It feels like it was just yesterday that this Patriots defense couldn’t stop a nosebleed and were statistically one of the worst defenses in NFL history. Not-so shockingly, New England has flipped that script entirely in the most New England Patriots way possible. The team came into this season with a fairly new and different defensive approach compared to what we’re so used to seeing. I believe they tried a little too hard with all of their pretty new pieces to start the season and didn’t exactly focus on the fundamentals. Then, when injuries to Dont’a Hightower and Stephon Gilmore hit, they woke themselves up and turned into what they are now: not an elite defense, but a damn good enough defense.
They’ve embraced their new look without HIghtower and that’s what’s brought them such success. It’s a classic next man up situation. They’ve been the best defense in the league over the last few weeks, and they’re still on the rise. After allowing 75 combined points in their losses to Kansas City and Carolina, they’ve allowed the same number of points in their last six games. Since 2008, only 11 teams have held six straight opponents to 17 points or fewer. This is pretty rare, especially for a dominant team like the Patriots, when the opponent is sure to be trailing in the fourth quarter and will put up garbage time points in the dwindling minutes.
Going into Week 12, this defense was still in the bottom half of the league in forcing turnovers turnovers and dead last in the league in yards allowed (401.9). While there’s no single superstar player on this defense or any player having a Pro Bowl season, instead, they’re all playing fundamentally sound football, and doing so together. And, somewhat surprisingly, it starts with the secondary and is coming directly from the secondary. There’s no shutdown corner, but nobody is allowing huge yardage plays anymore, either. The simplified defensive plan as of right now is: coverage over pressure.
Speaking of the secondary, both Butler and Gilmore have played tremendous as of late, as well as Jonathan Jones when he is on the field, which is happening more and more. Butler rebounded against the Raiders after having a tough time with Emmanuel Sanders in Denver. He locked up Amari Cooper and has had an overall solid season in general. Plus, Gilmore has seriously upped his game in the second half and looks like a brand new player since returning to the field after his concussion scare. He locked down Mike Evans way back when against the Buccaneers, locked up Demaryius Thomas in Denver and kept Michael Crabtree in his place in Mexico City. I don’t understand the hate Butler and Gilmore have received this season; sure, this isn’t the best cornerback duo in the league we expected when September rolled around, but the recent defensive success circles back to them.
This team rarely blitzes, similar to any Patriots defense in the Belichick era. No longer do they worry about the pass rush. As long as they keep the quarterback contained, which, as of late they have, they can afford to let teams run the ball and focus more on coverage. Ever since Hightower went down, David Harris has stepped up big time, Belichick’s guy. He’s practically stabilized this defense since becoming the new leader. Now, we all know how he isn’t the fastest player on the field, so that means there’s no man coverage to be played. New England has adopted more of a combination coverage, or sometimes just zone. They did not do this in the first five weeks of the season, which led to the disaster.
This means, the team will give up first downs and yardage, but as the field shrinks, the defense tightens up as the window gets wider and they get their critical red zone stops and allowing only field goals. As the saying goes, you can’t beat the Patriots with field goals.
I think my favorite part about this revamped defense is how they’re playing the textbook definition of complementary football. This defense is on the rise the way they are because they’re consistently aided by special teams and Tom Brady and company. The offense is guaranteed to score on nearly every drive and special teams is guaranteed to provide excellent kick coverage, thus powering the defense to get their stops and win each key situation, whether that be on third down or in the red zone.
Belichick getting the most out of guys like Johnson Bademosi and Kyle Van Noy too speaks wonders to the Belichick Way. This Patriots defense right now compared to the first five weeks is night and day because he’s gotten everything out of everyone, even the backup’s backups. It’s what the Patriots have always done and will hopefully always do. I honestly think that they purposely sucked to start the season just to once more show the rest of the league what they’re still capable of as long as they’re the New England Patriots. If you ask me, we still haven’t seen the best of this defense. Buckle up, folks.
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