Sinking In...Return Of The Belichick Defense
In my previous two posts, I projected that the front seven would have less depth than it has had in years past, but will have lots of quality talent near the top. There will be competition for starting jobs, but including sub packages, there will be plenty of minutes to be had.
The versatility of their draft picks is supposedly immense, so it is hard to imagine exactly where everyone will play. However, I see 14 distinct roles on Defense. Belichick will likely utilize both odd and even fronts. He will play with various linebacker configurations. Nickle and Dime packages will be relied upon heavily. Certain players will be able to fill multiple roles, and this allows Jones and Hightower to be slashing, bashing, pass rushing bishops on Belichick's chessboard.
In 3-4 (odd front)
NOSE TACKLE Wilfork / Love
(2) DEFENSIVE END Jones / Fanene / Love / Deaderick / Scott
(2) PASS RUSH OLB Ninkovich / Hightower / Jones / Bequette
"MIKE" LB Mayo / Spikes / Hightower
"WILL" LB Mayo / Hightower / Spikes
In 4-3 (even front)
(2) DEFENSIVE TACKLE Wilfork / Love / Fanene
(2) DEFENSIVE END Jones / Bequette / Fanene / Scott
STRONG SIDE "SAM" LB Hightower / Ninkovich / Spikes
WEAK SIDE "WILL LB Mayo / Hightower / Spikes
MIDDLE "MIKE" LB Mayo / Hightower / Spikes
Secondary
(2) OUTSIDE CB McCourty / Dowling / Arrington
NICKLE SLOT CB Arrington / Wilson / Dennard / Moore
DIME DB Wilson / Moore / Williams
SAFETY Chung / Barrett / Gregory / Wilson / McCourty
The 3-4 would look like this:
DT Fanene NT Wilfork DT Jones
OLB Hightower OLB Ninkovich
CB McCourty WLB Mayo MLB Spikes CB Dowling
S Chung S Barrett/Gregory/Wilson
The 4-3 would look like this:
DE Bequette DT Fanene/Love DT Wilfork DE Jones
WLB Mayo SLB Spikes/Ninkov
CB McCourty MLB Hightower CB Dowling
S Chung S Barrett/Gregory/Wilson
In Nickle situations, we have the the ability to have both odd and even fronts (3 or 4 man line), but LB Spikes/Ninkovich will come off, and CB Arrington will play slot corner.
In Dime situations, we should have an odd front (3 man line) minus LBs Ninkovich and Spikes. Two DB will replace them. Also, we have seen LB Ninkovich used as a DE in passing situations, while sending off a DE like Bequette or Jones to make the coverage more unpredictable. However, Bequette or Jones may compete with Ninkovich for this "elephant" DE/LB role.
Certainly injuries will come into play over the course of the season, but as of now there is only one major question mark: who plays next to S Chung?
The secondary question is, how do you get the most out of the linebackers? There is a lot of talent there, but how do the skill sets mesh into scheme. I trust Belichick in this department. Still, it is the players' responsibility to come to work and carve out his own role. The players who are unable to do that are left behind as busts. Belichick will apologize to no one if he has made a bad pick.
The versatility of their draft picks is supposedly immense, so it is hard to imagine exactly where everyone will play. However, I see 14 distinct roles on Defense. Belichick will likely utilize both odd and even fronts. He will play with various linebacker configurations. Nickle and Dime packages will be relied upon heavily. Certain players will be able to fill multiple roles, and this allows Jones and Hightower to be slashing, bashing, pass rushing bishops on Belichick's chessboard.
In 3-4 (odd front)
NOSE TACKLE Wilfork / Love
(2) DEFENSIVE END Jones / Fanene / Love / Deaderick / Scott
(2) PASS RUSH OLB Ninkovich / Hightower / Jones / Bequette
"MIKE" LB Mayo / Spikes / Hightower
"WILL" LB Mayo / Hightower / Spikes
In 4-3 (even front)
(2) DEFENSIVE TACKLE Wilfork / Love / Fanene
(2) DEFENSIVE END Jones / Bequette / Fanene / Scott
STRONG SIDE "SAM" LB Hightower / Ninkovich / Spikes
WEAK SIDE "WILL LB Mayo / Hightower / Spikes
MIDDLE "MIKE" LB Mayo / Hightower / Spikes
Secondary
(2) OUTSIDE CB McCourty / Dowling / Arrington
NICKLE SLOT CB Arrington / Wilson / Dennard / Moore
DIME DB Wilson / Moore / Williams
SAFETY Chung / Barrett / Gregory / Wilson / McCourty
The 3-4 would look like this:
DT Fanene NT Wilfork DT Jones
OLB Hightower OLB Ninkovich
CB McCourty WLB Mayo MLB Spikes CB Dowling
S Chung S Barrett/Gregory/Wilson
The 4-3 would look like this:
DE Bequette DT Fanene/Love DT Wilfork DE Jones
WLB Mayo SLB Spikes/Ninkov
CB McCourty MLB Hightower CB Dowling
S Chung S Barrett/Gregory/Wilson
In Nickle situations, we have the the ability to have both odd and even fronts (3 or 4 man line), but LB Spikes/Ninkovich will come off, and CB Arrington will play slot corner.
In Dime situations, we should have an odd front (3 man line) minus LBs Ninkovich and Spikes. Two DB will replace them. Also, we have seen LB Ninkovich used as a DE in passing situations, while sending off a DE like Bequette or Jones to make the coverage more unpredictable. However, Bequette or Jones may compete with Ninkovich for this "elephant" DE/LB role.
Certainly injuries will come into play over the course of the season, but as of now there is only one major question mark: who plays next to S Chung?
The secondary question is, how do you get the most out of the linebackers? There is a lot of talent there, but how do the skill sets mesh into scheme. I trust Belichick in this department. Still, it is the players' responsibility to come to work and carve out his own role. The players who are unable to do that are left behind as busts. Belichick will apologize to no one if he has made a bad pick.
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