How the Patriots Defense Generates Pressure

Through their first 12 games of the season, the Patriots only blitzed on about 28% of dropbacks according to Pro Football Focus data. Since then, however, they’ve become far more aggressive, increasing that frequency to 42%. And they’ve generated pressure on nearly half of those blitzes.

They’ve been especially effective during the playoffs, as opposing quarterbacks have combined to complete just 20 of 51 passes (39.2%) for 186 yards (3.65 yards per attempt), with 2 TDs, 3 INTs, and a passer rating of 38.5 against New England blitzes.

That’s disgusting.

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From a design standpoint, Mike Vrabel does an excellent job of dictating the protection with his pre-snap looks and then attacking the weak spots, as you’ll see below.

This first example was a 3rd-and-9 during the Patriots’ Week 15 game against the Bills. At first glance, it appeared that if New England was going to bring a blitz, it would be from the offense’s left:

So the Bills slid the protection in that direction to account for the potential pressure. And right tackle Spencer Brown would take Edge Rusher Harold Landry to the right: