Blitz-happy defense staying?
Last week against Minnesota, the Patriots defense pretty much dictated the terms of play, especially on third down. They really took it to Vikings with their exotic blitz packages. Rarely have we seen a Bill Belichick defense play so aggressively and take so many chances during a game. It was an impressive look to say the least. This wasn’t necessarily groundbreaking. There were signs against the Jets that this might be in the works. There was a decent sampling of this very same aggressiveness against Gang Green, we just got the full enchilada against the Men in Purple. Typically, the Patriots let the play come to them and react, but Belichick and Brian Flores let go of the reins and unleashed a full throttle attack against Kirk Cousins. The Vikings quarterback was flustered. He didn’t know what hit him. Sometimes, moves like this can backfire if the quarterback is prepared, but Cousins didn’t know who was coming, how many were coming, or where they were coming from when he dropped back in those passing situations. So what does it mean? Was this a one-time showing? Something to put in the back of the Steelers minds for next week? The Patriots do have a veteran-laden secondary. Plus there’s a lot of brain power back there with Devin McCourty, Jason McCourty, Patrick Chung, Duron Harmon, etc. It makes sense for the coaching staff to have confidence in that group, and finally get more aggressive, force the issue. Or was there more to the blitz-fest against the Vikings, along with the previous week against the Jets? It’s quite possible the problems with the offense, the fact Tom Brady and Co. aren’t quite as prolific getting in the end zone as in previous years, might also be responsible for the defense gambling so much. Maybe it’s a bit of both. Former Patriots safety Rodney Harrison, now a commentator for NBC, believes there’s some truth to both theories. But let’s start with the latter. In some of these games going forward, particularly if the Pats are going to face a high-scoring offense on the other end, Belichick might be more willing to get creative with what he does on third down, or in obvious passing situations. Harrison thinks there’s probably a little more credence to the notion of needing the defense to deliver. “Bill knows now, my offense isn’t what it used to be. So we gotta be able to stand up to some of these good passing teams and force some negative plays and help field position. Bill’s a very smart guy. He sees the bigger picture,” said Harrison, when reached Thursday. “This might actually be more the case. He’s doing it because he has to, not necessarily because he wants to. And why not do it against Minnesota to get it on tape so people can see it, and it’s one more thing to prepare for, but it’s also building confidence (in his players) so when you go against the Steelers, when you go against these other teams, you have that in your back pocket.” It’s Week 14. The offense has been good, not great. It hasn’t risen to the usual level of superiority and explosiveness. The Patriots are always in the top three, if not at the top, in terms of scoring, and passing. Currently they’re seventh and ninth respectively in those categories. If this is as good as it gets, the defense is going to have to pick up the slack on occasion. There’s no question, the players on the Patriots defense have gained an edge and fed off the last two performances, the Vikings effort in particular. The players enjoyed their bit of trickery, having everyone stand up at the line, disguising all of their coverages and blitzes. They worked it all pretty much to perfection. Cousins was completely baffled. “When your coach believes in you like that, it makes you want to play harder, it makes you want to do things a little more special,” said Harrison. “Hey, that’s when you have fun, when you’re able to move around, and show different looks.” How much more will they pull that rabbit out of the hat? It’ll certainly be interesting to see, and part of the guessing game each week for opposing coaches. “You have to spend an entire day working on that blitz package. (Dolphins coach) Adam Gase will focus so much of his offense on that pressure, so he’ll bring a screen game, and quick passes and stuff like that,” said Harrison. “So Bill’s made him change his entire game plan based off that blitz package.” By the sound of it, Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill believes he’ll see something weird with the Patriots in town today. “They’re always going to throw some wrinkles at you. Whether it’s a pressure or playing a little more Bear Cover 2 than they show on tape or whatever it may be, they’re always going to throw some sort of wrinkle at you,” Tannehill said during his press session last week. “They’re going to have a wrinkle on first and second down. They’re going to have a wrinkle on third down, changing up the pressure. Maybe it’s personnel. They throw a lot of different personnel at you, whether it’s dime, dollar, nickel, nickel big. They’re going to throw everything at you and try to make you take all of that into account and figure out what they’re doing. I think they do a good job of that, of just mixing things up and trying to make it harder on the offense.” The Pats are applying pressure using all kinds of different rushes, whether it’s five-man, six man, or all-out Cover Zero blitzes. Their disguising of looks has been very effective the past two weeks. We’ll see what they come up with for Tannehill, with Ben Roethlisberger on deck. Kraft the diplomat Patriots owner Robert Kraft certainly gave a diplomatic answer Tuesday night when asked how he felt about having his offensive coordinator be the hot guy at the top of all the head coaching lists, especially after making him the highest paid coordinator just to keep him on board last year. “I care about winning Sunday. That’s really what I care about,” Kraft told the Herald, stopping for a moment at the team’s Children’s Holiday Party at the Putnam Club at Gillette Stadium. “Whatever happens . . . you know, we have good people. I’m actually flattered that people are after our people.” He’s flattered now, but how would he feel if Josh McDaniels, his offensive coordinator, the man who is expected to eventually succeed Belichick, actually fled and took the Green Bay job to coach Aaron Rodgers, just as a for instance? Probably not great. The only place that might not cause Kraft as much grief would be Cleveland. McDaniels is an Ohio native. Hard to fault a guy for wanting to coach his hometown team. Dogged by past Mark Sanchez, the former first-round pick of the Jets, will make his first start for the Redskins today. The quarterback signed with the team just two weeks ago, but is now being pressed into action because of injuries to starter Alex Smith and backup Colt McCoy, both of whom suffered fractured legs in game action. Sanchez came on in relief of McCoy Monday night. Naturally, one of the first subjects to come up when he spoke with reporters on Wednesday was the infamous Butt Fumble against the Patriots on Thanksgiving night in 2012. No matter where Sanchez goes, that topic inevitably comes up. “What are you going to do?” Sanchez said via New York’s Newsday. “It was a crappy play in a game where we were getting our butts kicked . . . Listen, who cares? It’s just one play and move on. I’d prefer to remember the good stuff.” Run or bust The NFL might be a passing league, but Seattle coach Pete Carroll still loves to run the football. His team currently leads the league with 148.8 yards per game. The Seahawks have also been ranked among the top four teams in rushing every season from 2012-15. Why does Carroll prefer to run the ball so much? “Because it’s the best way to not screw it up,’’ he told the Seattle Times. “It’s the best way to play the game because the games are always lost. They’re always lost — you make errors. That’s why the turnover issue is of paramount importance to us. It’s the most important thing that we taught. It’s the first thing I ever say to our team every single year we get together. Every year I start there because that’s what determines the outcome of the games. When we don’t turn the football over, our winning percentages are ridiculously high.” The Seahawks are in fact 56-12 since 2010 when winning the turnover battle. Twitter: @kuregian