So I think this post is going to make some other people roll their eyes and it's probably not up to our new fancy football central standards, but I don't care, I've had this thought in my head for a while and want to put it out there.
The thing that bothers me most about the Patriots defense is what looks like from my couch a Ho Hum we are here to play defense type attitude. There is seemingly no agression, no want to, no one playing angry. It just feels so passive. I know we don't like talking about things like intensity, want to, desire and whatnot becuase we can't quantify it or display the difference in a you tube clip, I get that. But when you look at the great defenses past and present in the NFL, their approach to the game just looks different. I'm not talking about talent or technique or really even scheme, but actual approach to playing defensive football. The Seattle's, Baltimore's, Arizona's of the NFL world have defenses that play with a mean, nasty style. It makes my eyes bleed to think that I am actually going to type this word, but those defenses play with a certain swagger. We just don't see that from the New England Patriots. Everythign is ho hum, business like, do your job, trust in the system, don't get too high or get too low.
I'm just not sure how that approach can work without great talent behind it. I don't know where this comes from, it it's coaching, lack of leadership or just the makeup of the defense. The defense's best players, Mayo, McCourty, Revis, Wilfork, Jones are not firey, rah rah guys. Maybe that's by design, maybe thats coincidence.
I might be totally off base here, which is fine, you can tell me to shut up. But somethig just looks wrong with how this team approaches defensive football. I asked up thread if the lack of pressure with a four man pass rush was talent or scheme. It's probably a mix of both, but I can't help but wonder how the talent assembled on this team would perform if there was more of an edge to the unit, an agression, a passion. Maybe it's talent that breeds confience that breeds the look I referred to on those other defenses, I could understand that.
I'll stop now with this, I just wanted to put it out there. This is probably some defense mechanism that knows it would be easier to swallow the defense performing so badly if the effort and will were percieved differently. But I reserve the right to hold out hope that Brandon Browner can bring some that edge to the field, the guy seems to always be pissed off about something.