Boogeyman or Amoeba, Call The Patriots' Defense The Best in Football

Everyone's heard of the Boogeyman.

It means something different to just about everyone, but the classic interpretation as I know it is of a demonic nymph that stalks folks, particularly small children, and terrifies them from dark recesses. So ingrained in culture and in the written works from some truly twisted minds that there are times in everyone's lives that we have all laid paralyzed in bed and staring in horror at the closet door...

In the National Football League, the notion of the Boogeyman has the same effect on professional football players, but their nightmares happen on the field whenever they line up against the New England Patriots' defense.

Dubbed so by linebacker Jamie Collins, the Patriots' defense stalks ball carriers, and terrorizes them under stadium lights. They are not demonic and they don't hide in closets, but their methods are created by the twisted mind of Bill Belichick, and are now not only part of the NFL culture, but are constantly evolving, becoming whatever they need to be in order to scare the bejezus out of opposing offenses.

Kyle Van Noy

Because they are no longer the bend-but-don't-break entity that won in the past. These Patriots' stoppers are an aggressive, unpredictable, manic unit with no weakness - and history will show that Bill Belichick methodically built this defense over the past three years with the dark intent of a mob boss looking to take rival turf by force.

This latest incarnation of the Patriots' defense can be traced back to 2016, when defacto general manager Belichick pulled off an under-the-radar trade with Detroit to acquire the services of linebacker Kyle Van Noy, who was floundering in the Lions' stringent 4-3 alignment and losing playing time.

Van Noy is the perfect example of how Belichick views football players. While most  teams look for players to fit in to a particular scheme, Belichick prefers players whom he can build a scheme around – and he envisioned Van Noy as a guy whose skill set, self-discipline and versatility as a cornerstone of a 3-4 attack...

...playing on the strong side with superior edge-setting and pass rushing ability and the diagnostic skill and athleticism to do both at the same time – sort of a poor-man's Jamie Collins, whom the Patriots' eventually jettisoned in favor of the more disciplined Van Noy.

That same season, cornerback Jonathan Jones made the final roster as an undrafted free agent, joining sixth-round run-stuffing interior linebacker Elandon Roberts as key depth pieces – but Belichick's evil plan that now manifests as a shape-shifting “amoeba” entity wasn't evident until 2017, when he signed free agent Lawrence Guy away from Baltimore, brought in undrafted free agent Adam Butler from Vanderbilt and drafted Deatrich Wise in the fourth round out of Arkansas – defensive linemen all, but with no natural position along the front.

I called them “Five-techs” back then, wondering aloud if the Patriots were gravitating towards abandoning their four-man fronts in favor of a 3-4 look. Since then, we've seen all three playing inside and out, but true to Belichick's vision, they line up wherever they can cause the most chaos, but always with the thought of double-gapping to set up the linebackers with defined holes to fill.

That became easier with the addition of free agent cornerback Stephon Gilmore that same season, who regularly shut down the opposition's best receiving target, forcing quarterbacks to their second and third reads, giving those linemen and linebackers an extra split-second to pressure the passer.

The scheme didn't produce a lot of sacks - but in the Patriots' scheme, sacks were considered gravy for their potatoes anyway, as getting into the passing lanes and dictating where the quarterback could go with the ball were paramount.

That became incrementally more difficult for opposing offenses last season, as Belichick hit it big with another outstanding preseason, finding cornerbacks J.C. Jackson, an undrafted free agent, and veteran free agent Jason McCourty – adding them to a trio of safeties who were already in amoeba mode with what was termed as a “Big Nickel” package...

...Duron Harmon rounding into form as one of the best single-high safeties in the league, which freed up strong safety Patrick Chung and free safety Devin McCourty to help the secondary disguise their coverages by reducing down into the box and becoming part of the maw that made it difficult for the opposing offense to set their protections, not knowing for sure who was going to cover whom.

Be that as it was, the Patriots defense struggled at times as injuries decimated the linebacking corps, forcing Belichick to use more four-man fronts and only two linebackers, making them more predictable, susceptible against the run and unable to consistently cover backs and tight ends in the pattern. Fortunately, New England's defense entered the post-season relatively healthy and were able to shut down high-powered offenses on their way to a sixth world title.

Belichick didn't learn any lessons from 2018, instead staying the course and completing his defense by bringing back Collins to team with Van Noy on the edges, returning interior linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley from the injured/reserved list and drafting the manic Chase Winovich to provide versatile depth all over the front seven.

So sporting the best secondary in the league, the most disruptive linebacking corps in the game and a nomadic line made up of players that would be odd-fitting anywhere else, Belichick's defense is finally realizing it potential – and many would say that they are just scratching the surface of their collective ability, which is a scary thought, given that through six games, this 2019 unit leads the league in every major defensive category.

Some will argue that New England's initial success correlates to the fact that have played a schedule full of cupcakes, and that their true identity will be revealed when they get to the meat of their schedule in November...

...but, fundamentally, defense is defense. The opponents change from week to week, but the Patriots now have the ability to dictate to offenses, not only taking away from them what they do best, but to force those offensive units to literally take what is given to them, which isn't much.

It's pretty whether you possess that old-school mentality when defensive units were big and violent and relentless, or are more a fan of the modern-day slick athleticism – because the Patriots' defense can do both and the beauty of it is that the offense never really knows where and how the defense is going to attack.

 Belichick calls it an "amoeba", constantly shape shifting to not just take advantage of where their foes are weakest in the formation, but to dictate their will and exploit opposing offenses from many different angles and punishing anyone they come across.

Collins calls it the Boogeyman, but whatever label you wish to pin on New England's defense, the fact of the matter is that the aforementioned shape-shifting is a waking nightmare for opposing offenses – one that they can't run from and one that they can't power through, because no matter what they try, the Patriots' defense will smother the life out of them.

Not just eventually, but from the very start – and when combined with Josh McDaniels' emerging offense, New England will be very hard to beat, no matter who they face.