Belichick soliloquy defends the "Patriot Way"

People don't change.

If you abide by the Lifetime Channel's tried and true axiom, you'll never get burned, never get your heart broken and the murdered young man is always resurrected for the next film.

 
That's the only lesson that New England Patriots' coach Bill Belichick learned from the evil Aaron Hernandez saga.  People don't change.  They'll talk a good game, even send letters to the owners of National Football League teams begging them to believe that he's put his past behind him.

They may become one of the best and brightest new stars in football, start a family and elude the temptation of past addictions.  The people who employ them and the people who watch them play may become blinded by the promise of their potential, pay them many dollars and edify them to idol status.

But in the end you end up disappointed and bitter, holding self-flogging press conferences to try and explain to a cynical media and grieving fan base how you missed the warning signs that your star tight end was in fact nothing more than a punk with a gun fetish.

And that's exactly what Belichick did on Wednesday afternoon.

"I’ve been advised to address the subject once," said the callous Belichick, at the end of his opening remarks "and it’s time for the New England Patriots to move forward. Moving forward consists of what it’s always been here - to build a winning football team, be a strong pillar in the community and be a team that our fans will be proud of. That’s where we are."

Indeed.  That's all he really needed to say, and it would have been enough.  But Belichick had some things that he needed to get off his chest - not in the way that sinners hit their knees and confess those transgressions and not in the way that one lies on a couch in a shrink's office and spills their guts. 

No, this was much more personal than that.

The people gathered in this room had been dragging him, his reputation and his football team through the sewer since the news of Hernandez's involvement in the Odin Lloyd murder broke - from the local media where the hate-fest began to the national media where the hate spread quickly, the organization that Belichick is the very conspicuous leader of had been taking gut shots from these people for weeks, and he wanted a few words with them...

...and a few words for his former employee - because the Patriots needed Belichick to address the situation, get it all out in the open, then drop it forever.

It's no longer a situation to the hooded one - this he made very clear with a seven minute long soliloquy in his first press conference since he and Bob Kraft fired Hernandez - releasing the talented yet apparently mortiferous former tight end after he was arrested for the execution-style slaying of friend and semi-pro linebacker Odin Lloyd.

Belichick is clearly distraught over the nation wide crucifixion of the Patriots' name since the foul deed first hit the digital media, and it came through at crucial spots in his remarks.  It bothers him.



He spoke several times of the length of his tenure, of the careful measures taken and exhaustive research that goes into building a franchise the proper way, seemingly oddly defensive - no anger in his voice, just matter-of-factly accepting responsibility and owning his personnel decisions...

...but do not confuse Belichick being defensive and accountable for any admission of guilt.  Bill Belichick runs the New England Patriots the way he runs the New England Patriots, and nobody - especially the local Boston media - is going to question the manner in which he brought three championships to this title-starved fan base.

His remarks were measured by the teaspoon, but one got the feeling that the man that was standing at the podium was taking Hernandez to task, the man who let down his family, his teammates, the coach and owner that believed him when he said he had changed - making sure that his message was clear, that he was taking the breaking his trust very personally...

...and then to the media as well, but it wasn't the media that Belichick liked and trusted and brought in to represent and uphold a standard built from his lifetime of work.  It wasn't the media who forced Belichick to deal with having to be politically correct and sidestep landmines - and it sure as hell wasn't the media that let down each and every one of the Patriots players and fans.

Well, sometimes they do.

Belichick has a well worn disdain for the media in general and has never been very forthcoming with them, so he expected a certain amount of Patriot bashing from the casual media in cities outside of New England, but he seemed to take exception to the bashing that came from the local media.  His voice was stern, pointed even, as he told the crowd gathered that he would not be entertaining questions on the Hernandez matter.

"I know that there are a lot of questions, fair questions, about this subject and related subjects." pausing briefly for effect, then "I respect the judicial process and have been advised not to comment on ongoing legal proceedings and I am advising our players to do the same.".

The end.  That was all you will ever hear again on what is clearly a painful and closed chapter in his life and in the history of the Patriots' organization, but he knew better than to expect the national press and, particularly, the Patriots beat writers to let the matter drop without gaining a usable sound bite or two - and he was accommodating to a point, his comments deliberate - at one point answering the redundancy with an exasperated, "This is real life".

"This case involves an individual who happened to be a New England Patriot. We certainly do not condone unacceptable behavior, and this does not in any way represent the way that the New England Patriots want to do things."

And with that, the albatross is gone.  Bill Belichick stood in front of the world and bared his soul as much as we've ever witnessed.  Hernandez hurt him.  The press rubbed it in his face.  Today, he made sure that he let all of them know how he feels about them.

Patriots Camp Preview - Introduction to the offense

The New England Patriots' offense is in real trouble.

At least, that's what we're reading whenever we go online or pick up a paper - and it must be true, because nothing can be posted on the Internet that isn't.

 
That being said, the Patriots will also be overtaken by the new-look Miami Dolphins as the top dog in the AFC East, Wes Welker will finally hold onto a ball in a clutch situation to help the Denver Broncos win a Super Bowl...

...and the fabled "Patriot Way" will be exposed as nothing more than a bunch of villainous yahoos fronting for players with questionable ethics and rap sheets that read like a Stephen King novel.

It's a dire picture for sure - what with Welker essentially being fired and ending up in Denver of all places, Rob Gronkowski becoming an interactive Milton Bradley game and Aaron Hernandez...well... whatever.  Gone also is the aloof Brandon Lloyd and the incredibly clutch Danny Woodhead.  Deion Branch wasn't invited back and Julian Edelman spent the summer in a walking boot.

These are all terrible things - and with human nature being to focus on the negative and allowing it to fester and impede judgment, the Patriots are toast.

Indeed.  The Patriots will be Lucky to win eight games, and the Patriot Way has devolved into a modern day Pandora's Box, wherein the gates to Gillette Stadium are opened and all the evils of the world escape, causing bedlam and inducing wide-spread panic. 

But just as Pandora closed the box just in time to keep the spirit of hope from escaping, so too have the Patriots.

Things are not as we are being led to believe.  Just like Pandora's Box was actually a jar that resembles a modern day crock pot, the New England Patriots' "troubled" offense is actually a juggernaut waiting to happen, with a running game that is about to remind old-timers of the Patriots' units of the late '70's and a passing game full of large, fast, shiny new targets for quarterback Tom Brady....

...and all behind an offensive line that is among the best in the business.

The Patriots' offenses under Bill Belichick have done some of their best work under duress and have remained formidable despite constant turnover and attrition, and 2013 will be no different - because throughout the tenure of Belichick there has been one constant, the clutch entity that is conspicuous by it's anonymity.

Yes, the New England Patriots' offensive line has been consistently excellent through thick and thin, no matter what was happening with the other positions on the field, the big lovable galoots up front have been the key to their success...

...so diverse is their experience that now the Patriots can play you any way you want.

Of course, there's always Tom Brady, too, and many fans are rightfully taking solace in the fact that the best quarterback to ever lace up a pair of cleats has control of an offense so efficient that they can make the defense feel as if they are lined up in the wrong formation, even if they are in the right one.

New England has what is termed as a "Game Plan" offense, which is just a fancy way of saying "We're coming after your weakness, then we're coming after the rest of you."  And then your families.

So...Brady, right?  He's got the offense out of the huddle and up to the line of scrimmage with 30 seconds still on the play clock.  The defensive linemen have their hands in the dirt, linebackers ducking into the gaps, then backing out, corners showing off-man - trying not to tip their hand as to where the pressure will be coming from, nor what coverage they are in...

...The two-time NFL Most Valuable Player forces the issue, sending a receiver in motion.  If the corner follows, chances are that all are in man coverage - if he doesn't, Brady goes after the zone.  Ten seconds pass.  The defensive linemen are starting to feel the burn in their biceps and shoulders, their enormous girth working in tandem with gravity to put strain on their backs.

By the time the 4th quarter rolls around, Brady is in the heads of the linebackers, the corners have run the equivalent of a half-marathon and the defensive linemen are applying for disability - Brady just continues to do what he does, and when desperation sets in and the defense starts to take chances, that's when Brady has his true advantage - for there has not ever been another quarterback that can make a defense pay for blitzing quite like Tom Brady.

He works the offense into advantageous situations, causes the defense to have to take risky chances, then picks them apart.  That's the advantage that the Patriots have over any team that they face.  Still,
Patriots' fans shouldn't cling to the notion that Tom Brady is some sort of demi God, and that everything will be alright so long as number 12 is taking the snaps.

Truth is he's just one man - granted, a first-ballot Hall of Famer whose overall career will one day become the standard by which all others are compared, but one man nonetheless - a man whose career has challenged the notion that a quarterback must be an athlete to be successful.

He shouldn't even be here, Brady. 

Fate, luck, karma - whatever it was that caused Mo Lewis to almost kill Drew Bledsoe with a vicious sideline hit more than a decade ago, whatever it was that caused Bill Belichick to stick with the 6th round draft pick when his former number one overall pick was healed and cleared for action - Brady didn't question the philosophical implications, he just picked up that ball and ran with it...

...slowly, but run he has - throwing the ball to a teammate on occasion.

Brady is a social worker in an alternate reality, but in ours he's the quarterback for the New England Patriots.  His story is well documented and has changed the history of the NFL with it's befuddling deterministic qualities, and he's become some sort of a fairy tale character to the uninitiated, while an omnipotent entity to the media.

But lost in all of the glamor is the fact that he's had plenty of trustworthy help along the way - and this season he's stocked up with a passing game that may be better than last year's, one that will nicely compliment what is looking like a top shelf, smashmouth running game...

...the entire scheme predicated on enormous human beings wearing silver helmets being right where the best quarterback in the National Football League expects them to be - and when that all aligns in the midst of the training camp battles, no one is going to wonder how the Patriots offense will get along without those one guys.

Wait, what's their names again?

Exactly.

Next: The Offensive Line...

Ballard is a go for camp

Less than 24 hours after being placed on the New England Patriots' active PUP list, tight end Jake Ballard has passed his physical and subsequently given the go ahead to participate in training camp.

Patriots training camp begins on Thursday with veterans reporting to the teams' practice facilities at Gillette Stadium.

Ballard had been rehabilitating from an ACL tear and microfracture surgery on his left knee for the past year and a half, and reports coming out of OTAs suggested that Ballard's abilities as a route runner and for gaining separation had been sapped by the injury - and being placed on the Patriots' Physically Unable to Perform active list on Monday helped to magnify the negative reports...

...but in passing his physical examination on Tuesday, the already awkwardly mobile Ballard now has the opportunity to put those notions to rest when the pads are on.

The 6' 6", 260 pound Ohio State product has marginal speed and the elusiveness of a sloth but also has huge, reliable hands that can pull in anything he can reach, then looks for as many yards after the catch as he can get - smart enough to know that the quickest route to a first down is by bulldozing a defensive back.

Also a terrific blocker, he is rarely pretty, but since when were football games decided on beauty?

Player 90, from Idono U...

The last few days before New England Patriots training camp is a time when marginal players with incentive contracts are released to avoid paying them their camp roster bonus, but also a time when the team rounds out it's 90 man roster with players hailing from campus such as Idono U. and Warm Body Tech...

Undrafted free agents like Mark Harrison have a long road

...and that's no dig on the team, that they release players to save themselves having to pay out a roster bonus for a guy they know probably won't make the final 53 - it's business, and the business side of things is not run by the Boy Scouts, and it's not just some Snidley Whiplash looking guy in a top hat and black cloak tying them to railroad tracks, nor is it George Castanza getting all blubbery when he gives a player the axe.

No, with personnel decisions being the charge of head coach Bill Belichick, there's probably a litany of emails between Dollar Bill and Accounting, carbon copies sent to Bob Kraft then to the fabled "person with intimate knowledge of the situation" who immediately "leaks" the news to reporters, giving them something to hammer the team on for another day...

...then a short meeting with the player, a few handshakes and a final paycheck, then a ride to the airport in the team shuttle, stopping off at Wendy's for a frosty and fries...

...which is going to be the fate of no less than thirty players between now and early September

And this year is no exception, what with the team announcing the release of free agent wide receiver Donald Jones last week, which left the team with four roster spots to fill before camp starts in earnest on Friday...

...and with Monday's signing of Michigan State defensive tackle Rashad Anthony White - along with three others over the weekend has effectively filled with it's full compliment of 90 players.  The 6' 2" 330 pound tiger from Battle Creek is a Pittsburgh Steelers' castoff from their Injured Reserved list and, like the others signed, is primarily a camp body with virtually no chance to make the final 53 man roster...

...and these players know this.  For some, it is an excellent opportunity to throw the Patriots' name around to perspective employers, complete with on field "Demo Tapes" to help their agents them land another audition with another team - for others, it is a demoralizing crash landing on the runway called "Good thing you have that college degree to fall back on."

For most of those guys, football has already given them the means to put meat and potatoes on their dining room table - but a select few will get some gravy as well.

Gronk, Edelman among several Patriots' PUPs

Better break out the big bag of kibble, 'cause there's some mighty big dogs on the New England Patriots' PUP list.

The Patriots generated their Physically Unable to Perform list on Monday evening, and as expected Tight Ends Rob Gronkowski and Jake Ballard both appear on it, as does wide receiver Julian Edelman and right guard Nick McDonald.

WR Edelman still recovering from broken bone in his foot

Gronkowski's status was expected, given the fact that he underwent four different surgeries this offseason, the most recent a back procedure in June.  Ballard is recovering from microfracture surgery and Edelman is hobbled by a surgical procedure on a broken bone in his foot.

Like all of the candidates, Gronkowski was placed on the PUP/Active list, which means that he is available to return to the active roster anytime before August 31st.  If he or any of the others are not ready to see the field by that time, they are transferred to the PUP/Reserved and must sit out the first six weeks of the season.

If at that time they are still hobbled, they will revert to the Injured Reserved list and their season will be over - but if they are ready, the team has a three week window in which to activate them to the active roster.

Naturally, the team hopes that all are ready to go before the deadline

In addition to the veterans, Non-football injury designations went to wide receiver Mark Harrison, offensive lineman Matt Stankiewitch and safety Kanorris Davis.  All three are rookie free agents and are laid up with injuries suffered before signing with the team.

The only real head-scratcher on the list was defensive tackle Armond Armstead, who was designated with a non-football illness - which is assumed that the listing was precautionary, the 1st year star from U.S.C. - via the Canadian Football League - being monitored closely by team physicians in relation to a medicine-induced cardiac episode that he suffered will in college.

Given the life-threatening nature of Armstead's episode, it goes to figure that the criteria to be satisfied in his case is more detailed and involved than a player who has never suffered a heart attack, and the designation will be lifted when and if team doctors find him to be fit and declare him physically able to safely perform his job.

The Patriots' PUP list is rather large compared to recent years past, but it is understood that these moves are mostly precautionary in nature - the individual situations not severe enough to warrant an IR designation, so seeing these athletes designated to the flexibility of the PUP list should be should be cause for optimism among Patriots' faithful.

Patriots Camp Preview - Defensive Secondary

Being Ras-I Dowling is painful.

It's got to be right?  Not only has he landed on the New England Patriots' Injured Reserved list both of his years with the team, he has also been plagued with injuries dating back to his junior year in High School, breaking his hand that year and suffering a knee injury as a Senior...

2013 may be Dowling's last chance to claim a roster spot.

...a variety of ailments limiting him early in college before fracturing an ankle which cost him over half of his Senior campaign, add to that his professional football mishaps - a hip that cost him all of his rookie year and a torn thigh muscle that took half of last year - and there is legitimate reason for doubt amongst the Foxboro Faithful.

Doubt that he will ever make an impact - but even when healthy Dowling has been used sparingly, so many feel that his 2013 season is his last chance to step up, stay healthy and finally grasp that potential that made him a second round draft pick - whether that happens or not is up to Dowling's fragility and his ability to grasp the scheme.

We've seen snippets of the potential.  A physical press corner with size and speed, he is at his best up at the line of scrimmage engaging the receiver with a shockingly heavy jam that actually can knock the pass catcher off of his intended route, and can stay in the hip pocket of even the fastest and most physical receiver...

...but in zone coverage he looks like a pedestrian dodging cars in a busy intersection - something that looked terrible in the Cover-3 that the Patriots run as their variation of the Big Nickle, the scheme requiring their corners to be adept at both man and zone responsibilities, switching between the two coverages as the offensive personnel and alignment dictates.

With the corners giving either a press or an off-man look, at the snap they both either meet the receivers and go man, or drop hard into an intermediate zone, with the high safety rolling to either side in support of the corner and with the linebackers covering the middle - but since the Cover-3 is easy for a quarterback to recognize, the Patriots sometimes mix it up, pressing one corner and dropping the other back into a zone...

Arrington

This is where Dowling is insufficient - or at least would be if he could stay on the field - and the primary reason why Kyle Arrington replaced Dowling after the first game last season.  For Dowling to be successful, he has to dictate the action and make his man move to the outside where he can use his length to shield the receiver from the ball and get inside position...

...which he finds hard to accomplish in off-man or zone.  In laying off the receiver he still cheats outside, the receiver easily able to get the inside position on him - and not being the best tackler in the world - well, you see the quandary.

The opposite is true for Arrington.  When he can keep the action in front of him he has the fluidity to react to the play and is a solid tackler.  Where Arrington got in trouble last season was trying to cover taller receivers on the outside, but had a tendency to lose the receiver if he looked back for the ball - resulting in really bad looking long-gainers or pass interference penalties.

But a curious thing always seems to happen when Dowling goes down - some unknown or forgotten player buried on the depth chart steps up and makes a name for himself.

McCourty

In his rookie season of 2011, the Patriots had Dowling pegged at right corner opposite 2nd year man Devin McCourty - which lasted all of a game and a half as he tore hip labrum, opening the door for 2010 starter Kyle Arrington to enjoy his finest pro season, leading the NFL in interceptions while McCourty struggled with injuries.

Hopes were high last season as Dowling made it through camp and regained his starting position, only to struggle badly in the Cover-3 and eventually again be replaced by Arrington, who was serving from the nickelback slot...

Dennard

...but Arrington struggled as well and Dowling's play was still unremarkable as a nickleback, so when he tore a thigh muscle halfway into the season, the team - in desperation at this point - inserted rookie bad boy Alfonzo Dennard on the outside and sent Arrington back to the slot, seemingly willing to live with whatever the results were.

Dennard flashed enormous talent and effectiveness in the scheme, and a few weeks later the Patriots acquired former 1st round pick Aqib Talib from Tampa Bay in a trade deadline deal, and suddenly the secondary was strong.  Talib and Dennard were effective in either man or zone, and that freed up many options in coverage that had a trickle down effect with the rest of the unit, particularly with the pass rush which improved markedly once the secondary was stable.

McCourty moved back to free safety for good to become the over-the-top man and Arrington moved back inside to cover the slot, where he shined.

Ryan

So the question looms:  Is a Dowling injury the impetus to the discovery of a hidden gem?  If so, third round pick Logan Ryan will be setting the world on fire by week 8 - which may happen anyway.

With Dowling being a walking M*A*S*H unit and incumbent corner Dennard's availability in the hands of both a Lincoln, Nebraska judge and Roger Goodell, Ryan is the next in line to step up and claim the position opposite Talib.

Dennard is a steady package that shows far more smarts on the field than he does in his personal affairs - not spectacular at any one thing, but at least adequate in all - and you really can't ask much more from a number 2 corner...

...or can you?  2013 third round draft pick Ryan brings the best of the other three without most of their limitations - the aggressive press cover abilities of Dowling combined with the quick twitch and run support of Arrington and the steady workman like effort of Dennard all combined into one 5' 11" package of swagger and confidence, and a calmness that rivals Talib's.

Ryan looks like a slightly smaller version of Patriots' cornerman Aqib Talib in mannerisms and the way in which he carries himself - though Ryan is the more physical of the two and has much to learn yet. 

In fact, Ryan may be too physical and some of his film from Rutgers makes for cringe-worthy viewing for Patriots' fans after seeing their corners burned repeatedly early last season as they played the man and didn't bother looking back for the ball - but there's a difference. 

Other corners do this because they lose their guy and have to mug the receiver in order to prevent a big play.  Ryan does it because that ball is his and he's not giving it up without a fight.  As a result, Ryan gets caught with his hand in the cookie jar at times and will have to limit his mugging of receivers to the five yard envelope where contact is allowed, but once he does that the Patriots would have a pair of top press corners.

In contrast to the somewhat volatile situation at corner heading into camp, the safety positions are set with versatile depth galore.

After McCourty's injury-riddled and down year at corner in 2011, Belichick slid him to free safety, where his size, vision and speed give the Patriots' defensive staff confidence to play a more aggressive style than they have been able to in the recent past, and have the national media and fans alike are looking for a Pro Bowl breakthrough for McCourty in 2013.

The 2010 first round draft pick as a corner out of Rutgers is everything you want out of a centerfielder and is a lock at that position coming into camp, but a battle is emerging to back him up.

Gregory

Steve Gregory was brought into the fold as a free agent last season after spending the first four years of his career in San Diego.  A natural Free Safety, he was instead relegated to strong safety duties with the Chargers and again when he joined the Patriots.  He is much better as a centerfielder like McCourty, but faces a challenge for that spot with versatile third round selection Duron Harmon.

Harmon

Many scoffed when Belichick selected the unknown Harmon out of Rutgers, but one look at the skill set says everything you need to know.  Big enough to handle strong safety duties and rangy and fast enough to play centerfield, Harmon gives the defense a better all around athlete than Gregory and a superior special-teamer as well. 

Any kind of flash in camp will give Harmon a leg up in the battle to back up McCourty, while the Strong safety position is left in the capable hands of free agent Adrian Wilson and last year's second round pick Tavon (no relation) Wilson.

Adrian Wilson

In the Patriots' scheme, the strong safety is essentially a linebacker with strong cover skills - and both Wilsons have the skill set, though their style is as different as night and day.  Tavon is best suited as more of a coverage back, having experience at corner and both safety positions that had many wondering what his true position really was, something that Belichick tinkered with all season before settling him down as the nickel safety while Gregory handled the strong.

Tavon Wilson

But the team could be back to square one with the classic "tweener", the presence of Harmon giving the team potentially a better strong safety than Tavon, and his namesake Adrian having a big size and experience advantage over him as a big nickel safety.  Adrian also brings an attitude that will inspire the entire defense and a physicality that labels him an enforcer that strikes fear in receivers coming over the middle.

So Belichick's credo that you can never have enough defensive backs bodes well for Dowling and a serviceable talent in Marquis Cole in depth at corner, particularly if Dennard misses any time with his legal issues - but either Tavon Wilson or Steve Gregory will have to step up to claim a reserve spot among the safeties.

A starting secondary featuring Talib and either Dennard, Dowling or Ryan at the corners, Arrington in the slot and McCourty teamed with Adrian Wilson either straight up or in the Cover-3 is better than what this team has entered camp with in the recent past, but questions do remain...

...and it's up to one of the trio of corners to grasp the starting gig opposite Talib to put this secondary on the top shelf - and it could very well come down to Logan Ryan seizing an opportunity of circumstance should Dennard end up in the poke and Dowling in the infirmary.

Or he could just rise up and take it away from the other two, just like he does to opposing receivers.

Patriots' Camp Preview: Linebackers

The difference between a cover linebacker and a nickle safety is a line so thin that's it's nearly transparent - so it's a scary thing for the New England Patriots' foes that the defending AFC East champions loaded up on both...

...scary because it essentially melds the secondary with the linebacking corps in such a way that you'll probably need a program to recognize who's out on the field in sub packages, and the opposing

quarterback will need a psychic.

Such is the product of a depth chart full of hybrid players.

Oh, there is the base talent - the core, as it were, with names like Wilfork, Mayo, Spikes and McCourty stacked right up the middle and spread across all three levels of the defense, and all around the core is a collection of players that are individually talented, and when combined represent the best defense the Patriots have ever been able to field.

Much has been made of middle linebacker Brandon Spikes working out on his own in Florida this offseason, choosing to skip the Patriots' voluntary organized team activities, and the flogging that he's taking in the media is nothing short of hateful...

...but consider that he has stated that he is working himself into the best shape he's ever been in - perhaps in response to the criticism that he is a one-dimensional player and wanting to prove to his

Defensive captain Jerod Mayo

detractors and to himself that he's a three down linebacker and not a liability in coverage.  That's gonna take a lot of focused work and it's a routine that he didn't want to disrupt - that he couldn't disrupt if he wanted to come into the 2013 season chiseled and ready to punish folks.

Who's going to complain if he's taken the ignorant criticism and used it as positive motivation - along with the fact that he's entering a contract year - and becomes an even more intimidating run plugger?  Certainly not defensive captain and signal caller, weakside linebacker Jerod Mayo, who had previously worked inside with Spikes before the team switched defensive bases from the 3-4 to the 4-3.

Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady gushed about the duo early last season, crediting their hard-nosed play for keeping the team in games when the offense was struggling to find it's rhythm. 

Mayo is the heart of the defense - and Spikes is it's soul.  Mayo has won awards and been to a couple of Pro Bowls.  Spikes separates running backs from the football and has a celebration dance that would make the Funkadactyls proud.  Mayo promotes the football-savvy, quiet, film studying, blue collar confidence while Spikes represents the brash, cocky swagger that can intimidate an opponent without a word being spoken.

They are the core of a linebacking corps that now has so many options that the team has no choice but to attack, a defense with so many interchangeable parts that they can effectively morph into just about anything they need - or want - to be...

Fletcher

...which is a far cry from a skeleton thin group from last season that couldn't cover a running back to save their lives, and got regularly abused by tight ends.  They could stop the run, but by the time the AFC Title game came around, even that was an even-odds proposition, what with the nagging injuries, staggering percentage of snaps and zero quality depth.

Part of that problem was just lack of athleticism with the reserves, which took a huge hit when Dane Fletcher went down with a torn ACL in the preseason. 

Fletcher's absence was felt all through the unit, as his pass coverage skills and speed add a different dimension to the middle on passing downs.  In his stead, Belichick tried a myriad of marginal athletes, hold overs  Mike Rivera,  Jeff Tarpinian and Niko Koutouvides among them, but none could replace the athleticism that Fletcher brought to the depth - and all could struggle to make the 53 man roster.

Koudouvides

Lost in the horror, drama and intrigue of the 2013 offseason, Bill Belichick's under-the-radar free agency moves and seemingly mysterious defensive draft picks have actually enabled a dark chapter of the playbook that allows a defense to be able to attack the offense, rather than the stupid Bend-but-don't-break philosophy of the recent past...

...a part of the playbook that can be opened and attempted only with the proper mix of size, speed and versatility - and something that can only be accomplished when a team can go into a draft targeting a specific type of athlete to complete the puzzle, which

Collins

explains Belichick's thinking when it comes to his draft picks.

Southern Mississippi's Jamie Collins was the first of Belichick's targets and set the tone for the rest of the draft, which was to select big, versatile depth with excellent pass coverage skills - and big kids with lots of upside don't get much more versatile than the 6' 4", 250 pound second round pick.

Collins started his college career as a strong safety, but injuries to the linebacking corps forced him to cover at outside linebacker, where he immediately shined.  While not an elite pass rusher as a defensive end, he will still line up with his hand in the dirt on occasion, but his strength is in his ability to move effortlessly in coverage and punish ball carriers - taking full advantage of the 5 yard contact zone with receivers to knock them off their routes.

Edds

4th year free agent pickup A. J. Edds has flashed the same versatility as Collins and is a gifted athlete, but needs to prove that his knees can hold up for an entire season.  Originally a fourth round pick of the Miami Dolphins in 2010, Edds has it all, similar in every way to Collins, but he's been on the Injured Reserved list more than on the field. 

Having a full year to recover from an ACL tear, Edds has a big-time shot to see if he can finally get his career started.  If healthy, Collins and Edd would cause nightmares for offenses in obvious passing downs, as both are good zone defenders and relentless in the pass rush.

By contrast, seventh round selection Steve Beauharnais isn't spectacular in any way, hence the late

Beauharnais

round pick, but the 6' 1", 240 pound Rutgers stongside linebacker is also a former strong safety that has strong cover skills as well as being a sound tackler and an athletic run plugger...

...are you seeing a pattern here?  Since Belichick already had a solid set of starting linebackers, he went crazy with linebacker/safety hybrids - virtual moving parts that could potentially and seamlessly cause utter bedlam.

In addition to bringing in the linebackers, he also pulled off the shocker of the NFL Draft by selecting safety Duron Harmon, whose combination of size and speed and experience at both safety positions will free up last season's draft shocker, safety Tavon Wilson and free agent intimidator Adrian Wilson to concentrate as nickel safeties, moving up into the box to become linebackers in most sub packages.

The transference between safety and linebacker comes more properly explained in the defensive secondary part of the camp preview, but for the purposes of this discussion we should consider that the Wilsons are going to spend plenty of time on the second level as coverage 'backers, as will nickleback Kyle Arrington, a disciplined slot corner and force against the run.

Hightower

But the key to this unit, what allows the defense to venture into that dimly-lit chapter of the playbook that makes all of this possible, is last year's first round draft pick Dont'a Hightower.

If left to his own devises and sinister reasoning, Hightower would be the result of allowing Belichick access to an evil laboratory to construct his perfect linebacker.  As a pass rusher, Hightower can be moved all over the alignment, able to beat tackles on the edge with solid technique and a violent initial punch and to blow up and overwhelm guards on the interior blitz.

Hightower breaking up a pass in camp

Hightower swallows up running backs with his 6' 3", 270 pound frame on the strong side and sets a violent edge to turn running plays inside, and in pass coverage is an outstanding zone defender with a knack for redirecting backs and tight ends - all he needs is to be put in a position to pick his poison and turn him loose...

...which will be a lot easier this season than it was in his rookie campaign due to the potential of the depth behind him.  As a matter of fact, Mayo, Spikes and Hightower will all benefit from the depth moves made by Belichick, regardless of who else makes the team.

Those three plus Collins and Fletcher are locks for the 53 man roster, with Edds and Beauharnais having a leg up to round out the unit, both making it if Belichick keeps seven - and if you consider the volleyballs (the Wilsons) as linebackers in the big nickel role, this unit is clearly one of the best and most versatile linebacker corps in the league.