It isn’t like the Patriots defense has been bad in recent years. Not as good as the ‘03-’04 bunch but still, you know… not bad. They were a Top 10 defense in points allowed last year and they were good enough to help win a Super Bowl only two years ago. Is it just easy to forget the defense when you have Tom Brady leading a Top 3 scoring offense? Maybe that’s part of it. After all, with Brady, Gronk, Edelman and the rest putting 28+ on the scoreboard every week, the defense only needs to be good enough.
Will good enough be good enough this year?
Those of us who’ve watched “New England Patriots, The Movie” before are probably thinking the 2016 season starts with a 31-0 loss in Arizona, with Chandler Jones sacking Jimmy Garoppolo 4 times and life as we know it stopping instantaneously and every molecule in our bodies exploding at the speed of light. Of course, that movie ends with the Patriots beating the Cardinals in Super Bowl 51, also by a 31-0 score.
Jones was the single, high-profile loss from last year’s defense. The injury prone player New England acquired for Jones, OG Jonathan Cooper, is already injured and everybody’s already forgotten what happened to that 2nd round draft pick. Jones’ Cardinals teammates are projecting a 20 sack season for the ex-Pat. That seems overly optimistic. If it does happen, I wonder if Arizona will be able to afford the salary Jones will demand on the open market.
But I digress.
It seems equally optimistic to think previously owned Chris Long will replace Jones’ production in the Patriots defense. Though wildly inconsistent, Jones did post 12.5 sacks in 2015. Besides, Long is unlikely to start; he’ll more likely provide a situational pass rush. It looks like Jabaal Sheard (poised for a breakout season in his contract year) and stalwart Rob Ninkovich starting on the edge with Long, Shea McClellin and Trey Flowers (maybe Geneo Grissom?) as rotational depth.
Depth at defensive tackle, safety and at cornerback are equally if not more impressive but the loss of Jones, the Moneyball-esque fascination with replacing sacks and tackles and the position group competition for roster spots in training camp can distract from the obvious. In the “Do Your Job” culture of Bill Belichick’s New England Patriots, it’s about complementary parts working together.
Chris Long may line up at defensive tackle as often as he does on the edge. McClellin and Ninko will stand up and drop into coverage providing shadow depth at linebacker.
This is a multi-faceted defense that seems poised to dominate. As noted above, Sheard is ready to put up pro bowl numbers. Malcolm Butler and Logan Ryan are ascending talents at cornerback. Devin McCourty, Patrick Chung and Duron Harmon are three quality options at safety. Malcolm Brown is poised to make the second-year leap at defensive tackle and Dont’a Hightower and Jamie Collins should take home the pigskin Grammy for best duo or group at linebacker.
Quick Aside: If trading Jones ultimately leads to extensions for Hightower and Collins then it will turn out to be the best trade Bill Belichick ever made.
And that doesn’t touch on the impressive depth at defensive tackle, with returning veteran Alan Branch along with newcomers Terrance Knighton, Markus Kuhn and rookie Vincent Valentine, the promising youngsters at cornerback with Justin Coleman, Darryl Roberts and rookie Cyrus Jones or the young safety/linebacker hybrids in Brandon King, Jordan Richards, Elandon Roberts and Kamu Grugier-Hill.
This 2016 defense looks like it could come close to being Bill Belichick’ ideal; positional flexibility to dictate gameday matchups, smart, athletic and so unpredictable in formation and personnel as to be virtually unscoutable.
And better than good enough to carry the Patriots through the first four weeks of the season.
Hey, you know what defense wins, don’t you?
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