Analysts apply pressure

IMO one of the weakest set of 3-4 LBs in the league, certainly among the likely play-off teams the Patriots don't stack up. Some people hang their hats on Pierre Woods (who has 1 sack in three years), it seems like a leap.

Hopefully the Patriots are playing from ahead a lot this year which will make the opponent one dimensional and easier to defend.

WOW! Weakness at OLB. These guys get paid to offer their insight!

I still believe they will either trade for Derrick Burgess.

Realistic, getting Burgess would be great for them but do you think signing this late would be realistic?? He would have to learn a new defensive and can he cover ?? becos OLB's in 3-4 do so many things....Burgess does have the speed to cover people but can he....who knows......I know Belichek likes to sign people who give him trouble in the past like Welker, Morris and G lewis and Burgess does fit into that criteria..esp in SuperBowl a few yrs ago.....Do you think Belichek just likes what he has with Redd and Crable???

The improved strength at CB will keep the receivers covered longer and allow the guys up front to look like they're applying more pressure. There will be more coverage sacks.

Last year Hobbs and Deltha were giving receivers a 10 yard cushion, so there was always someone open and no need to get pressured.

Once the season starts we will see a pass rush that is conistent with winning.....they have more depth than they are being given credit for. Giving more time to actually have a rush with better CBs is vital, they will have that this year.

Gick - you are right on the money!

How many times last year was the pressure coming just a hair to late? Too often. If the DB's can just make the QB hold that ball for one more count there will be more picks and more sacks. I think the defense will look a lot better this year and Belichek will allow Mayo more latitude with the blitz - just wait guys - he is gonna be very scary coming up the middle.

Hopefully Crable becomes the gratest surprise in the league...

Not that this is somehow a groundbreaking revelation. Everyone admits this is a problem area.

Although anyone who says that Vrabel could be expected to be our top pass rusher this year loses me. He was a player very much in decline, although he would still be able to contribute this year.

Thomas and Crable....PUULEEEZZZ stay healthy this year! I'm not seeing how Woods is the answer. Mayo should be even better than last year. We don't have the stud d-lineman pass rusher, but with the new secondary they should get the job done.
Lol, and Crable needs to beef up the getaway sticks or Belichick won't play him much. Let's not forget one of Chung's strong points is blitzing. Can't wait to see him play. A Rodney Harrison type with better control of his aggression and better speed. What a great pick.

The lack of an elite pass rusher is precisely the reason why the Patriots should have drafted OLB Clay Matthews III with the 23rd pick in the 1st round of the 2009 NFL Draft. Or traded their 1st round pick to the Carolina Panthers for DE Julius Peppers. Asking veteran OLB Pierre Woods or for all practical purposes "rookie" OLB Shawn Crable to handle this critical function defensively is just too much to expect from either player.

Chris, you bring up a great point - 1 sack for Woods in his career. Last year I watched him closely in the preseason and he appeared to be getting off of the snap quickly yet I never see him do anything in games. Frankly, the only play I can even remember of the guy was him not recovering a fumble in the Super Bowl...

After looking at PatsCap.com earlier it's interesting to see they could potentially save over $1m by cutting him. The Pats may be weak at that position but this could end up a situation where they feel they're better off saving cap space and allocating more playing time to both TBC and Crable. We're going to have to see how everything plays out.

I've been saying it since February:

1 ~ The Secondary has morphed, overnight, from one of the very worst in the league...to one of the very best. And that's only talent. Let Coach Bill put that deep group of 9 talented, experienced, and ~ except for Springs ~ young players to work, and it's going to be DEVASTATING. I can't remember any Secondary EVER taking such a seismic leap as we're about to. Not even CLOSE.

2 ~ If you think that Adalius Thomas, Jerod Mayo, and Gary Guyton don't form 3/4 of, potentially, one of the very best LB Corps in the league, you need to think again.

And I have an hard time believing, with the other 10 spots nailed down with an unprecedented depth of talent, speed, ferocity, and experience...that a combination of the 3 Beasts ~ Shawn Crable, Vince Redd, and Pierre Woods ~ and either Hyphen Boy or Roosevelt Colvin will have much difficulty tearing things up on the Outside!

Sorry to break it to ya, boys, but this team is not only SET...But it has the potential to OBLITERATE.

Good point. Sure, the outside linebackers must get there, but they must also be given the time. If there is a known weak secondary, then the best pass rush in the world isn't going to help you. Last year the secondary was abysmal. That resulted in very poor pressure, even though we had talent at the OLB position.

This year, with an improved secondary, the linebackers will hopefully have that additional time to get to the QB. Last year the secondary was playing so far off the receivers (because they were getting beaten deep) it resulted in an automatic dump off receiver if there was pressure. This year I am looking forward to seeing what these guys can do if the secondary can make the QB hold on to the ball just a little bit longer!

So many people look at pressure on the QB and automatically think of the front seven. It has to do with more than just those guys. Sure, they must be good, but if the secondary is weak, they won't have a chance, because the QB won't have the ball long enough for it to matter!

The defense without a doubt is better than last years mess. With last year the Pats had a failed DB experiment in Bryant and had to resort to signing O'Neal and then went to Wheatley who got hurt after two series. Making Wilhite the starter where he is not suited best covering the outside WR.

With Bodden who can be a shutdown corner in this league and proved at one point to be a top 10 corner in a horrible defense. Springs wont last the entire year and if he does I honestly would wonder how much is on his tires. So it comes down to Wheatley and Butler. The more athletic and highest ceiling I would say is Butler.

Wheatley showed last year in the 5 downs he played in lol he can at least keep up with NFL WRs and has the ability to jump with them. This secondary will help the pass rush whether its Woods or Crable and im honestly hoping for Crable. Woods was very below average in covering TEs and Crable is the future at that OLB spot and could be something very special.

The secondary will without a doubt help this pass rush but Tom Brady is the defenses 11th man and im surprised no one has ever written an article about it Mike. Junior commented on how the best offense is the best defense and its true. Keeping those guys fresh and playing with a lead is huge and was a problem in 06-07.

Keeping the D fresh and able to play with a lead is huge for a defense because it makes an offense dimensional and easy to manipulate with and thats why in 07-08 the Pats finished with second in sacks only behind the Giants.

I put more to the failure of the pass rush in the hands of Dean Pees for, on many occasions, lackluster and soft defensive play calling.

Sonny, don't forget that Woods is probably the team's best special teamer (at least on coverage teams). He's worth keeping around for $1M, even if he doesn't contribute a whole lot to the LB position.

But, for what it's worth, I suspect he'll be opening day starter in the base D. He's probably the best all-around OLB of the group we're talking about. Banta-Cain can't stop the run, and I wonder about Crable's lower body strength. In the 3-4, I think Woods is the frontrunner.

And now that Hobbs is gone, NEM has chosen a new jockstrap to ride. I can't wait to read more insight on how Dean Pees couldn't turn a weak and injured defense into the top D in the league.

Jerie O'Connor

You realize that Crable was a better college player than Matthews. You are pimping rookie Matthews, but concerned about a rookie Crable?

#18 Joe... you get an A for the day. Exactly what I wanted to write in response to that guy and many other comments since the draft.

Been wondering who Mike Allen was going to start fantasizing about now that Hobbs is out of town. It's Dean Pees - what a lucky guy.

Here is what EVERYONE is missing...

when you are winning 31-10 at half time you dont need to have a great blitzing defense...you need to have linebackers who can cover and prevent teams from scoring in 3 minutes down the field...yes you need them to blitz and run prevention for the first half, but once the Pats get that 3 possession lead, you know the opponent has to become 1-D the rest of the game.

The best defense is a good offense and the Patriots have a massive offense that is going to make Defensive Coordinators cry by the end of the first half. What it comes down to is the fact that the Patroits dont need blitzing linebackers as much as they need coverage guys...and once playoff season runs around where the scores will be more relistic, your linebackers will be fresh compared to o-lines of other teams allowing players such as Seymour, Thomas, and Mayo more of a chance to register a sack.

Heh! You gotta love posters like Jeff, who're so desperate for validation that they propose to tell us not what we're POSTING...but what we're THINKING...and then share their INVALUABLE insight, before stepping back to wait for the applause!

Hey, bub: I'm as much of an Attention Wh*re as anyone, here, so a word of advice: If you covet the praise and accolades that you are so blatantly courting, it's best NOT to start off by insulting every last one of us with terms like "Here is what EVERYONE is missing"!

Just throwing that OUT there, bubby! ;o)

BTW: Except for the attention-seeking behavior, that was an awfully good and insightful post!

It all begins at the point of attack, without pressure the top QB's will torch you, with pressure they are less effective as Randy Moss lamented "every time I turned around Tom was on his back" the Giants pressure made the Pat's offense look average- way of the world way it's always going to be.