In the midst of all of the craziness of the NFL free agent period this year, the Patriots seemed to be quiet and content with the team as it was. Then again, it is in coach Bill Belichick’s nature to not let anyone know what he is really thinking in that massive, football focused head of his.
For a special edition of Cover 1, I’m going to go into the details on the two new star recruits for the Patriots: Defensive lineman, Albert Haynesworth and wide receiver Chad Ochocinco.
Haynesworth was acquired on today in a trade with the Washington Redskins in which the Patriots only gave up a 5th round draft pick for Haynesworth. In comparison, that is like paying $10 for a new, unopened I-Pod straight from Bill Gates’ hand. The only problem with this deal is that this I-Pod might have stepped on someone’s face in the past.
While Haynesworth has had his share of problems in Washington
Before signing a ridiculous deal in Washington and then being a bust there, Haynesworth was considered to be the top defensive lineman in the NFL, and in his last year with the Tennessee Titans, Haynesworth recorded 51 tackles, 8.5 sacks, and 3 forced fumbles. He was a monster and still is today. He just needs the motivation to play.
Speaking of motivation, what is the only thing more deflating than being a player on the worst franchise in NFL history? The answer: Being an incredibly talented star wide receiver on the worst franchise in NFL history.
Chad Ochocinco (formerly Chad Johnson before he changed his name to match his number in Season Receptions Yards Touchdowns
2001 28 329 1
2002 69 1,166 5
2003 90 1,355 10
2004 95 1,274 9
2005 97 1,432 9
2006 87 1,369 7
2007 93 1,140 8
2008 53 540 4
2009 72 1, 047 9
2010 67 831 4
While he’s had a steady 10 year career in the NFL, Ochocinco had asked to be traded out of Cincinnati in 2008, the same year that he had the lowest numbers of his career (besides of course his rookie season). This on top of the fact that the 6 time Pro Bowler is infatuated with Bill Belichick. In fact, they’re friendship is very well noted after the two met each other at a Pro Bowl game and at times throughout his career, it almost seemed like Ochocinco had more respect for Belichick than he did his own coach (Marvin Lewis). Now with a chance for a championship title, Haynesworth and Ochocinco will have all of the motivation they need to take it to the next level in 2011.
For the fundamentals portion of this post, I want to go back to Albert Haynesworth. The Patriots play a 3-4 defense (meaning 3 defensive linemen and 4 linebackers). With the current roster before the Haynesworth trade, defensive end Ty Warren and nose tackle Vince Wilfork had their spots on the defensive line pretty much locked up. Now we add Albert Haynesworth to the mix.
In football, there are five definite offensive linemen that have to block and can do nothing else. They are shown below as the numbers “1-5”.
LB LB
LB LB
T.W. V.W. A.H.
1 2 3 4 5
In front of them is the Patriots 3-4 defense, with LB standing for the 4 linebackers and the 3 defensive linemen with their initials to identify them (Ty Warren, Vince Wilfork, Albert Haynesworth). It is well known here in New England that it takes at least 2 of these offensive linemen to block Vince Wilfork, so let’s take linemen 2 and 3 out.
LB LB
LB LB
T.W. V.W. A.H.
1 4 5
With 2 and 3 blocking him, that leaves 3 linemen to handle Ty Warren and Albert Haynesworth. No problem, right? Wrong. Albert Haynesworth is so big and so fast that he also requires two people to block him. For Haynesworth, that means 4 and 5 are one him.
LB LB
LB LB
T.W. V.W. A.H.
1
This leaves just 1 person, offensive linemen “1” in the diagram, to block Ty Warren. Warren himself is good enough to need two blockers on him too, but the offense might be able to slip by with blocking him with 1 lineman. So problem solved, you just leave 1 on Warren, right? Here’s what it looks like if all of the blockers are taking away our 3 defensive linemen:
LB LB
LB LB
Do you see anything wrong with this picture? With 5 offensive linemen having to block 3 defensive linemen, that means that there are 4 linebackers that have to be blocked by either tight ends or running backs, both of which are not the greatest at blocking! Not to mention, now that these players have to stay in and block in case a linebacker blitzes, that means that there is one less person to give the ball to on the field, taking away the options that the offense has to move the ball. The beauty of this is that if for some reason the Patriots wanted to blitz all 4 linebackers that would mean it would take 5 offensive linemen and 4 receivers/running backs to block everyone that is blitzing. THERE ARE ONLY 11 PLAYERS ON THE FIELD FOR A FOOTBALL TEAM! That means that the quarterback and one receiver or running back would be able to try and move the ball…on the 4 remaining defensive backs, all of which are highly qualified on the Patriots (see “Cover 1 goes to Court” a couple posts below).
In closing, the Patriots are stacked. Every team in the NFL is scared of playing this team and for us here in New England , it is starting to feel like 2007 all over again, when the Patriots nearly went undefeated.
Greg’s 2011 Projection for Albert Haynesworth:
60 Tackles
7 Sacks
2 Forced Fumbles
31 Frustrated Offensive Coordinators
Projected Overall Grade: A-
Greg’s 2011 Projection for Chad Ochocinco:
85 Receptions
1, 164 yards
6 Touchdowns
1 Very Happy Tom Brady
Projected Overall Grade: A
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