Bedard's Breakdown: Once the strength of any Patriots defense, middle has become huge issue

After reviewing the film of Sunday night's disastrous loss, I don't really have much to add to what I wrote from Ford Field. The biggest issues facing the Patriots right now are that, a) They can't stop the run, b) Tom Brady doesn't have enough trusted targets that can alleviate some of the attention on Rob Gronkowski, and c) the Patriots can't cover anyone in the short area of the field, especially in the middle.

Brady and a long track record of success — and has important player returning in Julian Edelman — which means there is every reason to believe New England will get things figured out on the offensive side of the ball. Josh McDaniels and Brady will fit the puzzle pieces together to find a unit that will move the ball consistently and score points.

On the defensive side of the ball, however, the issues are more foundational. And the solutions will be more challenging.

Basically, like any good defense in baseball, the best defensive football teams — especially those associated with Bill Belichick — are built from the inside out. Nose tackle (or at least an immovable interior presence). Middle linebacker. Safety.

Over the years, the Patriots have had some great players in all three spots, and the result was some very good to excellent defenses.

From Richard Seymour in 2001 (when the Patriots played more 4-3) to Ted Washington, Keith Traylor and, finally, Vince Wilfork, the Patriots have always had one player they could sit in a gap to disrupt an opponent's running game. Those players wouldn't move, no matter how blockers the other team sent at him (or, at the least, they'd need so much attention that would free up linebackers to make plays). They didn't have to be flashy or make a bunch of plays. They just had to be immovable objects, and they were.

At middle linebacker, Tedy Bruschi, Jerod Mayo and Jamie Collins/Dont'a Hightower were rocks in the middle. They could take on blocks, get off them, and run sideline-to-sideline to track down pass catchers.

And at safety, Lawyer Milloy, Rodney Harrison and Devin McCourty were hardly ever fooled as sturdy last-lines of defense.

To this point -- and especially on Sunday in the embarrassing loss to the Lions -- the 2018 Patriots have been subpar in all three spots. That's how you get a 1-2 record with back-to-back double-digit losses. And New England will be staring 1-3 in the face unless it alleviates the issues. But it has done it before in previous seasons to wage successful campaigns.

Before we get into the usual unit ratings, gamecharts, eight videos and 3 up/down, let's examine the situation at each spot, and make an educated guess as to how the Patriots' coaches will adjust going forward.

But first, to illustrate the problem, let's look at these back-to-back-to-back plays from the worst defensive series of the game — the 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive the Patriots allowed after closing the gap to 13-10 early in the second half.



Nose tackle

This position has changed some over the years based on personnel, but basically, the Patriots prefer to operate in this manner: they need one player, or combination of players, to be able to sit in the preferred running gap of the opponent based on tendencies and not let the opponent get its ground game cranked up. It's been a big problem ever since Wilfork left for Houston. It's become a huge issue with this defense, especially against the Lions. Combined between Malcom Brown and Danny Shelton, I had them getting shoved out of their gap 11 times. That's an astonishing number for this defense. On the norm, that happens maybe 2-5 times a game.

I don't know what's going on with Brown. He's normally been better than this. It's true that he's not the ideal size (6-foot-2, 320 pounds) for this position (6-foot-2, 350-plus), but Brown has held up better against double teams in the past. I don't know if he's lost weight and/or strength, or if his heart just isn't in it because the Patriots didn't pick up his fifth-year option (similar to Malcolm Butler and his contract extension last year). But Brown has been terrible to this point in the season.

To make matters worse, Shelton — who is closer to the prototype at 6-foot-2, 345 pounds (he's the second-heaviest player on the team to Trent Brown) — was likely supposed to be the starter at this spot. But he just hasn't acclimated himself to the scheme. He's still trying to one-gap (penetrate) on plays instead of staying home. Line coaches Brendan Daly and Brett Bielema have to get through to Shelton and coach him up to the point where he can execute the defense. There is hope for that. Otherwise, there aren't many options. Vincent Valentine (6-foot-4, 325 pounds) could be promoted from the practice squad, but this has never been his forte. I wouldn't be surprised if the Patriots aren't scanning other teams to identify a Traylor or Washington — veterans who weren't flashy but could take on double teams as well as anyone.

Middle linebacker

This spot has been an issue since the trade of Collins (and the issues in the weeks leading up to that deal), and also if Hightower has been hurt or playing another position. No need to rehash Elandon Roberts' shortcomings or Hightower's obvious physical issues when he's asked to play the middle — BSJ members know we've been talking about it since training camp.

There has been a lot of hope for rookie Ja'Whaun Bentley, and he's certainly had his moments, but he looked like a fifth-round pick against the Lions. The video below illustrates one issue, but the larger problem is Bentley hasn't yet learned how to get off blocks and make plays.



I still think Bentley can and will get to the point where he is more effective, but it's going to take a lot more hands-on time from Brian Flores, who is trying to balance being the de facto defensive coordinator with coaching the linebackers. Perhaps this is where Belichick could get more involved — he usually does in problem areas at some point — and help Bentley become the player they obviously need him to be this year. That's because it doesn't look like fail-safe option 1A (putting Hightower back in the middle) is going to be possible this season. Hightower seems on his way to being a very part-time pass rusher.

Safety

This position isn't quite as dire as 2011, which was just a car crash from the get-go. You probably blocked it from your memory, but that season began with Sergio Brown and Josh Barrett as the starters, featured cameos from Matthew Slater and needed position shifting from McCourty and the arrival of James Ihedigbo to be passable. Luckily, the Patriots had a great offense that season, or it would look a lot like this one. But we digress.

Yes, at 31, McCourty and Patrick Chung have lost a step or two. But the Patriots can still win with them if Chung is on the field, and McCourty is allowed to play more free safety. When Chung was out against the Lions, McCourty had to take his spot and Duron Harmon had many more responsibilities and was exposed — especially on the 33-yard touchdown to Marvin Jones.



I think the long-term solution is for the Patriots to, at some point, send Harmon to the bench, let McCourty play full-time deep safety (has always been his best position) and insert one of the youngsters in the lineup. Maybe it's Duke Dawson (off injured reserve), a young cornerback like Keion Crossen or J.C. Jackson who could prove more versatile, or maybe Cyrus Jones can expand on the role he played against the Lions in McCourty's former matchup spot. It appears that they might be grooming Jones for this, based off the Lions game. He'd be making a McCourty-like switch, which is certainly possible.

With that, here are the positional ratings against the Lions:

Quarterback (1.5 out of 5)

Brady has had better days. Certainly there are personnel issues that have contributed to some of his "struggles," but he didn't play well in this game and he wasn't under very much pressure (21.4 percent). He brought a sack and knockdown on himself. The first drive ended when he was late throwing to an open Chris Hogan (he had another target open in the flat), and the second ended when Brady through late and high to Phillip Dorsett while Cordarrelle Patterson appeared open for a big play in the seam. The interception also shouldn't have been thrown, even if Dorsett could have played it better. Of course, the touchdown throw to James White was a dime.

A look at the failures on the first three third downs:


Running backs (2.5 out of 5)

You can say whatever you want about Sony Michel and I have (I still haven't seen his special quality that screams he should have been a first-round pick), but he was decent in this game and has been making some progress with every carry, which is what you want to see. They need him to be the replacement for Dion Lewis. Will he get there this season? It's doubtful, but not out of the realm of possibility. Two drops were killers and we haven't even seen his fumbling issues yet. ... I have to assume the Patriots have James White on a pitch count, but they might need to chuck it this week to avoid a third-straight loss. ... Rex Burkhead may be their best all-around back and have great games here and there, but he's completely unreliable from a health perspective. The Patriots need to get out of the Burkhead business after this season, or at least take him off special teams so he can survive.

Receivers (0 out of 5)

Patriots got absolutely nothing out of this unit, except for a few plays from Rob Gronkowski. Brady obviously doesn't trust Patterson, and he really shouldn't at this point. There are also some issues with Dorsett (drop, poor route). The interception was glaring and mostly Brady's fault, but this play is an example of them just not being on the same page yet:



Dwayne Allen (two poor run blocks) is still not productive enough.

Offensive line (2.5 out of 5)

[table id=148 /]

This unit was OK in this game, but they're not getting enough push in the running game. We highlighted Shaq Mason not getting off the ball on the third-down video. ... In order of effectiveness: David Andrews (flawless), Joe Thuney (clean sheet), Shaq Mason (four minus plays), Trent Brown (four minus plays, including a sack), Marcus Cannon (five minus plays, struggle in the run game).

DEFENSE

[table id=149 /]

Defensive line (3 out of 5)

If you could eliminate Brown and Shelton, this unit was very good for the most part. Deatrich Wise (six impactful plays in 30 plays) needs to play more. I don't get why he sits while the undersized Keionta Davis continues to get put into big spots and shoved around, like here:



Adrian Clayborn needs to start producing. Lawrence Guy continues to be rock-solid and their best linemen when Trey Flowers isn't around. Derek Rivers continued to be completely invisible, like he has since being drafted. The lack of depth at defensive end continues to be glaring. At least put Geneo Grissom in there. He has speed, which this group desperately needs. ... Adam Butler was very productive as long as he doesn't have to defend the run. Caused the Bentley interception with pressure and forced a fumble.

Linebackers (2 out of 5)

If it wasn't for Kyle Van Noy, who was excellent with six impactful plays on the edge, this group would have been a big goose egg. Bentley flashes at times (his interception was excellent, but really a poor throw or route by the Lions), but the entire group struggles getting off blocks in the running game and bringing speed.

Bentley's INT:


Secondary (2 out of 5)

Between Harmon blowing the Jones touchdown, and Devin McCourty and Bentley not helping on the first Lions TD (video below), Stephon Gilmore must be wondering what he did to tick off his teammates

Jonathan Jones was solid but continues to have issues with bunch formations. ... Crossen and Jackson had some issues in their first run, but I would like to see them out there more. ... Cyrus Jones showed some potential as another safety. At least he can run.

THREE UP

DE Deatrich Wise: I'm not sure why the coaches don't like him and play him more, but he's consistently productive and tough to block.

C David Andrews: One of his best games as a Patriot. Just a rock in the middle.

LB Kyle Van Noy: Smart player who knows exactly when to shoot a gap. One of the few productive players on defense.

THREE DOWN

DTs Malcom Brown/Danny Shelton: If the Patriots are getting run on this badly, it's because their nose tackles are putting up little resistance.

DE Keionta Davis: If somebody could tell me why the Patriots keep playing him, that would be great.

LB Dont'a Hightower: Two straight weeks on this list. The issues are glaring. He's obviously playing on one wheel.