New England Patriots: An Overview of Specialization in the Patriots' 3-4 Defense
The New England Patriots built their Super Bowl dynasty on three-down defensive players who could do it all. Names like Richard Seymour, Willie McGinest, Tedy Bruschi, Mike Vrabel and others were on the field in just about every situation, big and small.
As each has left, they have been replaced not by one player but by a collection of specialists. These players excel at run-stuffing, pass-rushing, coverage, or some combination of the three—depending, of course, on the position they play.
Thus, I think it's worthwhile to explore the different levels of specialization on the defense, and find out just how it all comes together.
Snap percentages are courtesy of ESPN Boston's Mike Reiss.
Erik Frenz is the co-host of the PatsPropaganda & Frenz podcast. Follow Erik on Twitter @erikfrenz.
Defensive Linemen
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Mean: 318.8 (28.96 percent)
High: Vince Wilfork, 769/1,101 (69.8 percent)
Low: Landon Cohen, 69/1,101 (6.3 percent)
Insight: The numbers here are skewed a bit due to injuries. Mike Wright was having a great start to the season, with a career-high 5.5 sacks before sustaining a concussion in Week 11. Likewise, Myron Pryor and Ron Brace were both injured at times, with Brandon Deaderick and Kyle Love coming in to fill in when needed.
Of course, we can't forget about Ty Warren, who also would probably have played significant time were he healthy.
There is a good deal of mid-range percentages here, with Mike Wright, Ron Brace, Myron Pryor and Brandon Deaderick all in that 28-percent to 20-percent range.
With all the defensive linemen returning from injuries (Warren and Wright, just to name a couple) I'm interested to see how the pass rush could be positively impacted. Collapsing the pocket up the middle is severely underrated in terms of generating a pass rush.
With the Patriots featuring several interior rush specialists for their sub packages, I'd look for an improvement in production in that area in 2011.
Linebackers
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Mean: 361.25/1,101 (32.8 percent)
High: Jerod Mayo, 1,066/1,101 (96.8 percent)
Low: Tracy White, 2/1,101 (.2 percent)
Insight: Most of these guys play both defensive end and outside linebacker spots at different times. Thus, since most of them fall into the mold of a 3-4 outside linebacker, I decided to count them all as linebackers for purposes of this slideshow.
The variety in snap percentages at linebacker is indicative of the specialization of this group, and how those players were used. The linebackers are mixed in and out based on strengths and weaknesses in every area, be it against the run or the pass.
Some players were kept out of entire games because they simply didn't give the Patriots a solid match-up. Brandon Spikes was used much more frequently against run-heavy offenses than pass-happy ones.
I have already gone on at length about why Dane Fletcher could be a key player in the future, and ESPN Boston's Mike Reiss has also shared his insight, always invaluable.
My podcast buddy Mike Dussault of Pats Propaganda has also given us some great information and insight on Rob Ninkovich.
Another name to watch out for is Eric Moore. He played 183 out of 252 defensive snaps in the last four games of the season, a sure sign that Belichick sees a lot of potential in him. M
ind you, those four games came immediately after Moore was signed on Dec. 3; his ability to grasp the playbook quickly and get onto the field speaks volumes for his long-term potential with the team.
Cornerbacks
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Mean: 499.2/1,101 (45.3 percent)
High: Devin McCourty, 1,050/1,101 (95.4 percent)
Low: Tony Carter, 12/1,101 (1.1 percent)
Insight: For Devin McCourty to see as much playing time as he saw in his rookie year, all on the left side no less, is nothing short of remarkable. He is the cornerstone of this defense for the long term.
The Patriots are in the favorable position of having almost too much talent at cornerback. They drafted Ras-I Dowling with the 33rd overall pick this year. They have Leigh Bodden returning from injury after missing all of 2010.
Kyle Arrington is also coming off a strong season, in which he filled in for just about every injured defensive back on the roster, and did so quite well.
It will be interesting to see how the level of talent at cornerback plays into the concept of specialization.
We all know Belichick loves to mix up the coverages, putting different guys in and doing different things with the secondary to keep an opposing offense on its toes.
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Safeties
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*NOTE*: Did not include WR Randy Moss, 1 snap at safety, or TE Aaron Hernandez, 2 snaps
Mean: 545.6/1,101 (49.56 percent)
High: Brandon Meriweather, 881/1,101 (80 percent)
Low: Sergio Brown, 86/1,101 (7.8 percent)
Insight: For all those firmly on the "trade Brandon Meriweather" bandwagon, I suggest you don't get your hopes up. Chances are Belichick wouldn't be playing Meriweather so significantly if he wanted to trade him.
Mike Reiss hits it on the head, when he says, "With three safeties in the top six in terms of playing time, it reflects how that position was viewed by the coaching staff as one of good depth, with the third safety often deemed more valuable than the third corner in sub packages."
This could help in explaining the selection of Ras-I Dowling with the 33rd pick in the draft.
It's also worth mentioning that Patrick Chung was asked to play nickel corner in certain situations during the season when the Patriots were a little thin at cornerback. When it comes to improving the pass rush, Bill Belichick sees value in adding a cornerback who can cover extremely well and can play physical in the running game. Belichick has added, though, that Dowling will probably continue to play cornerback in the NFL, at least at first.
With that in mind, it looks like a similar situation to 2010: Meriweather-Chung-Sanders on rotation, utilized to maximize their strengths.
Sub Package vs. Base 3-4
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Sub Package: 628/1,101 (57 percent)
Base 3-4: 441/1,101 (40 percent)
Goal line: 32/1,101 (3 percent)
If you're looking for an ultimate breakdown of the Patriots defensive philosophy in 2010, check out this link from Pats Propaganda. Of course, guys like Mayo and Wilfork will be worked into just about every package.
Aside from that, this will give you a great idea of who is used most in which situations (although for all intents and purposes, it would be wise to replace any viewing of the name "Shawn Crable" with "Eric Moore").
We've heard the stat regurgitated time and time again. The Patriots were in the base 3-4 defense just 40 percent of the time in 2010, as opposed to being in a sub package 57 percent of the time.
We have many presuppositions about the sub package defense, and we heard over and over during the predraft process that the Patriots have to improve their pass rush in the sub package.
There are other ways to get after the quarterback besides a pass-rushing outside linebacker. As mentioned earlier, the Patriots could be looking for more production out of their interior defensive linemen to collapse the pocket.
This would force offensive linemen inside, and open things up for the outside linebackers to get to the quarterback off the edge.
Why Specialization Works
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The Patriots have a defensive roster of talented players who excel at what they do. Keeping a large group of players that all do certain things exceptionally well is a great way to keep players fresh during the game by rotating other players in for "relief duty."
Additionally, having a large group of capable players is great insurance against injury. Some teams might have all their stock in one all-star player at a certain position, but they'll be up a creek without a paddle should that player suffer an injury.
One other thing this does is it puts the defense in the best position to read and react. If players are put in based on their strengths, they can be comfortable in trusting their instincts, making reads, and ultimately making the play.
They don't call Belichick's philosophy a "read and react" defense for nothing.
The increase of specialization could also be as a result of the shifting trend toward pass-happy offenses. This allows the Patriots defense to be best equipped to stop any look they may get from an opposing offense.
It's important to note, also, that the Patriots have drafted six defensive backs in the first two rounds in the past five years overall.
Why Specialization Doesn't Work
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There are a few ways to capitalize on a defense that is predicated on specialization. The best, and most sure way, is to attack the weaknesses of those specialists.
Say, for instance, the Patriots trot out their 3-3-5 nickel package, a defense they would use primarily to stop the pass. An offense could give them a "passing look" at the line of scrimmage, but instead run the ball and capitalize on the weakness against the run.
This, inherently, is why the Patriots have been on the search for those key three-down players in the defensive front seven. They have clearly found a few, with names such as Jerod Mayo, Vince Wilfork and Devin McCourty immediately coming to mind.
The search must continue.
Conclusions
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Specialization most clearly impacts the front seven, with pass rushers and run stuffers shuffled up and mixed together to make an ideal sub package for any given situation.
Likewise, the front seven is also where there are the most questions. The Patriots have struggled mightily over the past two years to get to the quarterback (although, without a doubt, they improved last year).
They still don't have the three-down players they're looking for to fill the spots left vacant by Richard Seymour, Willie McGinest, Mike Vrabel and others.
Could the sub package, then, be a product of the problem, and not the cause of it?
ESPN Boston's Mike Reiss answered some questions of ours on a recent episode of the Pats Propaganda & Frenz podcast. He and pointed to Belichick's hesitation in drafting outside linebacker prospects as one thing he'd be critical of:
"[The Patriots] have these high standards for what they want in that position, and I just don't know if they've thrown enough darts at the board...
They had a third-round grade on [Clay Matthews] coming out of the draft. Would he be the perfect fit in New England? Probably not. He can get run over. But do you accept that to a degree to get the benefit of the pass rush?
It's not a perfect package, but that one thing he does exceptionally well, do you need to loosen up the standards a little bit and say "You know what, I think I'm going to go for this player because what he gives me in that area is so exceptional that it's worth it, and I can live maybe with or scheme around the deficiency in this other area."
"
Specialization shouldn't be the goal, it should be the interim. The Patriots could very well have drafted a sub package pass rush specialist in the first round, but why do that when they could call upon any number of the pass rushers they already have?
Guys who, with another year in the system, could be even more comfortable than before, and could even evolve into those three-down prospects we all want so badly?
More to Come
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I hope to continue to explore the Patriots 3-4 defense in terms of specialization with a couple more pieces in the near future.
I want to touch on things such as the specific packages, what each player's strengths and weaknesses are, and hopefully more.
Check back often for the rest of this series.
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