"Over their past three games, they rank 11th in opponent yards per play and fifth in opponent points per play, according to Team Rankings. When you consider that subset includes facing reigning MVP Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills on the road - while forcing three turnovers and holding them to 20 points - it looks even better for the Patriots' trajectory and what they're trying to build this year."
"Seventeen players played at least 15 defensive snaps in the Bills game, per Pro Football Focus, with only linebacker Robert Spillane, EDGE Harold Landry Jr., cornerbacks Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis III, and safeties Craig Woodson and Jaylinn Hawkins filling true, full-time roles. That means the Patriots are mixing and matching with the majority of their defensive players on game days right now, and it's become painfully obvious which veteran player remains the odd man out."
"Dugger's role was a hot-button topic throughout training camp, but the Patriots' $58 million safety has now fallen completely off the radar one month into the regular season. Just about every Patriots player on the 53-man roster has carved out some sort of role at this point, either on offense, defense or special teams. Dugger is the clear outlier. Against Buffalo, he saw fewer snaps on defense than special teams ace Brenden Schooler."
Mike Vrabel's defense has begun to form five games into his tenure, showing marked improvement since Week 3. Over a recent three-game stretch the defense ranked 11th in opponent yards per play and fifth in opponent points per play, including forcing three turnovers and holding the Bills to 20 points on the road. The coaching staff is using heavy rotation, with 17 players logging at least 15 defensive snaps and only Robert Spillane, Harold Landry Jr., Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis III, Craig Woodson and Jaylinn Hawkins holding true full-time roles. Veteran safety Kyle Dugger has become an outlier and saw fewer defensive snaps than special teams contributor Brenden Schooler.
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