Ted Johnson: How the Pats defense can improve against the run originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The New England Patriots run defense has been a disaster in 32-16 defeat on Sunday to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Jags totaled 171 yards and two touchdowns on 39 rushing attempts. Running back Tank Bigsby did most of the damage with 26 carries for 118 yards and the two touchdowns.
When New England had six or fewer defenders in the box, Jacksonville averaged 6.6 yards per carry and four runs of 10 yards or more. During the second half, the Pats defense had no answers as the Jags had the ball down their throats for 17 straight plays.
Not ideal.
So how can the Patriots defense bounce back from its dreadful performance against the run? Ted Johnson, who made his living running back for New England from 1995 to 2004, shared what adjustments he would make The breakdown.
“I would continue to try to maybe blitz to stop the run,” Johnson said. “So bring in some guys from the second level to fill in the gaps with a snap of the ball. Hopefully you’ll get some penetration. You’ll be able to make a few tackles for a loss. Maybe that’s one way to plan things.
“Another way to plan things is maybe tilt your defensive linemen. Loop them, angle them, move them at the snap of the ball. And so that keeps the offensive linemen at deprived and makes them hesitate a little, so they don’t just come and drill you. That’s another thing.
“And then you can also maybe change your personnel. We had times where teams were running at us in the middle of the field and Belichick said, ‘I want my goal line defense to be over there.’ So take out all the big players, challenge them to run away and see if they will. That’s another way to do it.”
The Patriots are playing without their two best players, linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley and defensive tackle Christian Barmore. After an encouraging start to the season, their defense has offered little resistance against the run since Bentley was injured with a torn pectoral in Week 2.
While the Pats defense struggled to stop the run, the offense was unable to establish it. In Sunday’s loss, rookie quarterback Drake Maye was New England’s leading rusher (18 yards) for the second straight week. Patriots running backs totaled 20 yards on 12 carries against Jacksonville.
The Patriots (1-6) will try to end their six-game losing streak next Sunday against the New York Jets (2-5). The game provides a perfect bounce-back opportunity for New England’s run defense as the Jets rank 31st in rushing yards (577).
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