New England Patriots Are the Surest Tackling Defense, Except Tackling QBs

According to Football Outsiders, the New England Patriots were the surest tackling defense in the NFL in 2010 with 44 missed tackles on the season.

We all know, though, that was never the problem.

As Mike Reiss of ESPN Boston says in the above article, it's clear that the problem lies on third down. They can't get off the field, and more specifically, they can't put pressure on the quarterback.

Six of their outside linebackers totaled 13.5 sacks. The NFL's leader in sacks, DeMarcus Ware, had 15.5 on his own. Coincidentally, Clay Matthews, the name everyone loves to associate as a Patriots draft miss, had exactly as many sacks as all six of their outside linebackers combined.

Thus, leading up to the draft, the need for an outside linebacker was self-evident.

The draft came and went, and the Patriots didn't take a single pass rusher less one Markell Carter from Central Arkansas—hardly the marquees guy anyone had in mind when they put their big board together.

Many would say the Patriots missed a big opportunity to pick up a pass rusher, and they may well have, but their reasoning is clear—Bill Belichick has confidence that their current crop of outside linebackers will improve. This includes names like Rob Ninkovich, Jermaine Cunningham, Eric Moore, Tully Banta-Cain and others.

That being said, the word "improve" shouldn't be taken to mean "get a lot of sacks." These defenders should take another step with another year in the system, a complex one at that.

Improvement, to me, would be anything better than the 30th-ranked third-down defense, allowing a 47 percent conversion rate to opposing offenses.

The Patriots are a classic "bend-don't-break" defense, much to the chagrin of their fan base which has clamored for a sack specialist for years. They would rather force their opponents to consistently make plays than take a chance and potentially give up a big one.

That's the prerogative of the read-and-react defense—make the offense take only what the defense gives them, while taking their best option away and making them beat the Patriots defense with their left hand.

Another added bonus of the read-and-react Fairbanks-Bulloughs defense is that the defenders are very smart, with a great idea of where to be in run defense. As such, they often find themselves in the right place at the right time to make the play.

In that regard, Belichick has found some perfect defenders to play in his defense. They are sure tacklers who know where to be. Now, if only they could put pressure on the quarterback, they could be one of the best defenses in the league.