My Blueprint for the Defense

[mayoclinic]

I was hoping this would be the butt fumble.

Ask and ye shall receive:

New England Patriots safety Steve Gregory 32-yard fumble return TD - NFL Videos

 

[manxman2601]

Try telling this to Seattle.



Support your argument.



I was hoping this would be the butt fumble.

The thing about big hitting safeties is that they're more likely to be Brandon Meriweather than they are Kam Chancellor. Now if you tell me Mark Barron is available then I'd say "show me the dotted line".

For me, instincts and the ability to read a game are just so much more important to safety play than the ability to lay a hit.

 

[mayoclinic]

The thing about big hitting safeties is that they're more likely to be Brandon Meriweather than they are Kam Chancellor. Now if you tell me Mark Barron is available then I'd say "show me the dotted line".

For me, instincts and the ability to read a game are just so much more important to safety play than the ability to lay a hit.

I would agree with that, and I certainly don't want another Brandon Meriweather. I'd be content to settle for an instinctive safety with the ability to read a game (Ed Reynolds comes to mind). I do think there is some value to "policing" the middle of the field and letting the other team know that they are going to take some punishment, but it certainly doesn't outweigh sound overall play.

 

[Merril Hoge's Tie Knot]

The thing about big hitting safeties is that they're more likely to be Brandon Meriweather than they are Kam Chancellor. Now if you tell me Mark Barron is available then I'd say "show me the dotted line".

For me, instincts and the ability to read a game are just so much more important to safety play than the ability to lay a hit.

You know that Mark Barron and Kam Chancellor both get plenty of penalties right? They're both near the top of the list with 11 between them. You know that the number one and two teams in penalties by safeties were Denver and Seattle right? Do you know who lead the league in penalties by safeties last year? The Ravens did. Those are facts.

This is opinion; I think physical defenses look at hard hits as an investment. They take the penalty at the time, and let the profits roll in when the opposition is tiptoeing over the middle for the rest of the season. We all saw Denver's WRs get abused right? Decker was too scared to get in the ring, and Thomas showed great courage but he was beaten so badly that he couldn't move the next day.

For me, everything is important, but maybe the most important thing is optimizing a player's talent and fitting the scheme to the star players. One reason I think we need to get a real strong safety is to put McCourty in a better position to win. He's a free safety, and one that would excel in cover-1 and cover-3 schemes -- like Earl Thomas and Seattle. I've watched almost every Seahawks game this year and I think you guys would be surprised how much Earl Thomas is like Devin McCourty. He's more aggressive and he hits harder, but other than that they aren't much different.

I would agree with that, and I certainly don't want another Brandon Meriweather. I'd be content to settle for an instinctive safety with the ability to read a game (Ed Reynolds comes to mind). I do think there is some value to "policing" the middle of the field and letting the other team know that they are going to take some punishment, but it certainly doesn't outweigh sound overall play.

I agree.

 

[mayoclinic]

You know that Mark Barron and Kam Chancellor both get plenty of penalties right? They're both near the top of the list with 11 between them. You know that the number one and two teams in penalties by safeties were Denver and Seattle right? Do you know who lead the league in penalties by safeties last year? The Ravens did. Those are facts.

This is opinion; I think physical defenses look are hard hits as an investment. They take the penalty at the time, and let the profits roll in when the opposition is tiptoeing over the middle for the rest of the season. We all saw Denver's WRs get abused right? Decker was too scared to get in the ring, and Thomas showed great courage but he was beaten so badly that he couldn't move the next day.

For me, everything is important, but maybe the most important thing is optimizing a player's talent and fitting the scheme to the star players. One reason I think we need to get a real strong safety is to put McCourty in a better position to win. He's a free safety, and one that would excel in cover-1 and cover-3 schemes -- like Earl Thomas and Seattle. I've watched almost every Seahawks game this year and I think you guys would be surprised how much Earl Thomas is like Devin McCourty. He's more aggressive and he hits harder, but other than that they aren't much different.

I agree with this.

The big differences between Earl Thomas and Devin McCourty are that Thomas is more aggressive and physical, as you note. I'm not sure whether that's a function of their inherent temperament and style, or a function of how they are used. I think that McCourty would indeed excel in cover-1 and cover-3 schemes as you suggest.

I think that freelancing, undisciplined play and poor penalties will kill a secondary; but that doesn't rule out some aggressive, physical play and a few well-timed messages to keep the opposing offense honest. I'll take those over being shredded while we stand by passively.

 

[mayoclinic]

FWIW, NEPatriotsDraft's Marc Sluis on potential "legion of boom" draft prospects:

Legion of Boom: 2014 Prospects Who Fit the Super Bowl Champs Prototype | NEPatriotsDraft.com - 2014 NFL Draft

I think he ignores a lot of intriguing guys already discussed in this thread, but it's a start.

 

[Merril Hoge's Tie Knot]

The big differences between Earl Thomas and Devin McCourty are that Thomas is more aggressive and physical, as you note. I'm not sure whether that's a function of their inherent temperament and style, or a function of how they are used. I think that McCourty would indeed excel in cover-1 and cover-3 schemes as you suggest.

I'm not sure either, but I would bet it's somewhere in the middle. Thomas tends to sell out more on tackles more often, but misses tackles more often too. I think that speaks to the play style. And in interviews McCourty is a cool customer, he sounds the same after a win or a loss, whereas Thomas is a little more fiery and outspoken.

I think that freelancing, undisciplined play and poor penalties will kill a secondary; but that doesn't rule out some aggressive, physical play and a few well-timed messages to keep the opposing offense honest. I'll take those over being shredded while we stand by passively.

Yeah, I'm not asking for another Meriweather -- I'm sure no one is asking for that. I'm not even asking for Kam Chancellor. I'm just asking for a player that is an upgrade on Gregory and compliments McCourty in that same way Chancellor compliments Thomas in Seattle. In theory it could be Harmon.

 

[doesntmatter1]

We must defend the run better. That is a must and should improve with Mayo's presence alone. Unfortunately, we need a more aggressive scheme. I enjoy not giving up quick scores but sometimes it feels like we are just purposely conceding to a slow death.

McCourty for the most part eliminates all deep balls and I love that but we seem too scared to use him for anything else even though he seems more than capable. I can't remember him ever being used on a safety blitz or anything overly exotic.

This is crazy, but I want to see Tavon replace Gregory as the starter. Yes he was burned on a few deep balls that seemed like similar plays but in limited snaps he seemed like a playmaker. Hopefully Carter will retire(addition by subtraction). I would then kick the tires on Mark Anderson and see if he still has his speed around the edge. It would also go a long way if we can get Hageman. Lastly, keep Talib and Tommy Kelly.

 

[manxman2601]

I'm not sure either, but I would bet it's somewhere in the middle. Thomas tends to sell out more on tackles more often, but misses tackles more often too. I think that speaks to the play style. And in interviews McCourty is a cool customer, he sounds the same after a win or a loss, whereas Thomas is a little more fiery and outspoken.



Yeah, I'm not asking for another Meriweather -- I'm sure no one is asking for that. I'm not even asking for Kam Chancellor. I'm just asking for a player that is an upgrade on Gregory and compliments McCourty in that same way Chancellor compliments Thomas in Seattle. In theory it could be Harmon.

I have no problem adding a safety. All I'm saying is that there are more important needs to take a safety in the first two rounds and that I'm not sold on the concept of an enforcer. I'd rather a more rounded safety.

 

[ausbacker]

All this talk of hard hitting safeties has me stupidly excited.

 

[Snake Eyes]

All this talk of hard hitting safeties has me stupidly excited.

That's ironically appropriate, I bet BB drafts some garbage DB early on and passes on stud linemen

 

[dryheat44]

Jeebus. Reading this thread (and I didn't get past the first page), you'd think we were coming off consecutive 3-13 seasons.

How can you say our defense doesn't work when we make the final 4 every g-d year? And the offense wasn't even great this year.

Should we imitate the flavor of the month in Seattle? Do we think that Seattle has re-invented the wheel defensively -- or could it be that they just crushed the draft talentwise. Find me Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor, and Earl Thomas, and our defense will be amongst the league leaders without changing anything else other than a return to health. Subtract Gregory, McCourty, and Dennard and add those three and we're a Super Bowl favorite. There's no need to tear everything down -- we just need to find that elite talent. And if it were easy, everybody would be doing it.

My apologies to anybody else in the three pages I didn't read who made the same point.

 

[mayoclinic]

Jeebus. Reading this thread (and I didn't get past the first page), you'd think we were coming off consecutive 3-13 seasons.

How can you say our defense doesn't work when we make the final 4 every g-d year? And the offense wasn't even great this year.

Should we imitate the flavor of the month in Seattle? Do we think that Seattle has re-invented the wheel defensively -- or could it be that they just crushed the draft talentwise. Find me Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor, and Earl Thomas, and our defense will be amongst the league leaders without changing anything else other than a return to health. Subtract Gregory, McCourty, and Dennard and add those three and we're a Super Bowl favorite. There's no need to tear everything down -- we just need to find that elite talent. And if it were easy, everybody would be doing it.

My apologies to anybody else in the three pages I didn't read who made the same point.

So we should just pray our 33 year old DT can come back from an ACL injury, our 32 year old DT can come back from an Achilles rupture, our #1 CB can stay healthy for a full season and the playoffs, and our 2 DEs can both play over 1000 snaps without injury or wearing down, put more resources into "weapons" for Brady and put up 500 points like we did 4 times from 2007-2012, and then wait for the defense to not be able to stop anyone when it counts in the playoffs and watch the offense lay a brick against a good defense like we did in 2007, 2010, 2011 and 2012 and like Denver did this year in the SB? That sounds like a great plan.

No one's being a chicken little. But if we want to win another SB we're going to have to get a defense that can get the opposing offense off the field and make a stop when the game's on the line. We haven't done that since 2004. There are needs on defense, and ignoring them isn't the answer.

 

[dryheat44]

So we should just pray our 33 year old DT can come back from an ACL injury, our 32 year old DT can come back from an Achilles rupture, our #1 CB can stay healthy for a full season and the playoffs, and our 2 DEs can both play over 1000 snaps without injury or wearing down, put more resources into "weapons" for Brady and put up 500 points like we did 4 times from 2007-2012, and then wait for the defense to not be able to stop anyone when it counts in the playoffs and watch the offense lay a brick against a good defense like we did in 2007, 2010, 2011 and 2012 and like Denver did this year in the SB? That sounds like a great plan.

No one's being a chicken little. But if we want to win another SB we're going to have to get a defense that can get the opposing offense off the field and make a stop when the game's on the line. We haven't done that since 2004. There are needs on defense, and ignoring them isn't the answer.

I'm not arguing that the defense is good enough to win right now....although if it was healthy, it had a shot, but that is unrealistic planning.

My argument is against the line of thought that the game has outgrown Belichick...that his defense doesn't work in the modern game....that the system needs to be scrapped, based on what the Seahawks defense accomplished.

My argument is that the Seahawks defense is one of the top five units I've seen in my 30+ years following the NFL. It's unrealistic to think that any team is going to install the Seahawks system and dominate. Do you think Jacksonville is going to have those results anytime soon?

The answer is the players. When you can put together 3 All-Pros in the same secondary, it doesn't matter which scheme you want to run...you're going to have a dominant defense.

 

[Get it shawtaay]

So we should just pray our 33 year old DT can come back from an ACL injury, our 32 year old DT can come back from an Achilles rupture, our #1 CB can stay healthy for a full season and the playoffs, and our 2 DEs can both play over 1000 snaps without injury or wearing down, put more resources into "weapons" for Brady and put up 500 points like we did 4 times from 2007-2012, and then wait for the defense to not be able to stop anyone when it counts in the playoffs and watch the offense lay a brick against a good defense like we did in 2007, 2010, 2011 and 2012 and like Denver did this year in the SB? That sounds like a great plan.

No one's being a chicken little. But if we want to win another SB we're going to have to get a defense that can get the opposing offense off the field and make a stop when the game's on the line. We haven't done that since 2004. There are needs on defense, and ignoring them isn't the answer.

Perfectly stated.

You want to surround Brady with weapons? We did it. We bought him Gronkowski and Hernandez, bought him Amendola (and could well be signing one of Edelman or Sanders), used a 1st on Solder and cap space on Vollmer and underwhelming playoff performer Logan Mankins. That is plenty of investment. The defense is not a championship caliber unit. What's the point of doing nothing about it?

 

[everlong]

Should we imitate the flavor of the month in Seattle? Do we think that Seattle has re-invented the wheel defensively -- or could it be that they just crushed the draft talentwise.

For many of us this isn't revisionist history based upon what Seattle has done. We've been calling for it for a long time. They are just a glaring example of what having an attacking defense with great team speed can do.

In today's NFL with the rule changes I just don't think bend but don't break works any longer. It's transformed into death by a thousand papercuts. Bill on the offensive side has long been exploiting teams with contain defenses with matchups. Yet on defense he would still rather contain than attack.

So yes it's having players but part of that is drafting KJ Wright and not Brandon Spikes. It's about going outside the SEC and finding a Navorro Bowman.

I don't think the game has passed Bill by. I think on defense he's stuck between directions. The old and the new. I'm praying Jamie Collins was a sign that he's ready to go after the athletes who can be both physical and have the speed and athletic ability to be difference makers.

 

[mayoclinic]

I'm not arguing that the defense is good enough to win right now....although if it was healthy, it had a shot, but that is unrealistic planning.

My argument is against the line of thought that the game has outgrown Belichick...that his defense doesn't work in the modern game....that the system needs to be scrapped, based on what the Seahawks defense accomplished.

My argument is that the Seahawks defense is one of the top five units I've seen in my 30+ years following the NFL. It's unrealistic to think that any team is going to install the Seahawks system and dominate. Do you think Jacksonville is going to have those results anytime soon?

The answer is the players. When you can put together 3 All-Pros in the same secondary, it doesn't matter which scheme you want to run...you're going to have a dominant defense.

For many of us this isn't revisionist history based upon what Seattle has done. We've been calling for it for a long time. They are just a glaring example of what having an attacking defense with great team speed can do.

In today's NFL with the rule changes I just don't think bend but don't break works any longer. It's transformed into death by a thousand papercuts. Bill on the offensive side has long been exploiting teams with contain defenses with matchups. Yet on defense he would still rather contain than attack.

So yes it's having players but part of that is drafting KJ Wright and not Brandon Spikes. It's about going outside the SEC and finding a Navorro Bowman.

I don't think the game has passed Bill by. I think on defense he's stuck between directions. The old and the new. I'm praying Jamie Collins was a sign that he's ready to go after the athletes who can be both physical and have the speed and athletic ability to be difference makers.

I agree with Everlong.

Most of this thread is about identifying players who would upgrade the defense. But no matter how good your secondary is - and we had 2 2nd team All Pro DBs in ours this year - if you give a good QB plenty of time and no pressure, it's going to be difficult. And if you revert to a soft zone as soon as one of your players gets hurt because you don't have the horses to continue playing your scheme, it's going to be difficult. Seattle lost a 2012 Pro Bowl CB this year (Brandon Browner) and didn't miss a beat. All Pro Richard Sherman suffered a high ankle sprain in the SB and they didn't miss a beat, nor did they change their basic approach. They continued to play an aggressive, physical style and not let Manning dictate things.

For me it goes back to the Greg Cosell article that I references in post #33 in this thread (an article written a almost a year ago): "In a passing league, what must you do? You must rush the quarterback, and you must cover receivers. That’s the Cliff's Notes version." You have to have "disruption at the perimeter", and it's "very difficult to line up with four defensive linemen in conventional positions, and create consistent pressure on the quarterback" so you have to figure out how to generate pressure more creatively - what Cosell calls "new age pressure concepts". There are lots of ways to do this, but you need to be consistent about it, you need to find guys who fit your scheme, and you need to have depth so that you don't abandon your basic approach when 1 guy goes down.

I'd like to find the players to allow the Pats to consistently do those things, but I also think that there needs to be a commitment to do them from above. It doesn't have to be the "Seattle way" exactly, but I think there needs to be a bit more emphasis on some of the basic principles that have driven the Seahawks to build their defense a certain way.

Again, most of this thread is about the players. But as it's a "blueprint for the defense" thread, I don't think that discussions of defensive philosophy and scheme are inappropriate. I don't think anyone's throwing BB under the bus or suggesting we scrap the entire D, but IMO more than just personnel is needed.

 

[dryheat44]

For many of us this isn't revisionist history based upon what Seattle has done. We've been calling for it for a long time. They are just a glaring example of what having an attacking defense with great team speed can do.

In today's NFL with the rule changes I just don't think bend but don't break works any longer. It's transformed into death by a thousand papercuts. Bill on the offensive side has long been exploiting teams with contain defenses with matchups. Yet on defense he would still rather contain than attack.

So yes it's having players but part of that is drafting KJ Wright and not Brandon Spikes. It's about going outside the SEC and finding a Navorro Bowman.

I don't think the game has passed Bill by. I think on defense he's stuck between directions. The old and the new. I'm praying Jamie Collins was a sign that he's ready to go after the athletes who can be both physical and have the speed and athletic ability to be difference makers.

Sure. In an ideal world, the Patriots would have guys that can rush the passer and get home every time, guys that can cover like glue, guys that can blowup linemen consistently. There are 32 teams competing for players, and all 32 would take those guys. BB has been trying to get younger and faster on D in recent years, drafting Collins, Hightower, Jones, Wilson, Cunningham, with high picks to mixed results. Clearly there were some evaluation errors. I don't think he's ever intentionally bypassed "athletes who can be both physical and have the speed and athletic ability to be difference makers". I'm willing to bet that every player he's drafted in the first two rounds has those qualities listed in the Patriots scouting reports. Nobody hits them all. Again, Seattle is doing nothing different that any other team except winning the draft -- especially late, and last offseason, free agency. They don't have any magic dust they sprinkle on their players to make an elite defense. They're not doing anything different than Pete Carroll did here in New England from a schematic standpoint. Unfortunately, instead of Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor and Richard Sherman, we got Chris Canty, Tebucky Jones, and some guy named Carter who was so unimportant his first name escapes me.

We'll see how Gus Bradley does in Jacksonville following the Seattle blueprint. My guess is not nearly as well.

 

[everlong]

Sure. In an ideal world, the Patriots would have guys that can rush the passer and get home every time, guys that can cover like glue, guys that can blowup linemen consistently. There are 32 teams competing for players, and all 32 would take those guys. BB has been trying to get younger and faster on D in recent years, drafting Collins, Hightower, Jones, Wilson, Cunningham, with high picks to mixed results. Clearly there were some evaluation errors. I don't think he's ever intentionally bypassed "athletes who can be both physical and have the speed and athletic ability to be difference makers". I'm willing to bet that every player he's drafted in the first two rounds has those qualities listed in the Patriots scouting reports. Nobody hits them all. Again, Seattle is doing nothing different that any other team except winning the draft -- especially late, and last offseason, free agency. They don't have any magic dust they sprinkle on their players to make an elite defense. They're not doing anything different than Pete Carroll did here in New England from a schematic standpoint. Unfortunately, instead of Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor and Richard Sherman, we got Chris Canty, Tebucky Jones, and some guy named Carter who was so unimportant his first name escapes me.

We'll see how Gus Bradley does in Jacksonville following the Seattle blueprint. My guess is not nearly as well.

I completely agree about Pete and Seattle hitting it right. They aren't the point. The mixed philosophy is for me. Brandon Spikes, Jermaine Cunningham, Ron Brace, Jake Bequette and Donte Hightower are one type of defensive player and Jamie Collins is another.

In the secondary it's too bad but the two players he drafted who fit the big corner profile busted out in Ras-I Dowling and the aggressive safety the same in Pat Chung. I love Ryan and Dennard and they're successes but they are in the same mold as Wheatley and Butler who weren't.

So to a degree I agree with you that it's been about missing but it's also been a mixed philosophy.

If this year's draft say they took Louis Nix, Stephon Tuitt and Shamar Stephen I would think OK we're going back to being a 3-4 and changing directions again. I know he wants to be multiple but at some point you become too spread out and your personell doesn't fit any scheme correctly which is where I think we are now. We have 3-4 LBs but 4-3 DEs. We have rotational DTs that fit a 4-3 and can play a 3-4 but they aren't ideal. With Vince in flux there's no 3-4 NT. You have no play making 4-3 DTs to crush the pocket.

 

[mayoclinic]

I completely agree about Pete and Seattle hitting it right. They aren't the point. The mixed philosophy is for me. Brandon Spikes, Jermaine Cunningham, Ron Brace, Jake Bequette and Donte Hightower are one type of defensive player and Jamie Collins is another.

In the secondary it's too bad but the two players he drafted who fit the big corner profile busted out in Ras-I Dowling and the aggressive safety the same in Pat Chung. I love Ryan and Dennard and they're successes but they are in the same mold as Wheatley and Butler who weren't.

So to a degree I agree with you that it's been about missing but it's also been a mixed philosophy.

If this year's draft say they took Louis Nix, Stephon Tuitt and Shamar Stephen I would think OK we're going back to being a 3-4 and changing directions again. I know he wants to be multiple but at some point you become too spread out and your personell doesn't fit any scheme correctly which is where I think we are now. We have 3-4 LBs but 4-3 DEs. We have rotational DTs that fit a 4-3 and can play a 3-4 but they aren't ideal. With Vince in flux there's no 3-4 NT. You have no play making 4-3 DTs to crush the pocket.

Manx took issue when I said in another thread that BB had been less "consistent" in his drafting since 2010 than Carroll/Schneider, but I think the latter had a clearer vision of where they wanted to go and executed it more consistently.

So let's time capsule back to 2010:

Seattle:

The Seahawks have just hired Pete Carroll as their head coach and John Schneider as GM. The team made it to the SB in 2005 after a 13-3 season, but had fallen on hard times, and was coming off consecutive lousy seasons (4-12 in 2008, 5-11 in 2009). They were fortunate in that they inherited two top 15 draft picks (#6 and #14) from their predecessors. As far as I can tell, they sat down and pretty quickly agreed on a vision for where they wanted the team to evolve on both offense and defense, how the existing roster talent fit into that vision, and where to remedy the deficiencies in FA and the draft. They may have been lucky that Pete Carroll's old ideas happened to fit so well, and they may have had some luck on how the draft fell and some of their draft choices, but they had a clear and decisive vision and executed to it:

- The used their top 2 draft picks on a franchise LT and a defensive QB/captain in Russell Okong and Earl Thomas.

- They drafted big, physical DBs in Walter Thurmond and Kam Chancellor (2010 4th and 5th round picks), followed by Richard Sherman, Mark Legree and Byron Maxwell (2011 5th, 5th and 6th round picks), Jeremy Lane and Winston Guy (2012 5th rounds picks) and Tharold Simon (2013 5th round pick), plus signing 6'4" 221# Brandon Browner out of Canada in 2011. Obviously not all of those guys worked out, but they didn't have too.

- They traded for a Leo-type player in Chris Clemons (2010), and drafted another in Bruce Irvin (2012).

- They loaded up on fast, aggressive LBs and 4-3 DEs who could play multiple roles.

Again, they had nowhere near 100% success rate, and they churned the roster several times, but they aggressively dumped everyone who didn't fit (including 2009 #4 overall pick Aaron Curry). The only significant defensive players still on the roster drafted before 2010 are Brandon Mebane and Red Bryant.

Regardless of whether they had won the SB or not this year, I think it was obvious by last year that they had a championship-caliber defense.

New England:

In 2010 the Pats were coming off a disappointing 2009 season, in which the return of Tom Brady was spoiled by poor team chemistry and a lack of leadership and toughness. BB took a hatchet to the team in the off-season, jettisoning a lot of veterans.

In the 2010 draft it seems that BB wasn't clear about a move away from a 3-4 base, because he bypassed 4-3 DEs like Carlos Dunlap and Greg Hardy in favor of Jermaine Cunningham, as well as more mobile MLBs like Sean Lee, Daryl Washington and Navorro Bowman in favor of a 3-4 thumper like Brandon Spikes. He drafted Devin McCourty at CB at 27, having spent 1st or 2nd round picks on DBs in 2007 (Brandon Meriweather), 2008 (Terrance Wheatley, plus a 4th on Jonathan Wilhite), 2009 (Patrick Chung, Darius Butler). All the the CB picks had been on smaller, less physical guys, even though the best CB on the roster in 2009 had been 6'1" Leigh Bodden, who the Pats had signed to a 4 year extension.

By 2011 BB seems to have been more clear about a move away from a 3-4 base, as he bypassed guys like Cameron Jordan and Muhammad Wilkerson - I can't fault the choice of Nate Solder at #17. I don't even mind the choice of Ras-I Dowling at #33 if BB had decided that bigger and more physical was the way to go at CB, even though in retrospect he turned out not to be a good choice. It makes sense from this perspective as well that he passed on guys like Justin Houston. By training camp 2011 BB was tinkering with a 4-3 under scheme, and he was bringing more physical cover safeties like Dashon Goldson in for a look (he let Goldson re-sign to a 1 year deal with San Francisco). 3 weeks later BB scrapped the safety position, cutting both James Sanders and Brandon Meriweather; Leigh Bodden didn't come back effectively from IR and was cut, as was Darius Butler.

So in 2012, with a relative paucity of draft picks but 2 first and 2 2nd round choices what does BB do? He trades up for Chandler Jones, a guy who is clear departure from the 3-4 mold. And then, he has 2 options:

A) Trade up to get safety Harrison Smith, who probably won't last to #31 since Mark Barron went #7 overall and there aren't any more top safeties on the table; then take a speedy versatile LB at 48 like Lavonte David, Bobby Wagner, or Zach Brown. Trade back from 62 and get some more picks, and maybe pick up some guys once considered day 1-2 talents who are in free fall like Alfonzo Dennard and Vontaze Burfict.

B) Trade up to take another 3-4 thumper LB like Dont'a Hightower who is a questionable fit in a 4-3 and somewhat redundant with Brandon Spikes, then reach for a safety at 48, losing out on a more mobile LB who can help cover the middle of the field.

To me it's inconsistant to choose option B. If we had picked option A, then we could have taken a DT like Brandon Williams at #93 in 2013 to groom behind Wilfork, and maybe used #235 on a moon shot athletic freak like Lawrence Okoye to groom behind Tommy Kelly. Those would have been decisive, consistent moves.

There's no crying over spilt milk, but I think that BB has definitely suffered from a "mixed" approach in his defensive draft selections, and it has slowed down the development of the defense.

It's not just about adding talent. It's about adding talent that fits.