Pats-Bengals Game Preview: Burrow’s Defensive Plan Is ‘Controlled Chaos’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
When asked to describe how his defense would attempt to disrupt Joe Burrow On Sunday, DeMarcus Covington’s eyebrows rose and he flashed a hint of a smile.
“Controlled chaos,” he said.
The new Patriots The defensive coordinator was the most under-the-radar hire of an offseason where New England We saw changes at head coach and offensive coordinator before hiring a quarterback with the third overall pick in the draft.
There is no doubt, however, that the clearest path for this team to deliver a competitive product on a weekly basis in 2024 is to set up a punitive defense. And Sunday’s match at Cincinnati will give Covington, 35, a chance to show how he’ll put his own spin on a Bill Belichick-inspired project that has stood the test of time; since 2018, no organization has generated a better defensive EPA (expected points added).
“We always preach to players that they have to play fast, play aggressive, be fundamentally sound and be able to create takeaways,” Covington told Next Pats this week. “That’s what we always talk about… That’s the formula for us.”
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The nuances of that formula have gotten more complicated with the introduction of a few new variables since Covington took his current role after serving as the Patriots’ defensive line coach since 2020. The best player at his position group a season ago, Christian Barmore, came out with blood clotsThe best defender on the team, Matthew Judon, was traded to Atlanta.
In the absence of sack stars, “controlled chaos” is the way to go. The Patriots are loaded with capable pressure generators, including linebackers Ja’Whaun Bentley and Jahlani Tavaias well as versatile linemen Deatrich Wise and Keion White. Top players like Joshua Uche, Oshane Ximines And Anfernee Jennings This will also figure into their plans to destroy pass protection systems.
Covington believes there’s plenty of pass-rushing potential on his side of the ball, even without the two big names he had on the active roster at the start of the year.
“We’re going to make sure we do a good job of attacking the offensive line and making sure we keep the quarterback in the pocket at the same time,” Covington said. “That’s what I mean by controlled chaos. We’re going to be aggressive with our pass rush. And we have guys that can rush the passer as well.”
“Obviously we’re going to miss Barmore and Judon and the success we had with them. Like anything else, people move on, things happen. We always have to have the next man up mentality. The next guys, now’s their opportunity to shine. You look at guys like Jennings last year, who probably didn’t play a certain percentage of the time. Then you look at the end of the year – leading the team in tackles for loss. Who could have predicted that? Judon was out. And there you have it.”
“Who will be this Jennings from last year? I don’t know. Time will tell where we go from here. But I believe there will be someone – and maybe not just someone, but several people – who will help us fill that position.”
Bentley, in his fourth year as captain, also believes there will be rushers in the Patriots group who will exceed expectations with plenty of opportunities.
“I would say we have a lot of hidden gems on this team,” he said. “Obviously you want Judon and Barmore, but we have guys on this team that can really rush the passer that the world doesn’t know about. They like to say guys aren’t household names and things like that. There’s nothing we can really say to combat that. We just have to show what we’ve got on Sunday.”
“Obviously, everybody wants to get the guys with the ‘big names,’ whatever that means. It’s like, ‘All right. Wait until Sunday.’ You can see what we’re up to and then go from there.”
One thing the Patriots could do this weekend that they’ve done in years past without their headline-grabbing pass rushers? Lean on their versatility to fool the opponent, whether it’s the quarterback they intend to disrupt or the offensive line tasked with protecting him.
Tavai looked at the names on the lockers of the seven front-line defenders at One Patriot Place earlier this week and was impressed by the number of players who can actually play more than one position in Covington’s defense. He knows they have the ability to cycle through defensive looks that appear amorphous, perhaps with a defensive lineman backed by a jumble of potential pass-rushers wandering near the line of scrimmage without declaring their intentions until the ball is thrown.
“You never know who’s who,” Tavai said. “That’s the kind of chaos we can bring. Every player they bring here is very dynamic. Everybody can play multiple positions. … It creates chaos. We love it.”
“It’s like a symphony,” Uche said. “There’s a lot of different moving parts, a lot of different percussions. But there’s someone orchestrating it all so it all comes together. That’s what I would compare it to. It’s a symphony. As long as there’s a conductor, everything will go smoothly.”
The new chief conductor will get his first chance to call the plays in an NFL regular-season game on Sunday. It just so happens that it comes against one of the most prolific passers in the modern game in a season where the Bengals have Super Bowl aspirations. The Patriots are big underdogs (8.5 points), but if they’re going to pull off something chaotic, it’ll be because Covington’s plan has been well orchestrated.
Let’s move on to the rest of the preview…
Ma catchup that will surprise you
Rhamondre Stevenson against the Bengals
Last year, Cincinnati was 28th in run success rate. They were 31st in yards allowed per carry. And they may have gotten worse this offseason in that aspect of their defense.
They lost their top defensive tackle DJ Reader in free agency to the Lions. Two rookies were brought in to try to shore up their front – Kris Jenkins (second round) and McKinnley Jackson (third) – are injured. Stevenson, meanwhile, has had a strong summer after signing a contract extension earlier in the offseason.
His line is full of question marks, but if he gets a spot or two, he could help make the Patriots more productive offensively than many expect.
A match that will make you gain years of life
Trey Hendrickson against. Chukwuma Okorafor
For those scoring at home, the single-game sack record is held by Derek Thomas, who had seven against the The Seahawks in 1990.
I’m not saying that’s what will play out Sunday for Trey Hendrickson, Cincinnati’s leading pass rusher who lines up almost exclusively on opposing left tackles. But I am saying that when I tried to imagine how this matchup might play out, it occurred to me that I should Google who holds that particular record.
Okorafor had a tough summer, moving from right tackle – where he spent the vast majority of camp, and where he has spent the vast majority of his career – to left tackle when Vederian Lowe was injured late last month.
Okorafor may now find himself competing with a new position, a new system with a new coordinator, a new apparent emphasis on rules who has reported it several times in the preseason finale, and a pass-rusher who recorded 17.5 sacks last season (second in the NFL). Tough draw.
Ma catchup that will determine the outcome
Jacoby Brissett against Lou Anarumo
Brissett shared some of the quarterback workout workload with his rookie teammate Drake Maye this week. While often a starter gets nearly every practice rep in order to plan for an upcoming game, I’m told the Patriots gave Maye more than what would be considered a typical number of “backup” snaps in his first regular-season week as a pro.
It wasn’t a 50-50 split, but providing Maye with valuable practice games — getting him to work with starters, allowing him to get real on-field preparation work for an NFL defense — is part of New England’s development plan for the No. 3 overall pick.
From what I understand, the coaching staff continues to be pleased with how Maye has handled what’s been thrown at him, and he continues to spend time (with Brissett and Joe Milton) with the team’s new virtual reality setup, where players can don a headset and perform hundreds of mental repetitions.
It will be Brissett’s show in Week 1, though, and how he handles third-down attempts thrown by Anarumo — who now has the veteran safety back Vonn Bell to help manage the Bengals’ on-field communication process — will determine how competitive the season opener ends up being. Brissett went 17 of 22 for 278 yards and a touchdown (a 133.7 rating) in a Browns win over the Bengals in 2022, which was Brissett’s only start against Anarumo that year.
