Outsiders on Pats, Part IV

7.3 yards / Is'nt that the distance that our DB's lined up off the WR's? HAHA
As for all the screens / draws. I hope our new OC can call plays better than McDaniels.

Moss did drop a couple of long bombs though.

As well as Gaffney dropping the perfect bomb against Indy which possibly cost us a chance at the play-offs.

This is the reason why I am surprised KC signed Cassell to a long term deal. He won't have Moss and Welker with him only Bowe. KC should have waited to least half way through the season to make that commitment.

"When the Pats hurried opposing passers . . ." is the revealing phrase here.

A lot of fans and analysts point to last season's lack of a pass rush as an unaddressed weakness for the '09 team. But the problem with the rush in '08 was primarily the result of awful pass coverage. It's not that their rushers were slow, it's that the DBs and LBs in coverage most often couldn't lock anything down long enough for the rushers to get to the QB. Anytime the Pats tried to rush four or five guys, they got beat over the middle or, if they brought up a safety, they got beat deep since none of their CBs was good enough to be left on an island.

So, even though the Pats have only untested (virtual) rookies and former backup guys at OLB and even though they didn't import a proven "stud" pass rusher like Peppers or Taylor (Vonnie Holliday might still get a look in camp, I think), pass coverage by DBs and LBs should be sufficiently improved this year to be able to lock things up downfield and over the middle long enough (maybe a half-step longer than last season) for the rushers who ARE on the roster to break through and get a PD if not a sack.

I'm not saying they'll be perfect, but there's enough talent, athleticism and versatility on the Defense now that opposing QBs and OCs are going to have a far tougher time with it. Especially when BB starts throwing a lot of 4-3 looks into the mix.

Newsflash to STEELERSFAN: The Chiefs "made that commitment" in February when they traded for Cassel and became obligated to pay a guaranteed $14.6 million for one season. The 6-year deal benefits the Chiefs now by reducing Cassel's cap charge this year from that amount down to about $10 million. They can now use that $4.6 million savings for the other players who end up on the 53-man roster. So waiting would make sense for the Chiefs only if they already believed it was a mistake to have traded for Cassel.

It might be interesting to see just how long (short) it took opposing passers to release against the Patriot's pass defense (defense specifically designed to prevent the pass). My sense is that their slow-of-foot linebackers gave opposing QBs ample open recievers to get to quickly. They need more speed in their linebacking core to cover guys to give the D Line more time to get to the QB.

Glenn.........
I know about the savings by signing a 6 yr deal compared to 14 million in one year...It's a HUGE investment to someone who benefited by having MOSS and WELKER. The Chiefs had over 30 million in cap space, so they had time to wait and see approach...NOBODY know is he going to fit in NEW offensive system by Todd Haley..YEs, I believe he is more known commodity than a Rookie but there was plenty of time to get deal done with that much cap....THAT IS MY POINT!!!

Complete agree with Steelers Fan

@ stan4444 --

Good point. I think lack of LB speed was a contributing factor. Mayo is pretty fast, but probably not sufficiently experienced last season to do much good in coverage. He'll be better this year. Also, Lenon, though not great, has some pass coverage skills. But maybe just as much a contributing factor was the loss of Harrison in the LB/SS "tweener" role. Tank Wiliams wasn't available, of course and Sanders (and Sanders), Meriweather, Spann tried mightily to fill that role in coverage, but with not much success.

So, with corners who shouldn't need as much help from the safeties, more true SS help in Williams (IF he stays healthy) and Chung, a more experienced Mayo and a little more speed from Lenon, it'll probably be a lot better. But the guy I'll be watching is Guyton. He has some serious wheels and the size to play inside or outside. If he steps up a "gets" the defense this year, he could become an "X-factor" that opposing offenses will have a real tough time accounting for.

'STEELERS FAN' wrote: "...there was plenty of time to get deal done with that much cap....THAT IS MY POINT!!!"

A long term contract not only spreads their financial commitment out saving them cap room but also actual dollars paid out per year. It also allows them to secure a proven known commodity at QB. If they didn't sign him to a long term deal he'd become a free agent next year. Does that sound like a logical long term plan to build a team? Why wait any longer? You don't think that Scott Pioli knows what he has in Cassell???.....are you kidding me??? OF COURSE Pioli knows what he has. Once Cassell got acclimated last year he play damned well. The Pats biggest issue last year was a poor secondary. Cassell was getting better with every game. Pioli knows Cassell is the guy otherwise he would not have traded for him to begin with. THAT is where the commitment kicked in. A long term contract is simply and obviously the consummation of a deal which is beneficial to both parties.

What is the word on getting Derrick Burgess from Oakland????
I hear rumors but wanted to know from Pats fans.

Matt Cassel (if anyone remembers) was horrible in pre season last year, he got somewhat better over the next several games, and I agree he got much better in the second half of the season. But lets be realistic about why. Moss, Welker and BB made Matt Cassel look alot better than he's going to be this coming season. I think alot of people are going to be surprised at how average his numbers will be in KC. He's a good quarterback, yes, but the price KC paid for him is over the top !He's a guy who had a good season with a *great* offense in New England.

'STEELERS FAN'.......Re: Derrick Burgess

Heard rumors about the possibility of him coming to NE about a month ago. Nothing but rumors and nothing came of it. I've seen nothing reported about it since.

I think the Pats would have liked to get Jason Taylor for a 1 year deal. They're very familiar with his capabilities having played against him so much. But Jason decided he wanted to go back home to Miami.

At this point I think the Pats are going to be content at OLB the way it is. It's currently a perceived weakness. I say "perceived" because we just don't know what Shawn Crable has got. Adalius Thomas on one side is set. The question is the other side with Pierre Woods, Shawn Crable and Tully Banta Cain. Pierre Woods has stepped up and was markedly improved last year. He was playing well until the broken jaw. I think he is on track to be the starter. Banta Cain....situational pass rusher??? Shawn Crable is the wild card. He went on IR early last year with a leg injury. I think the Pats are expecting he'll be the man of the future.

OLB is currently the biggest ??? the team has....or at least "perceived" ???.

"As we pointed out previously, pass pressure killed the middle zones of the defense. When the Pats hurried opposing passers, they gave up a league-leading 7.3 yards after catch, and a Defensive DVOA [Defense-Adjusted Value over Average] worse than all teams except New Orleans and Detroit."

I'll say it once again....You HAVE to get quick, consistent pressure with the d-line! Need I remind you what the Giants did to us in the superbowl??! They have stud d-linemen who are fast and aggressive. We don't anymore. A couple of our starters
seem to care more about getting to the bank than to the QB!
Bringing extra guys to compensate for the weak, slow d-line rush opens up the middle and you get what they are talking about in the quote above. Some blame goes to the secondary, but the most blame goes to the big, slow d-linemen who got stood up consistently, giving the opposing QB 5 - 10 seconds to find a target. I don't care if you have five Champ Baileys in your secondary, no defensive backfield can cover for that long!

Being a KC fan from NJ. I'll still take a flyer on Cassel for a second round pick. We may have been forced to draft an unproven QB in the draft. Instead we have tape on Cassel in the NFL for a whole year. I'll take those chances over the other drafted QBs.

Forget the money. Let's be honest. Who cares about that. Even if you do, wait until the year is over to talk about QB contracts. There are some QBs up for new contracts.

It's not often that a three-man rush gets consistent, significant pressure on opposing QB. In a 3-4, that has to come from the LBs and/or safeties. But, when your corners can't cover without safety help and your non-rushing LBs aren't particularly good in coverage, the middle is going to be vulnerable immediately anytime you rush more than your front three.

The Giants base D is a 4-3 in which the DEs are the primary speed rushers instead of the LBs. But the Giants LBs are also excellent rushers. Still, they were phenomenally successful in the SB against the Pats because their DBs executed an excellent Spagnuolo game plan almost perfectly, not just because their four linemen are superior.

Backinthesaddle,
Thanks for the info...even though I am a Steelers fan, I follow the Patriots and actually follow alot of teams BUT I just wanted to find out what the Patriot fan base had to say as what maybe the newspapers said. Your right, the OLB'S is your biggest concern...I liked Crable in college but who knows what he will do as OLB. We have his former Michigan teammate in Lamarr Woodley, who made such an impact for us but nobody knows when somebody switches from DE to OLB. The Patriots secondary, on paper, might be the best they had in a while....

The pass coverage dilemma is sort of a chicken-and-egg situation. Does the pass defense suffer because the front four can't get enough pressure to help the secondary, or is the secondary not covering well enough to give the front four time to get to the quarterback? Its obvious with the numerous changes in the secondary this offseason that the Pats front office believes the bigger problem lies with the coverage. I'm certainly excited to see what Bodden, Butler, Wheatley and Wilhite bring to the table this season, and I think their value will not only be seen in interceptions and passes defensed but also improved sack numbers for guys like Thomas, Woods/Crable and Seymour/Warren.

MaineMan, you forgot to acknowledge the Patriots attempted to sting the Giants with a running game. Unfortunately, LaMo was taken down repeatedly by diving arm tacklers.

If he had played up to the level that I had expectations for, he'd have broken some big gainers. Big. Gainers. That was Spagnuolo's big gamble, and it paid off.

Notice I put the verb in the past perfect regarding Maroney. This is his year or it's goodbye; however, I think we have two superior RBs for the first and second downs.

Our slow, slow LBers have been the weights around our ankles since Brady was dating a TV star.

I'm curious why nobody is comparing the NY and Detriot signings to KC. Seems to me like KC got at least a decent QB for short money whereas Detrot and NY got themselves really expensive question-marks.

I'm not a great believer in Cassel. But I do think he's earned himself the right to start in the NFL... and KC's bet on him is reasonable given the other moves they could have made such as picking a first round QB.