FOXBOROUGH — So far in offseason practices, what the Patriots are doing at their safety positions, from deep free safety to sub linebacker, is anyone's guess. The number of players used and the different positions they've played have been dizzying.
The Patriots are hoping opposing quarterbacks are just as puzzled once the games start.
"Anybody can be anywhere, so that's definitely something we try to implement and use to our advantage, and just try to mix things up for the quarterback, with the disguises and things like that," Kyle Dugger said after Tuesday's practice.
"It makes it difficult for the offense to figure out. It allows us to do a little more with similar body types. ... You don't know what you're getting all the time from the offensive perspective."
Jalen Mills, after the retirement of Devin McCourty, has been added to the group this offseason after spending much of his career at cornerback. He's lined up anywhere from deep free safety to slot cornerback (star).
"When we come out in the huddle I might be out there with (Jabrill Peppers) and Dug and they're like, 'Mills go to nickel this drive,' or they might be like, 'Hey, go get on the tight end this drive,' or they might be like, 'Go to the middle this drive.' So I think it's just like we've talked about, the versatility of guys being able to play every different things because now quarterbacks can't just say okay, 'This guy is gonna be here, this guy's gonna be here, this is what they're in.'
McCourty himself endorsed this approach this offseason.
"I think they have a chance to be better," he said on Twitter. "Everyone knew where I was going to be. With this group no one knows who will be where. I’m excited to watch them."
There are definitely plusses with this approach, but there are also some drawbacks.
Let's start with the positives.
Absolutely the Patriots have enough similar versatile pieces and they can play virtually any spot. They are, however, heavy on box-type safeties.
Adrian Phillips is a veteran who has played all over the secondary in his career, but he's been at his best closer to the box on passing downs as a robber.
Dugger is a tremendous athlete who can cover but fill against the run. He's been at his best closer to the line scrimmage, as has Peppers who is a similar athlete but not as big.
Mills is probably the player most ready to play deep free safety given cornerbacks play similar roles in zone defenses. Joshuah Bledsoe, a 2021 sixth-round pick, is probably next on the list with the ability to play in space and has seen time at all spots in the offseason practices so far. Cornerbacks Myles Bryant and Jonathan Jones have played safety at different points in their careers and could get more of a look there once things shake out more at cornerback (say, if Christian Gonzalez, Jack Jones and Marcus Jones emerge as the top three cornerbacks in camp).
And third-round pick Marte Mapu has demonstrated surprising versatility for a rookie by getting looks at sub linebacker last week, and safety this week.
“I think the biggest thing is just him knowing at the end of the day, wherever they sub him in at, what position am I at, firstly?” Mills said of Mapu. “Whether I’m at linebacker (or) I’m at safety, I’m on the tight end, I’m on the running back. And then two, what’s my execution for this play? Am I in man? Am I in zone? And then just let his athletic ability take over from there.”
So the Patriots do not lack in interchangeable pieces. That absolutely can be a benefit against quarterbacks, especially on early downs and against different personnel groupings. The Patriots love showing the quarterback one thing before the snap, and then switching up responsibilities after the snap. It puts indecision in the QB's mind, which is the aim of every good defense. The Patriots do that well, for sure.
But there is a drawback to this approach, and we've seen this in recent years with this defense, at the end of some games (Ravens, Vikings, Raiders last year) when they couldn't get stops, and against some pass-happy offenses (Bengals, Bills).
Most games are going to come down to the fourth quarter, and it's going to come down to pass offense against pass defense. So box safeties who can defend the run or carry a tight end are often irrelevant at the end of games. It solely becomes about pass coverage and whether you have enough safeties that can cover really well. If not, those guys get targeted.
Same goes for the Bengals and Bills of the world who take one look at all the box safeties on the Patriots and go with a gameplan that says, basically, "Screw the run and your disguise and all that, we're just going to spread and shred you through the air, dink and dunk if we have to and that will be our running game. But we're looking to exploit the matchups we want."
So, yes, in theory, what the Patriots are doing makes sense and will work against a lot of teams. But it's also an approach that worked better in a different NFL when the running game was a priority, tight ends loomed large and there weren't as many 3-, 4- and 5-receiver sets.
Let's also remember that the Patriots won a lot of Super Bowls with pretty defined roles on their entire defense — including with McCourty playing at a Pro Bowl level at free safety.
You could make the argument the Patriots are only taking this route — some people like to term it as position-less football — because they don't have players good enough at one spot, so moving them around increases their effectiveness on a per-play basis.
I mean, if the Patriots had Rodney Harrison at strong safety and McCourty at free safety, would the Patriots feel the need to throw a bunch of different looks at the quarterback? Or would they just say, "We're damn good, take your best shot"?
Look, the Patriots are where they are right now roster-wise, and there's no question that they have some intriguing athletes at the safety position going forward. Things might actually shake out with more defined roles as the team gets more plays on film.
“We’re working a lot of guys in a lot of different positions now, so we’ll see how it all plays out,” Bill Belichick said. “Let them compete, see where the team needs different guys, and see how it goes. We want to give players an opportunity to learn multiple spots. I think that helps them understand the overall system, but also gives them a chance to compete at different spots.”