Did you know the Bills didnāt punt in either of their final two meetings with the Patriots last year?
You did? OK. Just checking. Because even though we mention it often and I figured you probably did know, I bring it up again because it BEARS REMINDING!!!! I mean, how the hell?
But to be fair, five months later, when we take that shot we should add the chaser that steps are being taken to stop that from happening again. Or at least to ensure that itās a differently constructed defense.
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It's good news that the Patriots are wise to the fact that merciless pummelings of overmatched/undermanned offenses might look good on paper (hello, 262-55 edge over the Jets, Jets, Jaguars, Browns, Falcons, Titans and Panthers in 2021!), but those results were concealer for the glacial speed and lack of playmaking thatās sometimes exposed by talented offenses.
We can flap our arms all we want about coaching titles, but the bottom line to the 2022 season will be this: Can the Patriots' defense stop the Bills and Dolphins and compete to win their division or not?
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For this story, Iām going to turn off the negativity spigot and spin forward the possibility that maybe they can. And thatās because I saw a revamp last year on the other side of the ball that had a lot of uncertainty to conquer as well. And did it.
The comparison isnāt identical. The 2021 Patriots imported a slew of high-priced offensive free agents last year. This offseason has seen an outflow of defensive talent (J.C. Jackson, Kyle Van Noy and Dontāa Hightower, to name three) and modest shopping to replace them.
But one thing thatās rung true throughout Bill Belichickās run as head coach is an ability to fix whatās broken on the field. He might not be on a huge personnel hot streak over the last decade, but heās still adept at diagnosing where his team is lacking and finding a way to cover it up, if not fix it.
It was time -- past time, maybe -- to get younger and faster on defense and force players into taking the mantle of leadership. The Boogeymen defense is gone. This is Project X in which a number of unknowns and unprovens -- Josh Uche, Cam McGrone, Raekwon McMillan, Mack Wilson and Terrance Mitchell being a few names -- are being sent to the front lines.
I asked defensive playcaller Steve Belichick this week about the developmental process the team faces in trying to figure out what works.
āI donāt look at it as developmental from the aspect of, āYouāre starting with nothing and see what you get, just throw it out there,'" he began. "But you brought up an interesting word with 'blueprint.' In terms of building structures, you need a blueprint. Iām sure certain things happen along the way ... obstacles ... and you just have to react and adapt to what happens.
"Thatās what we always try to do," he continued. "Weāve put a plan in place. We have a foundation. But at the same time weāre always changing and adapting and expanding. Weāll try some of that stuff out and see how it looks and if it looks good, weāll keep going that direction. If it doesnāt, weāll try to do what we feel is best for the team. Weāre just kind of working through what we've got and we'll see how it works out. But we absolutely have a plan going forward."
Simply judging by whatās been said and the additions made, the Patriots are getting leaner and faster. For the most part, 250-plus pound linebackers need not apply. The 225-to-235-pounders will patrol the second level.
The known quantities that were Hightower, Van Noy and Collins are being replaced by players whose skills and smarts have yet to be revealed.
Steve Belichick discussed two of them: Uche and McGrone.
Perry: Can Josh Uche be a key cog in Patriots' defense?
On Uche, a 2020 second-round edge player from Michigan, he said: "I see him as part of the āblueprintā and an important piece to the puzzle going forward. Thereās a lot of other things to it besides just what heās gonna do. We gotta see what everybody else does and work the pieces around from there, but I see Josh being a big part of this defense.ā
As for McGrone, a fifth-rounder in 2021 from Michigan who rehabbed a knee injury, practiced for three weeks then went back to IR, Belichick sounded very optimistic.
"It was exciting to have him on the field, exciting to see him out there (during the 21-day stretch the Patriots had to activate him or sit him down for the year). "All the other guys had been out there for months. Heād been coming off a year (of inactivity) and he didnāt look any sort of way out of place. He plays fast, heās got good speed and he showed good instincts out there in practice.
"You take it for granted -- guys whoāve been playing out there for months and months and playing games and this kid comes on the field for the first time against NFL players, he hasnāt played in a long time, and he looked like he belonged out there with everyone else."
In that sense, Belichick agreed that the defense is in a developmental phase.
"These guys havenāt played as much football as (Hightower, Van Noy, etc.)," he acknowledged. "So we kind of have to see what we got here. But we got what we got, and we feel good about it. So weāll shoot our shot and see how it goes."