New Parts Initially Seem Like Ill Fits on New England Patriots' Defensive Line

Statistics rarely tell the whole story, but the 191 rushing yards that the Miami Dolphins piled up on the New England Patriots on Sunday speak for themselves.

Watching the destructive force of Knowshon Moreno slice his way through the Patriots' front seven, I couldn't help but think of astronaut James Lovell—think Tom Hanks—and Apollo 13. Not because some Patriots fans wanted to blast themselves into space, mind you, but because of the "square peg in the round hole" matchup that features prominently in the story.

As these Moreno highlights show quite well, head coach Bill Belichick has stuck some square pegs in to the round holes of his defense:

A healthy portion of the Dolphins' success in the running game came on the simple but elegant inside zone play. Chris Brown offers a simple explanation of the play at Smart Fooball:

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The lineman’s job is to block the guy in front of them. Fans, commentators, and even coaches often over-complicate things. The “zone” aspect comes in with “uncovered” linemen. If “uncovered,” the lineman must step “play-side” — i.e. the side the run is going to — and help double-team the defensive linemen along with his “covered” cohort. Once the two of them control that down defensive lineman, one of the offensive linemen slides off to hit a linebacker.

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In the video above, you can see guards getting hats on linebackers on nearly every play. Double-teams last for an instant, not an entire play. Something isn't working.

If it is such a simple play, why weren't the Patriots able to stop it? To learn about the present, you have to visit the past. Brown wrote about Belichick's theory of defense on Grantland prior to the 2012 Super Bowl, which is still applicable today:

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In typical Belichick fashion, he has chosen not to rely solely on the 4-3 or 3-4 or a 1-gap or 2-gap approach. Nor does he just alternate between 3-4 and 4-3 looks from play to play. Instead, Belichick has essentially combined both approaches in the same play. How?

The Patriots run a 3-4 to one side of the field and a 4-3 to the other, all on the same play. The key to all this is Wilfork. He lines up over the center and assumes his traditional spot of run-stuffing, blocker consuming, two-gapping war daddy.

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Unfortunately, the defense doesn't work very well if you don't have enough war daddies.

First-round draft pick Dominique Easley is best used inside, where he can shoot gaps instead of reading them.

Chandler Jones—a monster at 4-3 defensive end—was largely ineffective trying to play the 5-technique defensive end position in the 3-4 looks. His explosiveness was blunted considerably. 

Joe Vellano was even worse. He doesn't have the lateral agility/flexibility, length or quickness to be effective outside.

Wilfork and backup Sealver Siliga weren't much better. Siliga had a club on one of his hands, diminishing his ability to hold up blockers. Wilfork, however, looked like he was moved out of his gap responsibility more than usual.

Runs that came against the Patriots' sub-package were even easier, as Rob Ninkovich came off the field. A determined edge-setter, Ninkovich would have been a valuable player on the field. However, I understand measuring his snaps throughout the year.

In the coming days, Belichick will need to channel his inner Ed Smylie, the engineer tasked with solving the "square peg in a round hole" problem. 

The solution doesn't have to be elegant. Smylie's work was anything but pretty. When safely back on earth, Lovell wrote, “The contraption wasn’t very handsome, but it worked."

While Smylie only had a few hours to save his crew from asphyxiation, Belichick will have almost a full week to save his front seven from an incoming purple meteorite named Adrian Peterson.