I think we're already starting to see signs of the Patriots defensive strategy going into next season, at least in how they hope to handle opponents passing game.
At it's most basic level, pass defense is predicated on two things. Secondary play, and/or pass rushing. In today's NFL, it's very difficult to put together a defense with amazing players in both areas. Last year, when the Pats got Revis and Browner, they put their chips into the secondary basket. Go back and read the game threads, and you'll see a whole lot of whining from folks about a lack of a pass rush, pretty much every week. Well, one of the reasons they lacked a pass rush was because they were only rushing 3-4 defensive lineman in most instances, and a lot of those guys weren't great pass rushers (particularly after Chandler got hurt), and instead, they relied on a secondary that could blanket opposing receivers for significant lengths of time.
Losing Revis and probably Browner, I think the Pats switch gears this season, and I think this move is the first in a series of them. Sure, they'll get some guys to fill in that secondary, and Bill's 3-4 is always at it's best when he has one shut down corner, but absent that, the next best way to stop a passing attack is to rush the shit out of opposing quarterbacks, thus, lessening the amount of time your "weaker" secondary has to stay with the opponents receivers. Unless something changes before the season, or we make a move in season to get a stud corner, like we did with Talib, I think we see more blitzing next year than we have in the past few years combined. I also think Bill is looking around at this division and noticing something that is glaringly obvious. The QB's suck, but the receivers are getting better and better. He may very well feel that forcing these quarterbacks into faster reads in the face of a relentless pass rush is going to be more beneficial than allowing them time, but knowing that it won't matter because our secondary was better than their receivers. If the receivers are good enough, it doesn't matter how good your secondary is, eventually, they will get open. That hasn't been the case up until now, but BB may feel that things are changing. So, the focus now becomes a pass rush.
Maybe I'm totally off base, but I think there is so much more going on behind the scenes than just keeping guys and letting guys go and signing other guys. There is a big picture, and if anyone looks at it closer than BB and the Pats, I'd be shocked. No matter what, it's going to be very interesting to say the least.
