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Defensive snapshot

Email|Link|Comments (9) Posted by Mike Reiss, Globe Staff September 10, 2008 09:39 AM

One aspect of the Patriots' season-opening victory that stood out was rookie Jerod Mayo never leaving the field. He was the only defender to go wire to wire.

From time to time, we'll break down the participation numbers of defensive players in games. Those numbers can sometimes provide a greater understanding of how certain players are being employed.

Here was how it looked against the Chiefs:

ILB Jerod Mayo -- 63 of 63 snaps

OLB Mike Vrabel -- 61 of 63

OLB Adalius Thomas -- 58 of 63

S Rodney Harrison -- 57 of 63

CB Ellis Hobbs -- 54 of 63

S James Sanders -- 53 of 63

DE Richard Seymour -- 51 of 63

NT Vince Wilfork -- 48 of 63

DE Ty Warren -- 46 of 63

CB Lewis Sanders -- 42 of 63

ILB Tedy Bruschi -- 41 of 63

S Brandon Meriweather -- 36 of 63

CB Deltha O'Neal -- 34 of 63

DE Jarvis Green -- 29 of 63

NT Mike Wright -- 11 of 63

OLB Pierre Woods -- 7 of 63

ILB Gary Guyton -- 3 of 63

(snaps include one Chiefs holding penalty)

ANALYSIS: For all the chatter about how difficult it is for a rookie to learn the Bill Belichick scheme, Mayo topped the play-time charts, as he was part of every package. ... The Patriots utilized a few different sub packages, but most often ILB Tedy Bruschi/DE Ty Warren would come off, with S Brandon Meriweather/DE Jarvis Green coming on. ... Notable was that rookie cornerbacks Terrence Wheatley and Jonathan Wilhite did not play, with more experienced players Ellis Hobbs/Lewis Sanders/Deltha O'Neal rotating as the top three options.

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9 comments so far...

I thought I didn't see Wheatley and Wilhite. Thats interesting, other than Mayo it seems that belichick hasn't developed trust in the other young guys or they maybe are not ready yet. Well it's a long season. We'll hear from those guys. The Gaints rooks didn't do anything till the end of the season

My thoughts on the season, it should be a fun season. I know Brady out makes it suck but if you enjoy football and also are a real PATS enjoy the uncertainty this season brings. As I believe no matter what, it will make us great next season.

Posted by ProvMan September 10, 08 10:02 AM

Mike: Can you tell us how many snaps had a defensive player on that had a hookuped up signals helmet?

Posted by Michael September 10, 08 10:36 AM

Great info Mike. Keep it coming. Do you see Guyton rotating at some time with Bruschi in the future?

Posted by BC September 10, 08 11:00 AM

Mayo played every snap because he deserves to. It speaks volumes because everyone knows Belichick does not like to play rookies all that often.

Good start to the season for Mayo.

However ... I thought Seymour was ready and fully healthy for this season ? If that is the case why did he miss so many snaps ? Anyone ?

Posted by Blair from Canada September 10, 08 11:44 AM

Mayo played an excellent game. He was all over the field, as were Sanders and Merriweather. Mayo also allows Vrabel and Thomas to play outside. Combine this with the fact the speed on defense is much improved from last year, and this defense should be able to generate a good number of turnovers, which they will need.

Posted by NoNoNobama September 10, 08 11:45 AM

My apologies.

Seymour played more snaps than both Wilfork and Warren.

Posted by Blair from Canada September 10, 08 11:47 AM

It was surprising but good to see Guyton get some defensive snaps.
Perhaps we'll see more of the rookie corners when we face a more pass happy team like the colts.
From the way he played, at least what I could see on TV, It doesn't look like Meriweather is 100% back from his preseason injury yet.

Posted by Eric J September 10, 08 01:18 PM

This is great information. Thanks a lot, Mike.

Posted by mjc September 10, 08 11:03 PM

Hi Michael. Bill Belichick was asked about the communication device and he said the Patriots used it to some degree. Mike Vrabel had the green dot on the back of his helmet. I didn't see another player with it. I'm not sure how many plays they used it for. BC, I do see Guyton rotating in throughout the year. He played during a three-and-out series in the second quarter on Sunday.
--Mike

Posted by Mike Reiss September 11, 08 07:56 AM

DO NOT HIT THE SUBMIT BUTTON MORE THAN ONCE!

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Mike Reiss, Christopher L. Gasper and the rest of the Globe team provide regular updates –and a behind-the-scenes look– on the daily happenings of the Patriots.

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