How to Fix New England Patriots' Leaky Run Defense

Life could not be much better for the New England Patriots right now. 

The Patriots are 2-0 after picking up a road win in the division on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills. Quarterback Tom Brady is on a record pace, and so is tight end Rob Gronkowski. 

But as we learned in 2007, undefeated doesn't mean perfect.

The Patriots' biggest problems through two games are on defense, where they are currently 23rd in scoring and 29th overall. The most troubling issues are against the run, where they have yielded 147 rushing yards per game (28th in the NFL) and 5.7 yards per carry (dead last). 

In Week 1, the struggles against the run were attributed to the game plan. The Patriots spent much of the game lining up with three safeties on defense, rather than three linebackers. The same thing happened in Week 2, as seven defensive backs earned more snaps than Jerod Mayo, who ranked third in snaps among the linebackers according to Pro Football Focus. 

With that, one might surmise that the Patriots plan to "invite the run" to give themselves a better chance of stopping the pass. The Patriots tried their best to stop the run in Week 2, but despite spending some time in their base defense, they struggled.

The Patriots featured a plethora of defensive ends in their defensive line combinations in Week 1, but they went with a much more stout front against the Bills in Week 2. 

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Defensive tackles Alan Branch, Malcom Brown and Sealver Siliga saw time together on the field in a 3-4 alignment. With this look, the Patriots had three linemen who all have the size to execute two-gap responsibilities to control the gap on either side of the blocker in front of them. 

This look sacrifices some speed in the pass rush, but as we learned, that didn't seem to matter too much as the Patriots were able to notch eight sacks, the most they've tallied in a single game since 2003. But despite the extra beef up front, the Patriots still yielded 5.3 yards per carry on designed runs.

Part of the problem was the linebackers, and another part of the problem was at defensive end.

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

At times, the linebackers got too eager to stuff the run. They would over-pursue, or they would crash to the line of scrimmage before the blocks could develop, effectively eliminating themselves from the play. 

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Other times, the Patriots defensive ends struggled with containment, which allowed running back LeSean McCoy to get to the outside and bounce a long gain on off-tackle runs.

Each of the Patriots' big defensive linemen (Branch, Siliga and Brown) was exposed at times in the running game. The Patriots are still looking for that dominant nose tackle who can consistently take on double-teams. 

Previously, that role has been filled by Vince Wilfork. Siliga has the potential to be that player for the Patriots, but he's not quite there yet.

Fortunately for the Patriots, their first two games haven't been all that close (despite some close finishes on the scoreboard with two one-possession victories). In tight contests, the Patriots run defense might have been exposed even more. 

Clearly, fixing the team's run defense isn't up to one individual. Defending the run is a job for 11 men on defense. It's not about one person making significant changes or improvements; it's about everyone making a little improvement.