Bill Belichick's team is doing its final practices before preseason game No. 2, Thursday in Tampa Bay. He called the Buccaneers an "impressive" team in their game against the Chiefs - "fast, aggressive, they have a lot of talented players, play at a high tempo."
via www.boston.com
Belichick knows defense. We all know this. But I have a sneaking suspicion the change he is making and has made on the defensive line have everything to do with his mantra of taking away the best player on a team and let the other guys beat you.
Most of the teams in the AFC East have solid RBs but have so-so QBs. They have QBs they want to manage the game but don't have guys that can go out and actually WIN a game for you. Sanchez is no exception.
Last season Sanchez's highest QB rating in a loss was 84. Conversely, Peyton Manning's highest rating in a loss was 109.
That goes to show you that the Colts lost despite Manning putting up solid numbers. Sanchez isn't there, I personally don't think he will be a QB that wins games, he is more like Trent Dilfer in 2000: just don't lose us the game.
And so Belichick sought to create a disruptive defensive line that is solid at stopping the run but also is versatile enough to pressure the QB. He changed up the defense to a 4-3 but maintains flexibility to drop a DE to a LB on any given play. He did this to stop the likes of CJ Spiller, Reggie Bush, and Shonn Greene. If they get to Sanchez, Henne, and Fitzpatrick even better. But none of those QBs are guys you can count on to win a game for you.
