Bennett, Backs Clutch in Patriots' Victory Over Cardinals

LeGarrette Blount (29) scores from eight yards out in New England's 23-21 win over Arizona on Sunday night.

 Chandler Jones didn't see the truck that ran him over - but LeGarrette Blount did.

Five minutes into the second half and with the New England Patriots nursing a three point lead over the host Arizona Cardinals, the Patriots had a first and goal from the Cardinals' eight yard line - quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo barked out signals from the shotgun, flanked by Blount who was the lone back in an eleven personnel (one back, one tight end) package, suggesting to the defense a passing play.

Jones crossed the face of the offensive line from left to right, arriving at the outside shoulder of left tackle Cameron Fleming just as the ball was snapped, hoping for an advantageous lane to rush the quarterback's blind side, but Garoppolo froze Jones in his cleats with a quick look to his left, then turned to Blount and stuffed the ball in the big man's gut - and that's the last thing Jones saw.

Fleming exploded out towards the second level as if shot out of a cannon, taking out linebacker Deone Buchannon and leaving Jones uncovered to meet Blount in the massive hole created by Fleming and left guard Joe Thuney - but just as Jones reacted to Blount taking the handoff, he was nailed by tight end Martellus Bennett, who executed a textbook wham block that left Jones counting blades of grass...

...Blount rumbled through a hole big enough for three power backs to fit through, Cardinals' safety Tyrann Mathieu making first contact at the four, defensive tackle Calais Campbell and safety Tony Jefferson converging on Blount a split-second later, sandwiching the 250 pound load at the three - middle linebacker Kevin Minter flying in from the strong side, safety Tyvon Branch from the weak side, cornerback Patrick Peterson hitting the pile straight up.

The pile up, featuring three-quarters of a ton of testosterone-fueled humanity collapsed as Blount surged across the goal line, Thuney and right guard Ted Karras plowing into the scrum from the backside, disbursing red-shirted defenders as if they were pins hit by a couple of bowling balls.

Blount's eight yard power drive that gave the Patriots a 10-point lead was a spectacular display of just what the bruising six-year veteran brings to the table, but it wasn't even the most impressive play on his part, that being a 13-yard run on 3rd and 11 that extended the Patriots' game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter.

In between, Blount had a tough time against a stout Cardinals' front seven, but the performance is a reminder of why it is important to stick with a running game, regardless of positive or negative impact early in games.

Blount ran for 70 yards on 22 tough carries, for an average of 3.2 yards per carry, which isn't going to make fantasy owners very happy, but feeds right into the old adage that has governed smashmouth football from the genesis of the sport: Three yards and a cloud of dust.

That is the original hallmark of what a running game should contribute to a balanced attack and a tenet of the Erhardt-Perkins offensive philosophy that Patriots' head ball coach Bill Belichick is relentlessly faithful to, a philosophy that dictates that a team must "Pass to score, then run to win."

Garoppolo, Blount and the rest of the Patriots followed that tenet to the letter in a powerful 23-21 win over the Cardinals on Sunday night in Arizona, a performance that left little doubt that the Patriots are still the team to beat in the National Football League, even if it did take a missed field goal by Arizona kicker Chandler Catanzaro from 47 yards out to seal the victory.

Garoppolo was steady, relaxed and in complete control of the offense, changing plays at the line of scrimmage when confronted with blitz looks and, even more important, when he recognized mismatches that he knew he could take advantage of, going 24 of 33 for 264 yards and an easy touchdown pass to wide receiver Chis Hogan as he changed the play when he saw Hogan single covered by rookie Brandon Williams...

...staying alive in the pocket with nimble feet and consistently finding his underneath receivers by freezing the Cardinals' safeties with look-offs and play action, then threading the football into tight windows that left the Arizona defensive backs slamming their fists into the University of Phoenix Stadium turf in frustration.

Overall, the Patriots' offense was well balanced, with the run accounting for 31 plays and an overall average of 3.4 yards per carry - not elite by any stretch of the imagination, but there's no getting around the fact that the Patriots' sticking to the running game opened up play action possibilities for Garoppolo, which benefited not only the quarterback and his receivers, but also helped the offensive line anchor against the Cardinals' pass rush, which is normally quick and violent.

Instead, the balanced play calling kept the Arizona pass rush back on their heels until the fourth quarter, when Cardinals' coach Bruce Ariens started sending multiple blitzers to try and get to Garoppolo, who remained steadfast in his resolve to keep the offense moving forward, using his backs to stem the tide of the blitzers.

James White continues to be the unsung hero of the offense, displaying solid hands, his trademark subtle elusiveness and the ability to pick up stunts and blitzers in pass protection - a perfect example was when he gave up his body by plugging a gap against a stunt on the pass play to Malcolm Mitchell that set up Blount's oxen-cart run for the touchdown.

Though the performance on offense was far from perfect, it was close enough to beat a powerful team on the road, despite missing key contributors that caused the Patriots to be nine-and-one-half point underdogs, despite handing the ball to the Cardinals on fumbles by Garoppolo and Blount, and despite the fact that the New England offensive line was missing three starters...

...in essence, winning in spite of themselves - beating a team that the Arizona media claimed should blow out the short-handed Patriots, and that failure to do so should give the management pause and evaluate how good their team really is.

And they can question the quality of their club all they want, but the simple fact of the mater is that New England did to them what they have been doing to everyone else for the past decade-and-a-half, and there's no shame in being beaten by the Patriots, undermanned or not - but don't expect Ariens to dwell on what the media thinks he should do, as he knows exactly where things went wrong.

"We need to get the defense off the field on 3rd down" Ariens said, dejectedly, adding "They were ten of sixteen on third down conversions.  I thought that was the whole game right there."

Indeed, third downs brought out the best in Garoppolo and the Patriots, as White picked up four of them, Blount's staggering 13 yard run another and Garoppolo was a solid gold seven of nine on third down, including his two longest completions of the evening and his lone score.

In other words, the New England offense was clutch in the most dire of situations, and they were clutch missing quarterback Tom Brady, tight end Rob Gronkowski and those three starting offensive linemen - and that's bad news for all of the Patriots' opponents, as the Arizona Cardinals will tell you from personal experience.

"They outplayed us." Ariens said, "and will will learn from it, grow from it, and continue on."

Perhaps all the way to Houston in February - and if so, one would think they'd like another crack at the Patriots...

Patriots Have Plenty To Beat Cardinals Despite Doomsayers Claims

Lost in the doom and gloom over the New England Patriots missing key pieces to their offense is the fact that they still have a pretty damn good football team.

Patriots' head ball coach and defacto general manager Bill Belichick spent his entire offseason building depth behind his stars to ensure that what happened in 2015 - the decimation of his offense due to a cruel string of injuries - would not happen this season. And not just depth for the sake of depth, but quality depth.

The quality of the depth for the New England Patriots would be potential starters - if not actual starters - on virtually any other team in the league, and in most cases, they were.  On offense, for instance, Belichick brought in former second-round draft pick in Pro Bowl tight end Martellus Bennett, then added former Eagles fourth-rounder Clay Harbor, all the while having a Rob Gronkowski clone in the person of A. J. Derby waiting in the wings...

...nabbing former Buffalo Bills' pass catcher Chris Hogan in free agency and using the draft to upgrade his offensive line in third-rounder Joe Thuney, who is being compared favorably to former Patriots' tough guy Logan Mankins in toughness and potential - and bringing in passing back D.J. Foster to back up and/or play along side James White in the backfield.

On defense, the depth is exponentially more stout.

By either trade or deft free agency movement, Belichick brought in former first round draft pics in defensive end Chris Long, weakside linebacker Barkevious Mingo, strong side linebacker Shea McClellin and added former second round cornerback Eric Rowe earlier this week, all while sitting on a couple of pretty decent draft picks in corner Cyrus Jones and tackle Vincent Valentine.

What does all of this mean in regard to tonight's contest in Arizona?  It means that the Patriots, regardless of who's in the lineup and who isn't, are built to take what they want by force, leaving behind the evil and wrong "Take what the defense gives us" philosophy and adopting a mindset that relies instead on just calling the formations and plays and daring the opposition to stop them.

That said, just run the damn ball.

Those familiar with my stylings are aware of this mantra and relentless hashtag on social media, as it has long been my opinion that New England Patriots' offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels doesn't use his running backs to their full potential - instead opting for the short and intermediate passing game at a point in games when another mantra, taken from the time-honored Erhardt-Perkins offensive philosophy, should apply.

"Pass to score, run to win" is the tenet of the philosophy, meaning to use the passing game to build a lead, then give the ball to your backs to grind down the clock - it's as fundamental as football gets, and against the Arizona Cardinals, it couldn't be any more appropriate.

You see, the Cardinals like to blitz.  They like to blitz a lot, and because of their philosophy that speed kills, they are stocked right up the middle with perhaps the smallest and fastest linebacking corps in the NFL - and it works for them, to the point that they finished 2015 ranked fifth in total defense, holding opposing rushing games a meager 3.9 yards per carry.

But in football, small and fast will never beat big and nasty - at least not the whole game.

Small and fast may look good in the first quarter, and oftentimes into the half, but speed is a fickle thing.  Speed wanes deep in games when quarterbacks and receivers relentlessly test corners and safeties to the outside and down the seam. The effect on the human body - even those who are elite athletes - can be measured solely with the eyeball, the look in their eyes, hands on hips, winded...

Speed is abated when linebackers are physically manhandled by nasty-tempered guards, and even more so when they have to hold their ground against and effective running game - add to that a passing game that employs multiple tight ends and a couple of shifty passing backs, and the effect is even more pronounced - and all while continuously hammering them with a power running game.

You have heard television commentators and scouts describe power backs having an ability to get stronger as games wear one, but that is misleading - backs appear to have more left in the tank deep into games because they are the ones dishing out punishment to the linebackers, who have no choice to absorb the shock that saps even more of their wind.

That said, when New England faces the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday night in Glendale, the best thing that they can do for the team as a whole is to run the damn ball - and keep running it regardless of initial success - not to mask any perceived deficiencies in quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo's game, nor just to play it safe...

...because for the Patriots to win this game, they are going to have to take what they want by force - but offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels can not abandon the running game in the second half, as he did in almost every game last season, opting instead to use the short passing game to chew clock, which is not what one would consider traditionally sound thinking.

Because this is the truth and there is no getting around it - the Patriots must establish a running game if they are to secure the desired outcome.

The offensive line is structured this week to run the ball, which is particularly true considering the news that Shaq Mason will return to action at right guard with a club of some sort on his broken hand - regardless of fashion statements, Mason joins an interior line consisting of center David Andrews and rookie Joe Thuney, flanked with Cameron Fleming and Marcus Cannon at the tackles...

...drive blockers all, though Thuney, Mason and, surprisingly, Cannon have looked very good in pass protection in the preseason.  Fleming is usually the sixth offensive lineman and almost always checks into the game as eligible, and if he struggles to hold back Arizona's Calais Campbell or even Chandler Jones, swing tackle LaAdrian Waddle is the superior pass protector of the two.

But to know exactly how the power running game benefits the Patriots' offense and, indeed, any offense in general, all one has to do is look back at the final quarter of last season and the post season to see what happens when the Patriots have no running game at all...

And those were lessons well learned, at least Belichick's moves in the offseason seem to speak to that end, what with bringing in two talented tight ends, a productive possession receiver and a hybrid passing back that is, essentially, a wide receiver to spell mainstays Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola, both of whom spend time on the shelf with injury.

He didn't bring in another power back, however, so he'll be riding the syrup-on-waffles running style of the 6' 0", 250 pound LeGarrette Blount, complemented by special teams ace Brandon Bolden, who is good for five or six carries a game.  White is pretty much untested in the running game, but Foster was a running back in college before switching to receiver in his senior season, and he's provided some spark on the ground in the preseason.

The benefit of grinding out yards in this manner against the Cardinals factors into almost every facet of the game.

First and foremost, it forces the Cardinals to defend the entire field. Too often last season, the opposing defense was able to cheat towards their pass rush when the Patriots would abandon their running game, the extra burst a pass rusher gained by not having to worry about the run puts the offensive linemen back on their heels.

Conversely, when the Patriots' primary receivers were missing, especially Gronkowski, defenses could run with one high safety and concentrate on the intermediate zones, again the extra defensive back on the field meant that the pass rush could pin their ears back and go, knowing that the secondary had their back in tracking the running backs.

You'd have to be crazy on acid to not see how these things would aid Jimmy Garoppolo, as a successful running game would give him and the linemen the benefit of the play action, causing the pass rushers not only to delay their rush for a split second, but also taking any inherent explosiveness from the rush, and giving the linemen an instant to anchor and brace and to deliver the first punch.

The defense stands to gain as well, as the more first downs that are made by the methodical offense, the more time they have to get their proper rest, to be as fresh as possible to defend against Carson Palmer and his elite crew in the desert.

So, it's as simple as this for the Patriots tonight: Run the damn ball and keep running it right at Arizona all night and force them to respect the running game, or the Cardinals' defense will make things very tough on Jimmy Football and company - but if anyone out there feels that the Patriots are going to lose this game just because Brady, Gronk and Solder are missing, that's just not true...

...or at least, those circumstances aren't the sole deciding factors anyway.  Of course, the Patriots are a better team with those guys in the lineup, but there is still plenty enough talent and will power on the field for New England to win, yea, even dominate - but make no mistake, they have to be methodical and be conscious of time management.

And, yes, run the damn ball.

Big Nickle Offers Patriots Versatility in Team Building Process

Shea McClellin is an enigma.

At least to Patriots fans he is.  But to the fans of his former team, he's a first-round bust with a capital "B".

The Chicago Bears are in the midst of their annual task of dumping talented, miscast players so that they can bring up the rear of the NFC North once again, and Patriots' head ball coach Bill Belichick has felt compelled to oblige them twice this offseason, first by trading a fourth-round draft pick to Chicago for tight end Martellus Bennett, then following it up on the same day by signing free agent linebacker McClellin.

The Bears refused to pick up the Boise State alum's fifth-year option, and McClellin took visits with the Jets and Seahawks before landing in Foxborough with a contract that pretty much guarantees he will be on the 53 man roster come September - but why would Belichick sign a guy being called a "typical Bears' draft bust"?

Well, we all know that the Dark Master is a different cat from most in his position of authority in that he doesn't just select a player and then try to jam him into a scheme like a square peg in a round hole as most other coaches do, instead he takes that round hole and bores it out so that the square peg fits.

It's been the not-so-secret of his success as a general manager - not to mention the success of the product on the field - his ability to see a player for what he is and adapt his scheme to take advantage of his strengths and minimize or even mask his deficiencies. It has been this ability that has gotten the most out of castoffs like Rob Ninkovich and Alan Branch, as well as the rabbits that he pulls out in the secondary each season.

So regardless of the barbs aimed at McClellin from Bears' fans, there still may be some hope for him - especially since the Patriots run a scheme where their linebackers are left free to flow to the ball.

This is due, of course, to the Big Nickle alignment that was a staple of the Patriots' defense last season, an alignment that employed an extra safety in nickle situations who essentially became a weakside linebacker, allowing for Belichick to run with just two linebackers who worked in tandem as a disruptive force.

Of course, that wouldn't have been possible without the defensive line plugging gaps and setting the edges, or without the superb group of safeties that Belichick has assembled - nor without the freakish athleticism of linebackers Dont'a Hightower and Jamie Collins.

Linebacker has been both a strength and a weakness for Belichick - a strength because his starters have always been top shelf, but also a weakness because the depth behind them have always been a crap shoot that most times, leaving Belichick scrambling to make mid-season deals to shore up the second level - and the past couple of seasons it's been to replace weakside linebacker Jerod Mayo, who has ended the past three years on the IR.

The sudden, but not-so-unexpected retirement of linebacker Jerod Mayo made the probability of the Patriots going after a linebacker in the offseason a foregone conclusion - but acute injuries to both Hightower and Collins last season outlines the need for quality depth. At the start of the league year, the questions was, would it be through the draft or in free agency?

Is it too much to ask for both?

McClellin is a versatile player in that he has the bulk (6' 3", 260 pounds) to play both inside on the second level as well as putting his hand in the dirt as a situational strong side defensive end, and also employs the requisite speed and proper pursuit angles to be a sideline-to-sideline edge-setter to provide a stop-gap in the event Hightower or Collins are forced to miss time with injury or illness...

...which happened in five games during the second half of 2015, and the Patriots' run defense suffered.  How much?  Well in those five games, the opposition averaged 113 yards per contest, while in the games where they were both present, that number dropped to 90.  Try as they might, New England's depth players just couldn't recreate what those two players bring to the defense.

Now, the Patriots have that insurance in the four-year veteran linebacker McClellin, who will also man the middle if the Patriots ever find the occasion to do something weird, like actually lining up in a 4-3...

Selected in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft, then-Bears' General Manager Phil Emery stated that McClellin was drafted to play with his hand in the dirt as a defensive end, even though his natural position, and the position he played in college, was middle linebacker. Two disappointing seasons later, new Bears' coach Marc Trestman switched McClellin to strong side linebacker...

...then last season coach John Fox moved him inside to man the middle, and he responded with his best season as a pro - but the fans could never get over Emery "wasting" a first round pick on McClellin, and Fox, despite being quoted as saying that McClellin was the "quarterback" of his defense, left him unprotected by declining his fifth-year option, hoping to bring him back under a far more reasonable number.

But Belichick saw an opportunity to make this square peg fit without forcing him into a position to fail, and scooped him up as important depth and a capable part-time starter.

*********************************

Last season, the Patriots ran a 4-2-5 "Big Nickle" as their primary alignment, meaning that they deployed four defensive linemen, two linebackers, two cornerbacks and three safeties. The result was success beyond the wildest dreams of Big Nickle enthusiasts, as New England finished the season surrendering just 18 points per game and held the team together through the second half of the season, when the offense seemed to have lost their way.

The Big Nickle is tough to attack for two reasons: first, the extra safety drops into the box and will act as a weak side linebacker, keying on the opponent's running back, taking him in the pattern or plugging a gap in run support. Secondly, the team plays with a single high safety in this alignment, meaning that they could employ both a run-support strong safety and a cover corner-type free safety at the same time.

As a result, the offense will have a difficult time ascertaining who has whom in pass coverage as well as who will be bringing pressure and where that pressure is coming from.

The Patriots are perhaps the only team in the league with the personnel to run such an alignment on a full time basis, and it is the primary reason why New England kept seven safeties on their roster last season in contrast to just four cornerbacks and five linebackers for the majority of the year.

And there are even solutions to the much-maligned linebacker depth already on the roster, as weaksider Jon Bostic - McClellin's former teammate at Chicago - is still under contract as well as run stuffing former Dolphin Jonathan Freeny - but the one player on currently on the roster who could make the biggest impact as a linebacker in the Big Nickle isn't a linebacker at all.

In college at Auburn, Brandon King played what is known as the "Star" linebacker position which, in the pro lexicon means a hybrid strong safety / linebacker - or, simply put, the Big Nickle - despite tipping the scales at a light 215 pounds, and even found himself playing defensive end in the Tigers' 3-2-6 dime alignment due to his exceptional speed and pass rushing skill.

King was brought aboard the Patriots' bandwagon as a priority free agent after the 2015 draft, and was impressive enough in his special teams play to be signed to the practice squad after being one of the final cuts as the Patriots trimmed their roster to 53 on final cut down day - elevated from the practice squad just three games into the season, King proved to be a menace to the oppositions' punt and kick return teams, finishing second to All Pro special teamer Matthew Slater in tackles.

It isn't often that one comes across a kid who is 6' 2", 225 pounds (he has added 10 points of bulk since joining the team) and can run in the 4.4 range, and who finishes play with jarring, finite hits, but if last season is any indication, the team values him more for his special teams stardom than as being the "Star" linebacker.

King is just one of the aforementioned seven safeties kept by New England last season, a group led by team captain and free safety Devin McCourty, veteran strong safety Patrick Chung and hybrid centerfielder Duron Harmon. McCourty, a former corner with blazing speed, helped in coverages underneath (usually on tight ends) while Chung proved to be a violent striker in run support and an able tag-a-long on backs curling into the pattern...

...with Harmon patrolling the deep end like a soccer goalie and with second year kid Jordan Richards backing up Chung.  Joining King as special teamers-only is Nate Ebner, who was re-signed by Belichick this offseason and is currently on loan to the United States Olympic Rugby team slated to compete in Rio De Janerio this summer before resuming his football career.

It was be a huge shock if Belichick decided to draft another safety, especially early in the process, given the incredible depth he has, but what would not be a shocker is if he saw a cornerback fall to him in the second or third round and he pounced, given the deep draft class at the position.

Currently, Pro Bowl corner Malcolm Butler headlines the corner, with Logan Ryan the only other veteran corner of note on the roster, though second year players Justin Coleman and Daryl Roberts hold significant promise as young blankets. The team has said that they are interested in bringing back nine-year veteran Tarell Brown, who is currently scheduled for free agency.

Brown was a starting corner for the San Francisco 49ers during their recent peak, when they lost to the Giants in the 2011 NFC Championship and to the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl 47 the following year before hitting the skids with knee problems, the same knee problems which forced him to the Patriots' IR last season.

If Brown's knee has now sufficiently healed, he could bring a wealth of experience opposite Butler and relegate Ryan to the slot, where he has shown to be a worthy performer, and also give Coleman and Roberts time to grow.  Belichick also made another under-the-radar move recently, bringing in big corner E.J. Biggers, formerly of Philadelphia.

Another benefit of the Big Nickle, as mentioned earlier, is that the quarterback won't have an easy time figuring out where the pass rush is coming from or where to deploy his backfield help, but it goes without saying that despite New England dumping Chandler Jones and his annual late-season disappearing act, they have improved their ability to get to the quarterback...

...which sounds like crazy talk considering Jones just made the Pro Bowl, but when you can take Jones exorbitant salary and split it up to sign edge rusher Chris Long, late of the Rams, meaty nose tackle Terrence Knighton, and massive three-techs Frank Kearse and Markus Kuhn - not to mention getting a 2016 second round pick and a former first-round selection in guard Jonathan Cooper from Arizona in a swap for Jones - the pattern becomes clear.

This is not to discount Jones' contribution, but the six-to-one ratio that Belichick built from dealing Jones made the team better on the edges - with Jabaal Sheard taking over opposite the ageless Rob Ninkovich at ends with Long and a plethora of second year talent chomping at the bit for playing time - and better on the interior with Knighton beefing up the rotation at nose tackle while Kearse and Kuhn offer competition to Alan Branch and Dominique Easley at the under-tackle.

Combine that with the already more-than-impressive back seven in the Big Nickle, and the Patriots have given offensive coordinators many reasons to be up nights.

Patriots Deal Jones To Cards, Shed Cap Dollars, Late-Season Slumps

Chandler Jones has 36 sacks in 55 career games.

That's quite a feat these days, what with the National Football League playing in an era where offensive tackles are athletic and violent and can usually match good defensive ends punch for punch in the trenches, so what Jones was able to accomplish through the first four years of his career was nothing if not impressive.

But stats are so very deceiving. 36 sacks in 55 games is nothing to sneeze at, yet pro Football Focus rated him as the 25th best pass rusher in his rookie year, 70th in an injury-marred sophomore campaign, 29th in 2014 and just 40th last season despite receiving his first Pro Bowl nod. How could they have rated him so low?

The answer may lie in how he performed in the most tense of moments - late-season contests and in the playoffs - where the best of the best rise to the occasion.

It's called being clutch, coming up with the big play in the critical situation and in football, where clutch means being in the right place at the most opportune of moments, Jones has lousy timing.

Chandler Jones was traded to the Arizona Cardinals on Tuesday afternoon, and the reaction from the fan base was predictably terse, because most of what they see are those numbers 36 in 55, but a trip inside those numbers tells a story of how Jones disappeared off the face of the map in the most critical of times.

Jones started his career on the fast track, gathering up six sacks in the first eight games of his rookie season, only to get shut out of the final eight games of the regular season and both Patriots' playoff games.

2013 started out just as promising with 8.5 sacks in nine games, only to hit paydirt three more times that season. 2014 was a tough year for Jones as he played only 10 games - gathering 4.5 sacks in seven games before a hip injury kept him out of the next seven games, only to see 1.5 sacks in the final three regular season games, but did manage a sack against Seattle in the Super Bowl.

Last season was his best, though, as he raced out to the league lead with 10.5 sacks in his first nine games, then fell off a cliff in collecting just two more for the team down the stretch. For those keeping score, that means that Jones generated 29.5 sacks combined in the first halves of each of his four seasons of professional football, and only 6.5 in the second halves of those seasons. Combined.

Playoffs? In nine career playoff games, Jones has two sacks.

Now, this is not meant to disparage the legacy of Chandler Jones. He is a phenominal athlete and one of the best pure pass rushers in the game, statistically speaking - but that's all he is, and that's all Arizona gets and, fortunately for them, that's all they need out of Jones.

Jones goes from New England's 4-2-5 Big Nickle alignment to Arizona's traditional 3-4, where he is already listed as weakside linebacker on the Cardinals' depth chart, and all they will want him to do is to get after the quarterback - and probably just on pure passing downs as they attempt to break his habit of wearing down late in the season by not asking him to set the edge in the running game, something he is loathe to do in the first place.

No? When Jones is manning the weak side edge on running downs, the opponent is rushing for well over five yards per carry, while those numbers drop significantly for those same teams when they rush up the middle (3.4 ypc) and to the strong side (3.2ypc).

Look, Jones is a pure pass rusher, and that's what the Cardinals will focus him on. They found a way to make Dwight Freeny look like his old disruptive self last season, so perhaps with the way that Bruce Ariens' defense attacks in layers, Jones could have a huge year.

I hope so. We all hope so. Jones is well liked and forever a part of Patriots' lore, but he is gone and all that head ball coach Bill Belichick is left with is $5.5 Million in liquid cap space and a solid gold second round draft picks that could end up being the talisman for Trader Bill to move up the draft board and pick up an elite targeted athlete in an area of true need...

...and we're talking having the ability to move up to the top of the second round, where there is sure to be first round talent still on the board - say someone like a Derrick Henry, or a Will Fuller or a Noah Spence may still be in draft limbo.

Or they could just keep the draft picks as they are and go heavy in the middle rounds where the true value in any Belichick draft lies, as the Patriots now hold two picks in the second round, two in the third round, one fourth rounder, two sixth and two seventh rounders.

An example of how important this draft pick is lies in our own mock draft. At number 60 overall, we had the Patriots selecting Oklahoma wide receiver Sterling Shepard, then not picking again until the end of the third round where we projected them to take a running back (Jonathan Williams) and a linebacker (Scooby Wright) - but the additional second rounder changes things a bit in that names like Missouri linebacker Kentrell Brothers and Texas Tech offensive tackle Le'Raven Clark figure to still be available.

Not to mention that part of the Jones-to-Arizona deal involves the Patriots receiving a former top 10 draft selection of the Cardinals in offensive guard Jonathan Cooper, who has all of the physical tools to be an elite drive blocking load, but has been a colossal bust thus far in his time in the NFL. If a change of scenery turns out to be just what the doctor order for Cooper to realize his potential in New England, then the Patriots certainly got the best of this deal.

But that is what is known as future earnings. Right now all anyone needs to know is that Chandler Jones is gone, replaced on the roster by a tenured veteran who is looking for a ring in the twilight of his career, and that Belichick has five million additional dollars to work with along with much coveted high draft capital.

And if anyone can make those kinds of circumstances work, it is surely the Dark Master...