Patriots’ Defense – New Look, Same Results

The Patriots are 2-1 in this young season and that’s nothing to turn your nose up at. But the defensive side of the ball – the one that was getting all the press during the lockout-shortened offseason and preseason – has been stinking up the joint. Bill Belichick, for the first time in his football life, switched to a 4-3 defensive front. He brought in proven veterans who profiled as solid pass rushers. All of this with the hope of changing the “bend but don’t break” defense of the past few seasons. Mission accomplished. Now they bend AND break.

Let’s take a look at the stats from the first 3 games of the season.

Miami – 24 pts, 488 yds allowed

San Diego – 21 pts, 470 yds allowed

Buffalo – 34 pts, 448 yds allowed

These aren’t even top flight teams! Can you imagine what the Packers or Saints would do?

(And let’s not place too much blame on Tom Brady for the loss to the Bills. Yes, he had 4 interceptions – matching his total from all of last year – but he also had 4 touchdown passes. It would have been a Buffalo blowout if not for Brady. Once again, the defense proved to be the deciding factor.)

But where exactly is the weakness? The defensive line: where Albert Haynesworth only has 2 tackles? The linebacking corps: with Brandon Spikes missing some time? Or the secondary: without veterans James Sanders and Brandon Meriweather flying around?

It’s still early in the season and the hope in New England is that everyone is still growing into the new 4-3 alignment.
*Belichick is a Hall of Fame coach but the 4-3 isn’t his specialty. He must draw up new schemes and see what works and what should be scrapped.
*Many new players that were brought in must learn the playbook, terminology and The Patriot Way. And that includes on offense too (see: Ochocinco, Chad).

In short, a franchise that has proven to be one of the best of the past decade has earned some level of respect. Leeway should be given while they go through the growing pains of the early season schedule. Remember, without the normal amount of offseason workouts and training camps everyone is learning on the fly, including the rest of the NFL. If there is any team who will be able to figure it out and succeed, it will be the Patriots.