Versatility, Depth Allows Patriots' Defense to Stand the Test of Time
Analysis 6/20/23
Few teams have evolved with the game as effectively as the New England Patriots during the last two decades. Yet their defensive personnel profile – at least in the front seven – has remained mostly the same since 2000:
*Big, space-eating interior defensive linemen (Davon Godchaux, Lawrence Guy, Vince Wilfork, Ty Warren, etc.)
*Mechanically sound, upper-middle-class edge defenders (Matthew Judon, Kyle Van Noy, Rob Ninkovich, etc.)
*Thumping stack linebackers, preferably strong enough to play outside on the line of scrimmage (Ja’Whaun Bentley, Dont’a Hightower, Jamie Collins, etc.)
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Building the Front Seven
The beauty is that because so few other teams take this approach, upper-level players for this scheme are more readily available. The approach is economical.
The 10 highest-paid gap-attacking interior defensive linemen (think the Aaron Donald, Ed Oliver and Chris Jones types) cost an average of $23 million per year (or $20 million, if you remove the extremely highly paid Donald). A top-10 gap plugger costs around $13 million.
A top-10 edge rusher costs $22 million per year. New England’s priciest edge rusher, Judon, makes an average of $13.6 million annually.
Instead of spending big to chase sacks and tackle for loss (TFL), Patriots head coach Bill Belichick spends judiciously on men who control the line of scrimmage and box. Do that, and the offense must work to earn every yard. The thinking goes that negative plays and turnovers occur naturally because of that process.
Coverage Philosophy
Winning in coverage increases the likelihood of those natural occurrences. And here, the Patriots make the offense work, as well, playing man-to-man on a league-high 52 percent of pass situation snaps last season. That was up from their five-year average of 44 percent, which ranks fourth in the league.
In many ways – especially against good offenses and refined quarterbacks – your man coverage is only as viable as your most disadvantaged matchup. While the Patriots are a little more willing to splurge for a truly elite corner (Christian Gonzalez with a first-round pick this season, Stephon Gilmore in 2017-20, Darrelle Revis in 2014), their top priority is versatility and depth: corners who can play inside and outside and safeties who can also align at slot or linebacker.
This year’s secondary fits that profile perfectly. The well-sized, ostensibly weakness-free Gonzalez joining 29-year-old veteran corner Jonathan Jones gives New England two inside-outside corners who can travel with various styles of receiver. Last year, Jones traveled with everyone from the 5-foot-10, 190-pound Tyreek Hill in Week 1 to the 6-foot-1, 195-pound Justin Jefferson in Week 12.
“[Gonzalez] is most likely going to be a perimeter corner,” Belichick said in an interview with The 33rd Team’s Mike Tannenbaum. “But I think there are other situations where he could play inside or could play in the deeper part of the field, depending on what the call is or how things present themselves from a game plan structure.”
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Backup corner Marcus Jones is coming off an intriguing rookie season. Veteran slot Myles Bryant has experience at safety. So does veteran boundary corner Jalen Mills. Each will back up starting safety Kyle Dugger and prototypical safety/linebacker hybrids Adrian Phillips and Jabrill Peppers.
The flexibility and depth at safety allow the Patriots to play a big nickel foundation (nickel but with two cornerbacks and three safeties), making them less vulnerable to offensive personnel shuffles. On first and second downs, big nickel is what they play against the less conventional, pass-oriented “21 pony” personnel package (2 RBs, 1 TE, 2 WRs). But it’s also what they played against the less traditional, run-oriented “13” personnel package (1 RB, 3 TEs).
Controlling the action up front and matching up to it diversely on the back end — that blueprint drives everything for New England’s defense.
Benoit worked for Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams coaching staff from 2020 through 2022. Before that, he was a football analyst, writer and content producer for Peter King’s MMQB at Sports Illustrated, as well as at CBS Sports and The New York Times. You can follow him on Twitter at @Andy_Benoit.