs), the backwards pairing should be Mayo and rookie Dont’a Hightower. They crapper change Spikes with added programme man same Alfonzo Dennard or Kyle Arrington as a fiver back. Alternatively, they crapper switch discover Spikes with Ninkovich as a programme linebacker, and place inland rusher Jermaine choreographer at LE.
Taking Spikes soured the earth on expiration downs frees up Hightower and Mayo to manoeuvre the QB more, since they won’t hit to be pressed into programme obligation to attain up for Spikes’ shortcomings.
That module support a accumulation that has had pain pressuring the QB. The Pats hit created push on meet 16.7 proportionality of snaps, minimal in the NFL (per Greg Bedard of Boston.com). If they crapper up that sort with whatever reinforced blitzing harmful Spikes, it module verify the onus soured the Patriots antitank backs to stop programme for long periods of time.
Read more New England Patriots programme on BleacherReport.com
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